Strengthening trans-Tasman collaboration: Standards New Zealand and Standards Australia’s February Bilateral
Building on the enduring 45-year relationship with Standards Australia, a recent bilateral meeting helped plan and share priorities and focus for the year ahead.
In late February, Standards New Zealand’s National Manager, Malcolm MacMillan, and Standards Development Manager, Roy Pryer, spent four productive days in Sydney advancing important trans Tasman relationships and joint standards development initiatives. The visit focused on strengthening collaboration with Standards Australia, supporting future capability development, and engaging directly with key stakeholders across the Australian standards and conformity assessment ecosystem.
Engaging with Australian stakeholders
Over the course of the visit, Malcolm and Roy met with several key Australian stakeholders involved in joint standards development work. These discussions helped deepen understanding of shared priorities, sector needs, and opportunities to harmonise committee activity across both nations. Such engagement remains essential as industry, regulators, and technical experts increasingly seek consistent, high quality standards solutions across the Tasman.
Learning from Standards Australia’s digital consultation tools
A dedicated session with Standards Australia provided valuable insights into their online industry standards development consultation tool. With Standards New Zealand currently exploring options for a new consultation solution, this was a timely opportunity to understand design considerations, user expectations, and the operational lessons learned from implementing digital engagement tools at scale. These insights will help inform the scoping and requirements for a modernised consultation experience for New Zealand’s standards development community.
Presenting at the JASANZ Futures Programme Conference
One of the highlights of the week was participating in the JASANZ Futures Programme conference. Malcolm presented an overview of who Standards New Zealand is, the breadth of its work, and its current priorities and activities. He also joined a panel discussion on standards and conformity assessment, the impact of market and technological change, and how national standards and accreditation bodies can best support future industry needs. The forum offered an excellent platform to reinforce the role Standards New Zealand plays in supporting safe, productive, and innovative outcomes across the economy.
Malcolm talks to attendees at the JASANZ Futures Micro Conference
Bilateral meetings with Standards Australia
The centrepiece of the visit was two days of bilateral meetings between Standards New Zealand and Standards Australia. With both organisations committed to continually improving our close partnership, these discussions spanned a wide range of strategic, operational, and future focused topics, including:
- Operationalising the recently reinvigorated partnership agreement
- Opportunities to streamline international standards adoption
- Business efficiencies in joint standards development
- The specific needs of SMEs in standards processes and use
- Emerging uses of AI in standards development and access
- Standards access initiatives and associated challenges
- Enhancing communication on standards matters across sectors
- Strategic priorities for both nations’ economies and governments
- Capability building activities for Pacific Island standards bodies
- Sharing insights on each organisation’s operating environment—challenges, opportunities, recent successes, government priorities, and key learnings
The constructive and forward looking nature of the conversations demonstrated the continued strength of the trans Tasman partnership and mutual commitment to delivering high quality, relevant, and future ready Trans-Tasman and International standards in an aligned and harmonised way.
Joint webinar on the updated partnership agreement
While in Australia, Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand co-hosted a public webinar outlining the details and impacts of the updated partnership agreement between the two national standards bodies. The session attracted hundreds of online participants, including committee members, industry stakeholders, and standards users eager to understand what the refreshed agreement means for their work. Feedback was highly positive, with many noting the clarity and transparency of the information shared.
A recording of the webinar is available on Standards Australia's YouTube channel:
Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand Joint Webinar February 2026 - YouTube(external link)