Standards price increase proof of broken system

“The standards system is crucial to our everyday lives – from products we use every day to the complex infrastructure we all rely on,” says Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Richard Templer.

“However, despite its importance, an unsustainable user-pays funding model has resulted in a reactive system where an unacceptable number of standards are outdated or missing.”

“This newly announced price increase is illustrative of a failing system not set up for success – and such a drastic increase in prices is going to ultimately negatively impact all of us.”

Standards are already prohibitively expensive for those that rely on them, such as engineers and builders. Increasing the price of standards will only compound this issue and risks a problematic cycle where Standards NZ is forced to further increase the price of standards as the number of users dwindles.

We are already seeing firms having to use outdated standards or forgo them entirely. This matters. Having expensive outdated standards that are inaccessible significantly increases the risk of inconsistent practice and poorer outcomes. New Zealand has a history of paying the price when something goes wrong – we don’t want another leaky homes crisis.

“We are calling for Government to urgently overhaul the standards system. Most importantly, we need a sustainable funding system that could use existing industry levies (i.e. building levy) to better fund Standards NZ,” says Templer.

In addition to an overhaul of the standards funding system, Engineering New Zealand is calling for Government to develop a standards strategy that drives the changes New Zealand needs in this space.

For more information on the challenges facing the standards system and what needs to happen to address these, you can read Engineer New Zealand’s full position statement.