WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/NZL/35/Rev.1 
4 February 2010  
 (10-0607) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
Revision
 
 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  NEW ZEALAND   
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:   
Ministry of Consumer Affairs 
P.O. Box 1473 Wellington NEW ZEALAND Fax: (+64) 4 473 9400 Emaile: wel@mca.govt.nz  Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :    
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   
- Clothes Washing Machines as specified in Jo int Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 
2040.2; 
- Dishwashers as specified in Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 2007.2; 
- Lavatory Equipment is that listed in Au stralian Standards AS 1172.1 and AS 1172.2, and 
Australian Technical St andards ATS 5200.020, ATS 5200.021, and ATS 5200.030; 
- Showers as specified in Joint Australian/N ew Zealand Standard AS/NZS 3662, but does not 
apply to any tap or tap outlet that is solely for use over a bath, or part of an appliance such as 
a chilled or boiling water dispenser; 
- Tap Equipment as specified in Joint Aust ralian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 3718; 
- Urinal Equipment as specified in Joint Au stralian/New Zealand Standard AS 3982 or 
Australian Technical Standard s ATS 5200.004, but does not apply to any waterless urinal. 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Proposed 
Implementation of Mandatory Water Efficiency  Labelling: Discussion Document (24 pages, 
in English), as updated by information contained in this Notification.     G/TBT/N/NZL/35/Rev.1 
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  6. Description of content:  This notification provides an upda te on the proposal to introduce a 
mandatory water efficiency labe lling regime that was outline d in the July 2007 notification 
(G/TBT/N/NZL/35) a nd accompanying discussion document.  
In December 2009, the New Ze aland Government agreed to  policy proposals to make 
regulations prescribing consumer  information standards for wa ter efficiency, under section 27 
of the Fair Trading Act 1986, based on the jo int Australia / New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 
6400:2005. 
Six 6 product classes will be covered by the regulations – clothes washing machines, 
dishwashers, lavatory equipmen t, urinal equipment, tap equi pment and showers. These are 
defined in the relevant standards cited in  AS/NZS 6400:2005 and noted above. Secondhand 
products will not be covered. 
These regulations will align with the water effi ciency labelling regime that was introduced by 
Australia in 2006 as this scheme is also ba sed on AS/NZS 6400:2005. Legislative differences 
between New Zealand and Australia do not enable adoption of the Australian regime outright. 
Information disclosure 
The following information is required to be di sclosed for all products - water consumption (in 
litres per minutes, cycle or flush) and a comp arative indication of water efficiency. Water 
efficiency will be indicated through a star rati ng system (0-6) where th e more stars a product 
has the more water efficient it is across its product class while performing its intended 
function. Information specific to  each product class is also requi red, for example, capacity, in 
number of place setting, for dishwashers. 
The required information will need to be availa ble to consumers when products are on display 
for sale, either in-store or on the internet, wh en supplied to the consumer and when physically 
displayed for promotional purposes, such as in trade displays and show homes. The 
information must be conveyed in a manner that is easily readable and clearly visible and easily attributable to the product concerned.  
The information will need to be provided by  way of defined labels  or specified text 
alternatives. The label design will be similar to that outlined in the discussion document and that in use in the Australian water efficiency  labelling regime. Product that complies with the 
Australian labelling regime will  also comply with the proposed  New Zealand regime because 
of the alignment in the information and tes ting requirements. As such display of the 
Australian label will comply w ith the proposed requirements, as will use of the underlying 
information. 
To facilitate compliance, the label placemen t and display requirements specified in AS/NZS 
6400:2005 will be established as a means of co mpliance to the information disclosure 
requirements of the regulations. 
No requirements will be established for the appr oval registration or li sting of products on a 
public database.  
Testing 
To derive the required information products will  need to be tested by a capable laboratory or 
other entity with the required apparatus and ex pertise. This differs from the proposals in the 
discussion document in that testing will not be restricted to accredited laboratories. There will 
be no registration requirements fo r persons or laboratories carry ing out the required testing.  G/TBT/N/NZL/35/Rev.1 
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  The tests for each product cl ass are specified in AS/NZS 6400:2005, which include durability, 
capacity, performance and functionality dete rminants.  AS/NZS 6400:2005 includes the 
calculations for determining a pr oducts efficiency star rating, ta king into account the products 
function, capacity and water consumption (re fer discussion document for examples).  
Test parameters for low/unequal water supply systems will be provided to account for the 
prevalence of these systems in New Zealand. 
Responsibility and enforcement  
Importers and New Zealand manu facturers of water-using produ cts will be responsible for 
providing the required informati on. Product retailers will be responsible for ensuring the 
required information (label or text alternative) is displayed in the required manner.  
The Commerce Commission will be responsibl e for monitoring and enforcement of the 
proposed regulations under the Fair Trading Act 1986.  
Implementation 
It is intended that the regulations will be Gaze tted by 1 April 2010. They will come into effect 
on 1 April 2011 and a 24 month transition period wi ll be provided to allow for existing stock 
to be cleared or made compliant.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Mandatory water efficiency labelling will prov ide consumers with information that is not 
readily available at present, which can be of use to compare the water consumption and relative water efficiency of pr oducts within a product class, fo r example, dishwashers. This 
information enables consumers to choose more water-efficient products and access benefits 
associated with reduced water consumption,  particularly hot water consumption and 
reductions in the associated energy costs for water heating.  
Financial savings are expected to alter consumer purchasing behaviour with the ultimate 
consequence of decreasing wate r consumption. This, in turn, has benefits for managing 
demands on New Zealand’s water resources, supply infrastructu re and storage capacity both 
regionally and nationally.  
Water efficiency information is also of use to consumers that are on limited or restricted water 
supplies, such as tank or bore water, as it enable s them to select products  that meet their water 
availability and consumption requirements.   
The water shortage issues currently being experienced in Australia also add to the impetus for 
the proposal. Under a bilateral trade agreem ent (the Trans-Tasman  Mutual Recognition 
Arrangement – TTMRA) between Ne w Zealand and Australia, goods  that can be legally sold 
in one jurisdiction can be legally sold in the ot her, regardless of differences in standards or 
other sale-related regul atory requirements between Australia and New Zealand. This means 
that New Zealand water-using produc ts can currently be sold in Australia without the need to 
comply with the Australian water efficiency labelling requirements already in force. The proposed regulations brings Ne w Zealand regulatory requirement s into alignment with those 
in Australia, supporting the integrity of the Australian scheme and reducing the risk of 
increased in compliance costs for New Zealand businesses.  
8. Relevant documents:    
- Australian / New Zealand Standards AS/NZS 6400, AS/NZS 3662, AS/NZS 2007.2, 
AS/NZS 2040.2, AS/NZS 3982, and AS/NZS 3718 G/TBT/N/NZL/35/Rev.1 
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  - Australian Technical Sta ndards ATS 5200.020, ATS  5200.021, ATS  5200.030, and ATS  
5200.004 
- Australian Standards AS 1 172.1, AS  1172.2, and AS 3982 
These Standards are available for pur chase from Standards New Zealand – 
http://www.standards.co.nz
 
- Fair Trading Act 1986: 
http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0121/la test/DLM96439.html?searc h=ts_act_fair+tra
ding+act_resel&p=1&sr=1  
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
  Proposed date of entry into force:    Notification to Government is anticipated in 
March 2010 with adoption (gazettal) to follow, pending Government consideration. 1 April 2011 with 24 month transitional 
provisions. 
10. Final date for comments:  29 March 2010 
11. Text available from: National enquiry po int [ X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addres ses, if available of the other body:   The discussion 
document referenced in TBT notification G/TBT/N/NZL/35 is  available as a PDF for 
download from the Ministry of  Consumer Affairs website: 
http://www.consumeraffairs. govt.nz/policylawresearch/wat er-eff-label/discussion-
document/index.html