Part 3 - NZMRM and Standards in 2026
In this article, we will cover the Standards Committees on which MRM has been represented and to which we have contributed.
NZMRM are members of several Australian Standards committees -
BD-014 Metal Cladding – AS 1562.1 Sheet Roof and Wall Cladding Metal; AS/NZS 4505 Garage and Large Access Doors; AS 4040.0, .1, .2, .3 Load testing, and Handbook 39
BD-058 – Thermal Insulation – AS 4200.1 Pliable building membranes, AS 4200.2 Installation of Pliable building membranes; AS/NZS 4859.2 Materials for Thermal Insulation of Buildings
MT-009 – Metal Finishing – AS/NZS 2728 – Prepainted metal
ME-029 - AS 3566.2 Durability of fasteners
Currently working on BD-058 on AS 4200.
And of some NZ Standards -
NZS 3604 – Timber-framed buildings 2x
NZS 2295 – Pliable permeable underlays 2x, including chair of one
NZMRM has commented on or submitted to -
AS/NZS 3500.3 - Plumbing and drainage
NZS 3640 Timber treatment
AS/NZS 2179.1 Specifications for rainwater goods
A - Standards we have worked on as committee members
New Zealand Standards (NZS)
NZS 3604 -Timber framed buildings - (restricted to 10m maximum height, i.e. residential or light commercial buildings) 1999-2000 completed in 1999 and amended in 2000; and 2009-2011, completed in 2011. This is the primary NZ standard affecting all residential and smaller commercial building construction and is effectively a very large Acceptable Solution, compliance with which is regarded as complying with the NZBC. In 1999, we only became involved in the final stages of development of the Standard, and MRM's primary concern was the specification of purlin and batten fasteners, where we were able to achieve what we regarded as a more practicable outcome, which was published (with some other changes) in 2000 as Amendment 1.
In 2009 a primary concern of the committee was the strength classification of timber, due to significant degradation of Pinus radiata quality over the intervening 10 years, and this created three strength grades, where the previous single grade was classified as the lowest, and there were then two grades above this, with the strongest having limited availability (all the more reason to use steel framing!).
Other concerns were with durability and location of fasteners and the corrosion zones in which materials are used (different to those for external materials), and at a late stage, the assessment of ground stability (following the Christchurch earthquakes, after which it became clear that the previously used zoning was incorrect)
NZS 2295 Permeable pliable building underlays (i.e. does not include foil underlays or other vapour checks/barriers) MRM involved in 2005-2006 (Chair) and 2016-2017.
In 2006, this was a belated update to the 1988 version, which was derived from a 1972 British Standard. We had instead been using and referring to relevant sections of AS/NZS 4200.1 1994 (see below) as more up to date, but 4200.1 did not properly cover permeable underlays, which are the predominant product in non-industrial buildings in New Zealand. So, the 2006 version was a complete revision of the tests and specifications and allowed the inclusion of synthetic wall underlays, which, by then, were in wide use and not covered by any Standard. It still only provided for Kraft-based roof underlays.
In 2017, NZS 2295 was amended to include a provision for synthetic roof underlays, which are now in wide use and widely accepted as an Alternative Solution to the NZBC. Some of the work on this will be used in current (2026) AS 4200 reviews.
AS (Australian Standard) and AS/NZS
Committee BD-058 Thermal Insulation
AS/NZS 4200.1 Pliable building membranes and underlays – Materials (includes foils used as vapour barriers, or thermal insulation, or lighting improvement – not used for residential in NZ). Revision, completed in 2017, but while including and specifying for permeable underlays, and covering the permeability of synthetic underlays, it still does not provide for them in the duty classifications (strength).
AS 4200.2 Pliable building membranes and underlays – installation. Not an NZ Standard, but the only relevant Standard in NZ or Aus. It includes many aspects of foil installation relevant to NZ commercial buildings. Completed in 2017. 38 pages of content, replacing 6 in the previous 1994 version, and contains much information relevant to New Zealand for both permeable underlays and vapour control barriers (foils).
AS 4200.1 and.2 are currently (2026) under revision with NZMRM participation and previous work on NZS 2295 is useful. This should address some of the remaining omissions and be useful in New Zealand.
AS/NZS 4859.1 Materials for the thermal insulation of buildings – General criteria and technical provisions– primarily bulk insulation, but also the use of foil for insulation, comment only for NZMRM, but relevant.
Committee BD-014 – Metal Cladding
AS 1562.1 Design and installation of Sheet roof and wall cladding Part 1 - Metal. NZMRM has been a member of BD-014 since 2002, when AS 1562.1 was intended to become a joint standard. Put on hold/ inactive from 2009 to 2016, then revived. Since the advent of successive NZMRM CoPs, this is less needed as a joint standard (and will still be AS-only). Still, it remains the only Standard covering sheet roofing (Parts 2 and 3 cover corrugated fibre-reinforced cement and plastic). 1562.1 has been revised and republished in 2018. Some sections of this are incompatible with NZ practice, but others are useful in NZ and have been considered in the ongoing quarterly updates of the NZMRM CoP.
AS 4040 Methods of testing sheet roof and wall cladding
AS 4040.0 Methods of testing sheet roof and wall cladding - Introduction
AS 4040.1 Resistance to concentrated loads
AS 4040.2 Resistance to Wind Pressure for Non-Cyclone Regions
AS 4040. 3 Resistance to Wind Pressures for Cyclone Regions (some areas of Northern Australia and the Pacific).
The 4040 series covers the test procedures for sheet wall and roof cladding. The outcomes are set out in AS 1562.1, where those to be achieved are prescribed. NZMRM broadly follows the methods in the CoP Section 15, but requires slightly different outcomes.
4040.1 covers concentrated or point load, and we follow this method.
4040.2 covers Uniformly Distributed Load (UDL) created by wind uplift pressure. NZMRM follows the method, but not the outcome, as 1562.1 specifies the maximum deflection at which failure is deemed to have occurred, and NZMRM tests to actual failure. We are currently recording both outcomes without finding significant alignment.
4040.3 covers testing in cyclone regions (there are none in NZ, but these are Zones C and D in Australia; roughly coastal north of Brisbane and of Broome, where tropical cyclones are likely to occur). Historically there have been two test programmes used (current 4040.3 for walls only for WA and Qld, and DABM for NT), and neither was found to reflect real-life experience. In 2009, a new, more realistic regime called Low-High-Low (LHL) was introduced and mandated by the Australian Building Codes Board for compliance of roof cladding with the BCA. Walls and doors remained subject to the previous regime(s).
Since 2017 4040.3 has included two subsections – LHL for roofs and walls if specified, and the previous 4040.3 for walls if specified and for garage and large access doors. NZMRM has the facility to use these procedures, but they are not required for New Zealand.
AS/NZS 4505 Garage and other large access doors. NZMRM has an interest in panels and test processes and provides liaison with NZ door manufacturers. This was updated in 2012. Changes here meant doors were required to be type tested, which was not the case previously, and this was seen as creating issues for NZ manufacturers. NZMRM has done some door testing for NZ manufacturers.
Committee MT-009 Metal Finishing
AS/NZS 2728 Prefinished/prepainted sheet metal products for interior/exterior building applications - Performance requirements describe the required properties of materials used to manufacture products like those made by NZMRM members and was reviewed in 2012-3 to include new Bluescope Australia products. The most recent products now exceed the current requirements, and these will need revision. This Standard also includes reference to coating durability performance, but use of the test method is Informative only. NZMRM believes this is important and mandates compliance for acceptance by MRM.
Committee ME-029
AS 3566.2 Self-drilling screws for the building and construction industries - Corrosion resistance requirements. A revision of the 2002 version was sought in 2010, but a lack of agreement between committee members from screw manufacturers and screw users (including NZMRM) during 2011-13 led Standards Australia to withdraw the Standard in 2014. In 2025 Part 2 was reviewed by Australian suppliers and reissued to reflect mainly manufacturing issues.
B) Commenting using the Public Comment process.
There are relevant Standards of which NZMRM have not been on the actual committee. Non-committee members can still use the commenting process, and the committee considers all comments.
AS/NZS 3500.3 Plumbing and drainage - Stormwater drainage – deals (inter alia) with roof drainage capacity, from profile capacity through to downpipes. This is a very useful and relevant standard used and quoted by other standards. NZMRM has a specific interest in changing the design restrictions on valley gutters used by E2/AS1. We have overridden the capacity restrictions in the CoP, which E2/AS1 then quotes.
3500.3 has just been reissued (in 2026) and we will be considering what implications there are for NZMRM and the COP.
NZS 3640 – chemical preservation of round and sawn timber. Following the "leaky building" crisis, this standard was upgraded to prescribe treatment for various uses of timber. After discussion, the treatment process was limited to Pinus radiata timber. NZMRM's concern was that timber treated using excessive quantities of copper was not in contact with metal roofing or wall cladding, and we were also concerned with the use of solvent-based treatment, in which the solvent was not completely removed and amended in 2013 to cover more treatment methods and to align with B2/AS1. Both these systems are now not frequently used.
AS 1397 Continuous hot-dip metallic coated steel sheet and strip - Coatings of zinc and zinc alloyed with aluminium and magnesium. This was revised in 2021 to include the then current Australian metallic-coated products, which also covers those now used in New Zealand. This may need revision again soon.
Overview
From all this, you can see that NZMRM has had quite a long and mostly fruitful relationship with Standards NZ and Standards Australia International. The Standards process has been well understood and has existed as an independent, industry-initiated, developed, and managed operation outside of Government control or involvement (in NZ) for over 70 years.
We now have a system for documenting the "right way to do things," generated by those affected and by those using the documentation to create better outcomes for the community of users (even if they are often unaware of the benefits).
The Future
By the late 2000s, it was clear to many that Standards NZ as an independent self-managing organisation was not fulfilling its function as well as it could. In 2012, MBIE initiated a consultation process to discuss with interested parties the way forward for increasing the use of, access to, and value of Standards in NZ. NZMRM attended one of these sessions.
The outcome was that SNZ became part of MBIE. More recently it is a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and managed by an MBIE manager. Several commonly used and important Standards, e.g. NZS3604, have been made free to download to significantly increase use and benefit industry.
During the same period, Standards Australia also became more concerned with the commercialisation of Standards, the cost benefits of recommendations contained in Standards, and the cost of producing them.
Check out www.standards.govt.nz and https://www.standards.org.au/
Summary
Like all building products required to meet certain performance levels to be both useful and durable, NZMRM's products – metal roofing and rainwater goods – are covered by several Standards, both NZ and Aus, and joint NZ/Aus. NZMRM monitors these Standards and our ability to conform to them, and has been quite heavily involved in the generation, production, and revision of a number of them that govern our products.
Hopefully, these articles will inform you of our involvement and commitment to Standards and show the relevant Standards and our continuing involvement in them.
As a reference material, these will remain on the NZMRM website in an accessible location.