Export document
NZ import health standard
New Zealand controls imports through import health standards, published per commodity. The standard states the conditions, the treatments and the documentation required, and goods that do not meet it are treated, re-exported or destroyed.
The essentials.
- A standard per commodity
- Requirements are published as a document for the commodity and origin, stating exactly what applies.1
- Treatment and certification at origin
- Many standards require treatment before shipment with a certificate, which cannot be produced afterwards.1
- Inspection on arrival
- Consignments are inspected against the standard, and the outcome for non-compliance can be treatment, re-export or destruction.
- Wood packaging is separately regulated
- Pallets and crates carry their own treatment and marking requirement independently of the goods.
Who asks for it.
Only these markets require it. Shipping the same goods anywhere else, the question does not arise.
What it does not cover.
It is not the same as Australia
The two countries have separate regimes with different standards. Documentation prepared for one does not automatically satisfy the other.
It is not a food safety standard
Biosecurity and food safety are separate. Meeting the import health standard says nothing about food compliance.
Standards are revised
Check the current version for your commodity rather than the one used on a previous shipment.
Questions buyers ask.
Where do I find the standard for my product?
It is published per commodity by the New Zealand authority. Identify your exact commodity and origin, because standards are specific rather than general.
What happens if a consignment fails?
Treatment, re-export or destruction, at the importer's cost. This is why the requirement is established before shipment rather than after arrival.
Does an Australian clearance help?
No. The two regimes are separate and the standards differ, so plan them as separate document sets.
Where this comes up.
Indonesian teak furniture
Where it is built, what the trade grade letters actually mean, the mandatory V-Legal document, and why SVLK alone no longer answers the EU.
Indonesian wooden homeware
Boards and bowls are wood products and food contact articles at the same time. Two sets of rules apply, and most buyers only check one.
Indonesian coco peat and coir
Salt content decides whether a coir substrate works or kills the crop. What washing means in practice, and what a growing media order has to specify.
Indonesian coffee
Arabica and robusta origins, wet-hulling, how the national standard grades a lot, packing, and the documents a buyer needs including EUDR.
Dried herbs and aromatics
The aromatics behind Indonesian cooking, dried for export. What drying does to them and what to specify.
Sources
- 1Importing food and biosecurity requirements. Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand. Checked 5 August 2026.
Need this document for a real shipment?
Tell us the product and the destination port. We come back with the full document set for that route, who issues each one, and how long it takes.