what is accreditation?
Assurance starts with independent assessment
You’ve likely seen certificates, marks or claims that show a product, service or business meets certain requirements. But how do you know those claims can be trusted? That’s where accreditation comes in.
Confidence you can rely on
At JASANZ, we help build confidence in the products, services, and systems people rely on every day.
Whether it’s a product on the shelf, a safe workplace, the technology organisations depend on, or the environmental claims businesses make, accreditation provides that assurance.
It is an independent assessment of the organisations that carry out certification, inspection, testing, and verification activities, confirming they have the competence, impartiality, and capability to perform these activities.
A certificate, test report, or inspection finding is only as credible as the organisation behind it. Accreditation gives businesses, regulators, governments, and communities confidence that these organisations operate consistently and impartially, supporting informed decisions and reducing risk.
how accreditation works
From standards to assurance
Accreditation is part of a broader system that connects standards, assessment and assurance, helping build confidence in the products, services and systems we rely on every day.
Standards
Set the criteria that products, services, and systems need to meet.
Accreditation
JASANZ independently assesses organisations to confirm they have the competence, impartiality, and capability to carry out assessment activities.
Certification
Accredited organisations carry out certification, inspection, testing, and verification activities, providing evidence that requirements have been met.
Assurance
Businesses, regulators, governments, and communities can rely on results provided by accredited organisations.
Accreditation and certification
Accreditation and certification work together, but they are not the same thing.
Accreditation
JASANZ accredits organisations that carry out certification, inspection, testing, and verification activities. We independently assess these organisations to confirm they have the competence, impartiality, and capability to perform their work.
Accreditation provides confidence in the organisation behind a certificate, report or other assessment result.
Certification
JASANZ-accredited certification bodies assess products, services, systems and processes against specified standards or requirements. Where the requirements are met, they issue certification as evidence of conformity.
Certification provides evidence that a product, service, system or process has been assessed against defined requirements.
Accreditation
JASANZ accredits organisations that carry out assessment activities. This provides confidence in the assessment process.
Certification
Accredited organisations assess products, services, systems, or processes. This provides evidence that requirements have been assessed.
An important distinction
JASANZ does not certify products, management systems, or individuals. We accredit the organisations that do.
Examples of schemes and standards we accredit
Accreditation schemes
A scheme brings together the requirements and processes for assessing and certifying products, services, systems, processes or people in a specific area.
Schemes can be based on international, Australian or New Zealand standards, regulatory requirements or other recognised criteria. They may be developed and owned by government agencies, industry bodies or other organisations.
A scheme sets out how assessment and certification should be carried out, including the requirements, assessment process, assessor competence and use of certification marks. This creates a consistent approach to certification across an area.
JASANZ works with scheme owners to develop, recognise and endorse schemes, and accredits conformity assessment bodies that operate under them.
Quality Management Systems
ISO/IEC 9001
Artificial Intelligence Management System
ISO/IEC 42006:2025
Information Security Management Systems
ISO/IEC 27006:2015
Food Safety Management Systems Scheme
ISO 22003-1:2022
Approved Quality Auditors
NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission
Environmental Management Systems
ISO/IEC 14001
Occupational Health and Safety Management
ISO/IEC 45001
WaterMark Certification Scheme
Australian Building Codes Board