A catalogue status is applied to content in the Government Digital Standards Catalogue. Find out when and why each catalogue status is applied.
These catalogue status values indicate the status of a particular standard in the catalogue which determines whether or not the particular standard is appropriate to be used in New Zealand government organisations. The catalogue status values are:
Mandated
Recommended
Accepted
Not Accepted
Development
Withdrawn
Informational
Future Consideration.
Mandated
‘Mandated’ is used when a standard is mandated by:
Parliament, or
Cabinet, or
a New Zealand government organisation with the authority to do so, for example a system lead.
When the mandate applies only to specific government organizations, this will be noted in the standards description.
Recommended
‘Recommended’ is used when:
an NZ government organisation with the authority to recommend a standard has recommended it, or
a standard has advantages that makes it more preferred than an ‘Accepted’ standard. This could also be for strategic reasons to guide future digital investment.
Accepted
‘Accepted’ is used when catalogue content falls under any of the following criteria:
A standard is acceptable and viable and can be used by Government agencies; but has no particular advantage over similar standards that would make it ‘Recommended’.
Current regional Australian Standards/Standards New Zealand (AS/NZS) standards have a minimum ‘Accepted’ status, however they are only added when there is a specific reason for it.
Current international standards set out by International Organisation for Standards (ISO) are generally ‘Accepted’, unless they are ‘Not Accepted’ due to conflict with local legislation or standards, however they are only added when there is a specific reason for it.
Not accepted
‘Not accepted’ is used when it has been determined that a standard is not to be used in the NZ public sector. This could be when it is considered to have features that are incompatible with other standards and / or policy including legislation.
Development
‘Development’ is used when a standard, which may have a government wide application, is being developed by:
an NZ government organisation, or
an external standards body with involvement of an NZ government organisation.
Withdrawn
‘Withdrawn’ is used when a standard may still be used in legacy or heritage situations but should be avoided for any new work.
Withdrawn content will appear in the catalogue only where it has been recently withdrawn, for example for 3 months after it was withdrawn. The previous catalogue status value name was ‘Deprecated’.
Informational
‘Informational’ is used when the catalogue content is either:
from other jurisdictions, and are included for a deeper understanding of a category, but do not apply to New Zealand government organisations, or
referenced when developing our own standards.
Informational standards and guidance will appear in the catalogue by exception.
Future consideration
‘Future consideration’ is used when a standard has been added to the catalogue but has not been reviewed and allocated a long-term catalogue status yet.
