Programme scope of application

IANZ accreditation in the field of Biological Testing is generally granted to testing laboratories conducting tests of a biological nature. Laboratories conducting biological testing may also be accredited under other industry specific IANZ laboratory accreditation programmes. Examples are:

* Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Recognised Laboratory Programme

* Drinking-Water Testing Programme

A Fee Schedule can be found under the Forms section in this page.

Scopes of Accreditation

The scope of accreditation of an accredited biological testing laboratory is, in general, classified according to the type(s) of samples tested (the Class of Test), then further defined by the specific tests conducted and the test method or technique used.

Commonly accredited Classes of Tests include:

* Veterinary diagnostic testing (animal health)

* Drugs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, etc.

* Foods

* Waters and environmental samples

* Production environments and hygiene (biological condition)

* Industrial cultures

* Plant health

* Molecular biology

* Microbiological media

A full list of the current Classes of Test is included in the IANZ publication Specific Criteria for Accreditation – Biological Testing. Laboratories seeking IANZ accreditation under the Biological Testing programme should not consider this list exhaustive, nor feel constrained by it. This Class of Test structure used by IANZ is an arbitrary classification system used for convenience and can be added to as the situation demands.

Note: The allocation of accredited tests into specific fields of testing can also be somewhat arbitrary in nature. While general principles are followed, there will always be exceptions to these principles. Laboratories seeking accreditation, or persons seeking out accredited laboratories for specific tests should not restrict themselves to only those in the Biological Testing laboratory accreditation programme. For example, accredited tests that are biochemical in nature e.g. ELISA and related testing may also appear in the accreditation scope of Chemical Testing laboratories.