Our CEO Miles Stratford has committed around 10% of his time in the past year to working with Standards New Zealand helping to create a new standard for meth testing and decontamination.
The new Standard is close to being agreed and finalised.
The group collaborating on developing the Meth Testing Standard includes diverse backgrounds including representatives from; real estate, property managers, property investors, councils, government departments/entities, accreditation bodies and representatives from decontamination and testing agencies. This broad base of input means Standards NZ will enable create greater consistency around provision of meth testing and decontamination services.
So, certainty will increase and harm reduce. However, a new Standard is not a magic bullet and it has the potential to be something of a double edged sword.
What does a new Meth Testing Standard mean?
At the meth sampling stage, for example, sampling of different surfaces can yield profoundly different results.
A standard can only establish so much consistency between sampling policies. So potential for confusion remains.
Also, when the acceptable level increases, the draft issued for public comments indicated levels of both 1.5 and 2.µg/100cm2, It will not be possible for landlords to exit tenants who they believe are involved with meth related behaviour, unless these limits are breached.
In short, the standard is very much a step in the right direction. To increase its positive impact, service providers need to continue to engage in order to increase the levels of consistency in our industry.
When will the Standard be ready?
Speaking with Miles Stratford this morning, he tells me that the Standard is expected to be published in late June or early July 2017.
The final draft Standard is getting voted on next week by the committee members and the process after that is to allow around 3 to 6 weeks for the internal process within Standards NZ to complete the paperwork before it goes to the Standards approval board, after which it will be published.
We will be telling you more as soon as the information is public. If you have any questions, give our dedicated team a call – they will be able to answer your meth questions.