Provides general requirements for bodies operating accreditation systems; intended to promote equivalence of national systems and facilitate mutual recognition between such bodies which are concerned with the recognition of competence. This Standard is identical with and has been reproduced from ISO/IEC Guide 61:1996 (also published as the Handbook, SAA/NZS HB18.61:1996).

This Guide specifies general requirements for a body to follow if it is to be recognized at a national or international level as competent and reliable in assessing and subsequently accrediting certification bodies or registration bodies. Conformity to the requirements of this Guide will promote equivalence of national systems and facilitate agreements on mutual recognition of accreditations between such bodies.The primary objective of this Guide is to describe accreditation as providing, by means of assessment and subsequent surveillance, an assurance that the market can rely on certificates issued by the accredited bodies. However, organizations other than accreditation bodies, concerned with recognition of competence, may also use it by replacing "accreditation" by "recognition".In some countries, bodies which verify conformity of products, processes, services or systems to specified standards are called "certification bodies", in other countries "registration bodies", and in still others "assessment bodies". For ease of understanding, this Guide always refers to such bodies as "bodies". This should not be understood to be limiting, as this Guide may also be applicable to the assessment and accreditation of conformity assessment bodies other than certification or registration bodies, such as inspection bodies.NOTE 1 It is recognized that agreements on mutual recognition of accreditations aiming at the removal of barriers to cross-border trade may have to cover other aspects not explicitly specified in these general requirements, such as the exchange of staff or training programmes. In particular, with a view to create confidence and harmonize the interpretation and implementation of standards, each accreditation body should encourage technical cooperation and exchange of experience among bodies accredited by it, and it should be prepared to exchange information on accreditation procedures and practices with other accreditation bodies. Certification and certification/registration body standards often contain non-specific requirements such as "staff shall be competent". Mutual recognition of accreditation requires harmonization of interpretation of such clauses.

First published as AS/NZS 3841:1998.