New Zealand in many ways is similar to Australia. District Health Board (DHB) contracts for laboratory testing require accreditation to ISO 15189, but may exclude some forms of POCT from the contract. Laboratories that perform POCT testing under a DHB contract must be accredited to ISO 22870.
There are no regulations which govern POCT in general medical practice or in a community setting, but also no government reimbursement or testing fee even though District Health Boards may directly fund defined POCT projects. Such a DHB funded project has been described in the remote rural hospital of Rawene in New Zealands North.112 The report describes the changes in clinical practice and patient disposition following the introduction of POCT in a rural hospital without immediate laboratory support. In addition to improved patient care, the report shows a global saving of approximately NZ $360,000 within the global DBH budget.