The NZSDA (Incorporated) is an non-profit Association of employer craftspeople, bound together by a Code of Practice to uphold high standards of craftsmanship and business ethics. The Association liaises with local bodies on by-laws affecting signage, maintaining apprenticeship training standards and encourages the sharing and expanding of knowledge within the Signmaking industry. Companies using the services of any of the members of the New Zealand Sign and Display Association may be assured that they are dealing with best practice ‘Sign Craftspeople’. Membership is voluntary and the association is primarily funded by member subscriptions.

For nearly fifty years, the New Zealand Sign and Display Association has been the representative body for the sign and display industry in New Zealand, and as such, plays an active role as a forum for the exchange of ideas, the development of training in the craft, and the dissemination of information and guidance to its many members.  It covers the whole spectrum of sign-makers: neon, illuminated, handcrafted, technology, construction and design… in fact, signage and displays in all their many varieties.  The Association has built an enviable reputation and trust with many government offices as well as Standards New Zealand, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and other statutory organisations and local authorities, and acts as the official channel of communication between the industry and these bodies on matters of commercial, technical or economic policies affecting the sign and display industry.

In encouraging the highest standards from its members, the New Zealand Sign and Display Association believes its policy of quality and commitment to the customer is not only in the best interests of its members, but also provides a safeguard for their clients nationwide.

For many years the Association has represented the industry, assisting with apprenticeship administration, approval of training establishments, training prescriptions and standards, supporting our Industry Training Organisation to enable apprenticeship training to continue under the Industry Training Act.
In more recent years the Association has been responsible for advancing and re-creating NZQA – approved unit standards for a National Certificate in Signmaking, including computer graphics, hand lettering, and electric signmaking elective strands.

Through a code of practice and rules defined by the membership, The New Zealand Sign and Display Association offers recourse to sign-buying customers in the event of a complaint relating to the quality of work performed by a member.  This guarantee of quality is what sets an NZSDA members apart from non-members… a high standard of quality service is available from members nationwide.

Members are kept up to date on government legislation issues such as the Employment Relations Act, The Health and Safety in Employment Act, the Privacy Act, the Resource Management Act, the Fair Trading Act, the Commerce Act, and the Consumer Guarantees Act, among others.  Updates and court findings affecting the application of these various laws are of paramount importance.

The Association, with the assistance of its local members, keeps a particularly close watch on Local Body Legislation and local by-laws in town or district planning, as rules concerning sign usage increase.  A town planning consultant is employed by the Association to represent the industry at legislative hearings, challenging ill-considered rules.