Proposes general requirements for bodies operating a system for third-party product certification (which may include a process or service) as a means of assurance that the system complies with specified Standards and other normative documents. Identical with and reproduced from ISO/IEC Guide 65: 1996. Guide 65 is currently available in Australia and New Zealand as the Handbook, SAA/SNZ HB18.65:1998. It is now proposed to publish it is a Joint Australian/New Zealand Standard suitable for use by accreditation and certification in both countries.