Medsafe & WAND Registration: What to Check Before You Order Medical Consumables in NZ

If you're responsible for purchasing medical or surgical supplies for a New Zealand facility, you've probably seen the terms "Medsafe registered" and "WAND listed" on product pages. Here's what they actually mean, and why it's worth checking before you order.

What is Medsafe?

Medsafe is New Zealand's regulatory authority for therapeutic products, operating under the Ministry of Health. It's responsible for ensuring medicines and medical devices supplied in New Zealand meet acceptable standards of safety and quality.

What is WAND?

WAND (the Web Assisted Notification of Devices database) is the public register where medical devices notified to Medsafe are listed. Each entry carries a unique reference number, which means anyone can independently verify that a device has actually been notified, rather than just taking a supplier's word for it.

Why this matters when you're buying wholesale

• Traceability — a WAND reference number lets your quality or compliance team confirm a product's regulatory status in seconds, without relying solely on paperwork from the supplier.
• Audit readiness — facilities undergoing certification or audit (e.g. Health and Disability Services Standards reviews) benefit from being able to point to a public, independently searchable record.
• Risk reduction — sourcing from suppliers who can show genuine WAND references reduces the risk of using devices that haven't been properly notified for the New Zealand market.

How to check a product

Look for the WAND reference number on the product page, then search it directly on Medsafe's public WAND database to confirm it independently. We list our WAND reference numbers on our product pages for exactly this reason — see our Regulatory Compliance & Certifications page for more detail on how we handle registration across our range.