Communities committed to establishing new programmes and those with pre-existing safety promotion and injury prevention programming (operating for a minimum of one year), which are aligned with the New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy’s (NZIPS) www.nzips.govt.nz vision and goals and meet the following criteria will be eligible for NZ Safe Communities designation.

 Criteria for Designation: 

• Demonstration of leadership by coalition or group focused on injury prevention/safety promotion in their community.
• Programme must have been in operation for at least 12 months and can be focused on single injury issue, or be ethnic, gander or age specific.
• Identifying of priority areas (population groups, injury issues and settings) based on available data for your community is required.
• Programme must be based on proven or promising intervention strategies.
• Outline of expected impacts and how they will be measured or evaluated.
• Ongoing participation in national Safe Communities networks.

Your application for accreditation as a NZ Safe Community will require:

• Letters of support from key community champions, local government representatives, community agencies and business leaders, demonstrating their commitment to the programme.
• Evidence of funding including how local/national sponsors and funding representatives are involved in or have been asked to be involved in the programme.
• A Strategic Plan demonstrating programme direction for next 2/3 years.
• An application fee ($2500 NZ dollars + GST) is required to be paid to the SCFNZ. The application fee covers travel and accommodation costs associated with site visits, and designation ceremony (including the provision of a plaque).
• A short text for inclusion on the SCFNZ website. 

• In addition, the community needs to agree to: make an announcement celebrating their designation; include a SCFNZ billboard  indicating that visitors/members of your community are in a NZ Safe Community region; and after designation, work with SCFNZ to support the national Safe Communities' movement in New Zealand. 

 The Strategic Plan should include: 

• Identifying of priority areas (population groups, injury issues and settings) based on available data for your community;Identifying of priority areas (population groups, injury issues and settings) based on available data for your community;
• Identification of key strategic partners (community, business and government/non-government agencies); Identification of key strategic partners (community, business and government/non-government agencies);
• Clear, measurable objectives;
• Description  and timeline of safety promotion and injury prevention initiatives to be implemented over the next 2-3 years, including identification of processes used to ensure safety promotion and injury prevention initiatives are based on best available evidence;
• Expected performance indicators and impacts and how they will be measured/evaluated;
• Identification of funding sources and available resources (staff, volunteers, materials/equipment) and outline of annual budgets; and
• Dissemination: indication of your community’s commitment to sharing information on community-based safety promotion and injury prevention at local, national and international levels, including how/when information about your programme will be reported to the public and partner organisations, relevant government and non-government organisations.