Details of selection policy and qualifying periods are given in this MS word document on the NZOC web site (400kb).
Performance standards are given in the following table:
| Men | "A" | "B" | Women | "A" | "B" |
| 100m | 10.21 | 10.28 | 100m | 11.27 | 11.34 |
| 200m | 20.59 | 20.75 | 200m | 22.97 | 23.13 |
| 400m | 45.55 | 45.95 | 400m | 51.37 | 52.10 |
| 800m | 1.46.00 | 1.47.00 | 800m | 2.00.00 | 2.01.30 |
| 1500m | 3.34.90 | 3.37.10 | 1500m | 4.05.80 | 4.07.15 |
| 5000m | 13.21.50 | 13.25.40 | 5000m | 15.08.70 | 15.20.45 |
| 10000m | 27.49.00 | 28.06.00 | 10000m | 31.45.00 | 32.17.00 |
| Marathon | 2.12.00 | 2.14.50 | Marathon | 2.32.00 | 2.36.00 |
| 3000m S/c | 8.24.60 | 8.30.30 | 3000m S/c | *** | *** |
| 110mH | 13.54 | 13.62 | 100mH | 12.96 | 13.11 |
| 400H | 49.20 | 49.50 | 400H | 55.60 | 56.25 |
| 20km Walk | lh.22:30 | lh 24.00 | 20km Walk | 1.33.00 | 1.36.30 |
| 50km Walk | 3h 57:00 | 4h 03.00 | |||
| Decathlon | 8090 | 7860 | Heptathlon | 6105 | 6019 |
| High Jump | 2.30 | 2.27 | High Jump | 1.95 | 1.92 |
| Pole Vault | 5.70 | 5.60 | Pole Vault | 4.40 | 4.30 |
| Long Jump | 8.20 | 8.10 | Long Jump | 6.70 | 6.60 |
| Triple Jump | 17.10 | 16.80 | Triple Jump | 14.20 | 14.00 |
| Shot Put | 20.30 | 20.00 | Shot Put | 18.55 | 17.20 |
| Discus | 64.60 | 63.50 | Discus | 63.40 | 59.75 |
| Hammer | 79.50 | 76.40 | Hammer | 67.50 | 64.00 |
| Javelin | 83.50 | 80.80 | Javelin | 62.15 | 59.30 |
