WELLINGTON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A new framework establishes a broad understanding of what is meant by "housing quality" and will be useful across the New Zealand data system, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.

"Until now, there's been no agreed definition of housing quality, either nationally or internationally, so it's great to see this piece of work come to fruition," acting systems and partnerships general manager Rosemary McGrath said in a statement.

"The framework will support standardization in the way information on housing quality is collected, which will benefit policymaking, research initiatives, and statistical outputs," McGrath said.

The housing quality conceptual framework brings together and defines four interrelated elements of housing quality: housing habitability, housing functionality, environmental sustainability, and social and cultural sustainability.

"By taking a people-centered approach, incorporating things like cultural values and community connections, alongside physical considerations like design and construction, we get a much fuller picture of what 'housing quality' really means to New Zealanders," McGrath said.

The framework defines housing quality as: the degree to which housing provides a healthy, safe, secure, sustainable, and resilient environment for individuals, families, and communities to live in and to participate within their natural environment and communities, she said.

In the New Zealand data system, frameworks play an important role in developing measures, and the housing quality conceptual framework will be a fundamental component in the development of improved housing quality statistics by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, according to Stats NZ.