Bacteriostatic Water in New Zealand: Where to Buy, NZD Prices and Delivery

• Aus BAC Supply ships sealed bacteriostatic water from Melbourne to New Zealand, priced and charged in New Zealand dollars.
• A single own-label vial starts at NZ$24.65; the 30 mL manufacturer-labelled vial is NZ$48.18.
• Postage is NZ$18.99 standard (4–7 business days) or NZ$39.99 express (2–5 business days), estimated from dispatch.
• An order is a personal import. Medsafe says an imported medicine must be for your own or your immediate family's use, and Customs can inspect or hold any parcel.
• Whether a product needs a prescription in New Zealand is Medsafe's to state. Its classification database is public and worth checking before you order.

If you are in New Zealand and searching for bacteriostatic water — BAC water, as most people type it — this guide covers what it is, what it costs here in New Zealand dollars, how long it takes to arrive from Australia, and what Medsafe says about bringing it into the country.

What bacteriostatic water is

Bacteriostatic water is sterile water preserved with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, supplied in a multiple-dose vial. The preservative is what lets a labelled multi-dose vial be entered more than once; it is what separates it from plain sterile water, which carries none. Our guide to what BAC water is covers the detail, and bacteriostatic water vs sterile water covers the difference.

Where to buy it in New Zealand

We can speak for one seller: ourselves. Aus BAC Supply is an Australian retailer, and its New Zealand store sells the same sealed vials as the Australian one, dispatched from Melbourne:

• Bacteriostatic Water for Injection USP, 30 mL — the original manufacturer presentation, factory-sealed and sold unopened. We do not decant, repackage or relabel it. Hospira bacteriostatic water in New Zealand covers this vial on its own.
• Our own-label bacteriostatic water in 10 mL, 20 mL and 30 mL vials, singly and in packs. Its warning panel rules out injection, infusion, administration and ingestion.
• Bacteriostatic sodium chloride 0.9% — BAC saline, in the manufacturer's 30 mL vial.
• Insulin syringes, swabs and a sharps container, and kits that pack them with a vial.

Other sellers come up in a New Zealand search: a few local stores selling vials with no manufacturer named, and overseas stores with a New Zealand-targeted page priced in pounds. We read what each publishes about itself and put it side by side in New Zealand bacteriostatic water suppliers compared. Trade Me comes up too, so we checked: on 6 October 2026 its marketplace searches for “bacteriostatic water”, “bacteriostatic” and “bac water vial” returned no vial of bacteriostatic water, only water filter cartridges and the like. We do not sell on Trade Me. If a listing does appear there, the questions below apply to it as to anyone.

Whoever you buy from, ask the same four things we would: is the manufacturer named, are the lot and expiry printed on the vial, is a registered business shown, and are the dispatch origin and postage stated before you pay. From an overseas seller add two more: which currency you are charged in, and who helps if Customs holds the parcel. Buying from us means an international leg — a longer transit than a domestic parcel, and a border in the middle of it. The rest of this page is about that.

What it costs in NZD

Prices in the New Zealand store are our Australian prices converted at a fixed rate and charged in New Zealand dollars. The total you see before paying is the amount charged.

Multi-vial packs bring the per-vial price down, and every pack is priced on its product page. Postage is added at checkout: NZ$18.99 standard or NZ$39.99 express, per parcel. The free-shipping threshold on the Australian store does not apply to New Zealand orders. Payment is by card: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Delivery from Melbourne

Orders placed before 1 pm Melbourne time on a business day are dispatched the same business day, with Australia Post's international tracked services. Standard is estimated at 4–7 business days and express at 2–5 business days after dispatch. Those are estimates between main centres, not guarantees: customs processing and rural delivery can add to them. We email the tracking number when the parcel ships, and New Zealand shipping and returns sets out what happens if something arrives damaged or wrong.

Importing it: what Medsafe says

An order from us to a New Zealand address is a personal import, and you are the importer. Two agencies have a say in it: Medsafe, which regulates medicines, and the New Zealand Customs Service, which can open, hold or ask about any parcel.

Medsafe's guidance on importing medicines for personal use says that a medicine sent to you by an overseas supplier must be used by you or a member of your immediate family, and must not be sold or supplied to anyone else. Prescription medicines carry more conditions: you need what Medsafe calls a reasonable excuse, such as a prescription or letter from a New Zealand prescriber, and the limit is three months' supply.

Whether something is a prescription medicine in New Zealand is Medsafe's to state, and its classification database is public. When we searched it on 4 October 2026 it held no entry, prescription or otherwise, for water for injection, sodium chloride or benzyl alcohol, which are the ingredients of bacteriostatic water and bacteriostatic saline. Medsafe's data sheet for Water for Injection gives that product's schedule as General Sale Medicine. That is what we found on the day, not legal advice. Check the database yourself, or ask Medsafe, before you order.

Two more things worth knowing. Medsafe says it discourages importing medicines it has not reviewed and approved, and the manufacturer presentations we sell are the manufacturer's United States presentations, released to the USP standard. Our own-label vial is labelled not for injection or infusion, and not for human or veterinary administration. If Customs holds your parcel, contact us with your order reference and we will send the invoice and product details it asks for.

Which vial to order

The manufacturer presentation and the own-label vial are different products with different labels, and each product page states what its label says. Within the own-label range the choice is the fill volume: 10 mL is the entry size, 30 mL is the lowest price per millilitre, and packs of 2, 5 and 10 lower the price per vial. Vial sizes and pack quantities explains the difference between a bigger vial and more vials, and how to read a vial label covers what to check when it arrives. These products are diluents, not ready-to-administer medicines; never inject one by itself or self-administer.