They've recently changed it in NZ so any car first registered before 1st January 2000 is only subject to a 12 month inspection and a brand new vehicle doesn't need an initial inspection prior to being registered, and any car older is subject to a 6 month inspection. Previously it was any car that was more than 5 years old needed a 6 month inspection, and anything newer a 12 month inspection with brand new cars straight from the showroom floor having to have an inspection before being first registered.
In my opinion making it more relaxed is a bad move in New Zealand, there are too many people who rely purely on the inspection to find safety faults with their cars. The inspection is only inspecting the car on the day, and if say the tyres are just borderline then they probably wont get replaced until they fail the next inspection 6-12 months later. Given that it's nearly 2014, in a months time there are going to be 14 year old cars driving around on the roads in NZ only needing a 12 month inspection where previously it was 6 months. The average age of the fleet of vehicles registered on New Zealand's roads is 11 years old, which means the majority of cars there are relatively unsafe vehicles compared to today's standards and combined with more relaxed inspection I think it's just asking for more trouble.