Structure of the Building Act

The Building Act 2004 provides the framework for New Zealand’s building control system.
When reading the Building Act it is important to take account of the Building Amendment Act 2005 and any subsequent amendments.

The Building Act has five parts:

Part 1: The purpose and principles of the Building Act, together with an overview, and commencement dates for various provisions and definitions. These sections provide an important reference point for reading and interpreting the Building Act.

Part 2 (and Schedules 1 and 2): Matters relating to the Building Code and building work (for example, building consents).

Part 3: Sets out the functions, duties and powers of the chief executive of the Department of Building and Housing, territorial authorities, regional authorities, and building consent authorities. It also deals with the accreditation of building consent authorities and dam owners, and product certification.

Part 4 (and Schedule 3): Matters relating to the licensing and disciplining of building practitioners.

Part 5 (and Schedule 4): Miscellaneous matters including offences and criminal proceedings, implied terms of contracts, regulation-making powers, amendments to other enactments and the repeal of the Building Act 1991, and the transitional provisions from the Building Act 1991 to the Building Act 2004.