General Manager, Building Controls

The Building Act 2004 will change the way New Zealand buildings are designed and constructed. Improved controls and encouragement of better practices will strengthen the industry, while consumers will know that their houses meet Building Code standards.

The aim is buildings are designed and built right first time.

On 31 March provisions of the Building Act 2004, relating mainly to changes to the consents and inspections process, come into force. As part of this roll-out the Department is providing information on what the changes will mean. This issue of Codewords has a broad overview, while Newsline no.6 goes into detail about the changes. We also have commentary on the consents process, and more about the resources available to both consumers and industry.

One of the newest resources, the Building Officials’ Guide to the Building Act 2004, is now available on our website. Intended as a clear, functional handbook for officials, the guide is designed to reflect the reality of building work.

Beyond implementing existing legislation and providing information, the Department’s wider role in the new environment involves actively seeking guidance. The Access Advisory Panel, which met for the second time in February, is one of four Advisory Panels providing advice to the Department on issues and trends in the building sector. Here we have an overview of the Panel’s membership and intent, with more to come on the other groups in future Codewords.

This wider role is also reflected in changes to the Building Levy, which will enable the Department to be a strong, proactive regulator and perform its new functions effectively. The changes to the levy are set out in this issue, with comments from the Hon Chris Carter, Minister for Building Issues.

On a more technical note, the latest six-monthly overview of estimated buildings costs are included in this issue. These values are used as the basis for assessing the Building Levy, and are an important indicater of economic activity in the sector.

Finally, Standards New Zealand and the Department have agreed in principle to a combined process that will result in the Department being able to cite a new Standard as soon as it is published. This is an important step in streamlining the development cycle, and should make life easier for designers and builders.

Mike Stannard
Acting General Manager
Building Controls