Update on work to scope national online building consent processing system
Around 113,000 building consent applications were lodged in New Zealand during 2007, representing proposed building work of an estimated value of around $13 billion. Almost all of these building consent applications were manually lodged and paper based.
In March 2008 the government announced a package of initiatives intended to streamline the building design and consenting process. One of these initiatives was to investigate the feasibility of establishing a national online building consent application and lodgement tracking system, which could be used across all TAs and BCAs.
Soon after the announcement, the Department completed an initial feasibility study, which concluded that a national online building consent application, tracking, processing and approval system appeared technically feasible. Such a system could bring a number of benefits and efficiencies for both consent applicants and BCAs - such as reducing time in lodging and tracking applications and reducing paper use and storage demands. It was also concluded that any system should also include both the consenting phase and the inspection process as building work progresses to provide an 'end-to-end' solution.
The feasibility study also identified issues that needed to be worked through further before a final decision on the proposed initiative could be made. These issues included:
- specific design options for any web-based system
- how any national system could be integrated with councils' existing systems
- ownership and governance issues
- potential funding models
- timing and implementation issues
- design and implementation costs.
The Department is developing a more detailed business case for establishing an online building consents facility to cover off such issues. This work has been progressing on a number of fronts over recent months.Potential models from other countries have been researched and considered, including Australia and the United Kingdom. In October, a study group was formed and representatives from the Department, two building consent authorities, and the Certified Builders Association of New Zealand visited these countries to investigate their models. The group worked closely with local councils who had recently developed and implemented successful online consenting systems. They also met with other stakeholders, such as regular consent applicants and central government agencies.
The Department also recently issued a request for information to technology providers to generate further technical information to properly inform the business case to government. The Department is due to report to the Minister this month on the detailed business case.
A further update will be provided in early 2009.