General Manager, Building Controls update

The Building Act 2004 implementation continues to gather steam as we head into the winter.

Homeowners and people who buy houses in the future need to have confidence that building work done has been done properly. We also need to be sure that the buildings we use every day, like our offices, our schools, and our supermarkets, are up to scratch.

Obviously weathertightness was a catalyst for the new Act, but it was not the sole reason. The Hunn report into weathertightness found the problem was caused not just by one factor, but by a systemic failure of the building control system.

The new Act seeks to redress that by strengthening every step of the building process. The key throughout is to aim for a balance between improved services and cost that allows for innovation, but within a quality assurance framework.

The dissolving of the Building Industry Authority and establishment of the Department of Building and Housing is about much more than a change in name. The move from a Crown agency to a government department is a fundamental shift in approach to 'bigger picture' thinking about New Zealand's future.

As well as building controls, the Department is responsible for tenancy services and housing policy.

Codewords remains the magazine of building controls. But it's important to realise that the approach the Department is taking will consider building controls in the wider context of the building and housing sector.

This month we have coverage of the Building Code Review now under way. This long-term project, which will extend to 2007, is a crucial part of the Building Act implementation. The Department has hosted workshops in recent months to gather community views and expert opinion on building and housing.

At the same time, we have been on the road to answer questions about the Building Act itself and what it will mean for everyone in the industry. Working in conjunction with BRANZ we have hosted nearly 30 Building Act seminars up and down the country. These have been a resounding success, with more planned. There is little point in having a new Building Act without the resources to understand it, and the seminars are a key part of our strategy of making information available.

Another project coming to fruition is the delivery of a new national diploma specifically designed for people in the building controls sector. The National Diploma in Building Controls will be the first qualification offered on a national level to cover the full range of competencies required of a building official. It will be registered with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and available from 2006.

I am pleased to note that Compliance Documents can now be downloaded from the Department website free of charge. Paid subscriptions are still available for those who want to keep up-to-date automatically, but the free release of the documents is a key step in making the information more widely available.

Finally, in terms of my role, I have been filling the General Manager's role in an acting capacity since the middle of April until a permanent appointment is made. The Chief Executive of the Department, Katrina Bach, has now announced that on 1 June John Kay will take up this post. John is an experienced senior manager who is currently employed as the General Manager, Operations for Land Transport NZ. He has previously worked for Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd and The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.

I wish John all the best as the new General Manager.

 

Warwick Tuck
Acting General Manager
Building Controls