Consultation for Building Law Reform now open
MBIE have opened consultation for what they are believe are "the most significant reforms since the current Building Act was introduced in 2004" - affecting people, produces and practices across the sector.
This consultation seeks feedback on changes in five areas: building products and methods, risk and liability, occupational regulation, the building levy, and offences, penalties and public notification. Decisions on the reforms are expected by late 2019, with any changes likely to be rolled out over the next two to five years.
Learn more about the proposals and have your say by 16 June 2019.
There are 3 ways to have your say:
- Complete the online submission form here;
- Complete the submission form here and email to building@mbie.govt.nz; or
- Complete the submission form and post to:
Building Policy
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
PO Box 1473
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
BOINZ will be lodging a submission. If you have any thoughts on the proposal that you would like BOINZ to take into account when formulating a submission, please email them to advisor@boinz.org.nz (by 24 May 2019).
Full details, including full discussion paper, available here.
See below summary of the proposed reform programme from Anna Butler, GM Building Systems Performance, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment:
It's time for change
The building sector is vitally important to New Zealand's social and economic success. A thriving, productive and sustainable building sector is a top priority and we're committed to working with the building sector to support the sustained transformation of the industry.
The building sector faces a number of long-standing problems including low productivity, inefficient practices and processes, skills and labour shortages, and poor health and safety.
We've talked to a wide range of people across the sector over the last year to hear what they had to say about how the regulatory system functions. Our conversations revealed three common themes:
• Roles and responsibilities are not clear.
• Information isn't available when it's needed.
• It's difficult to hold people to account for the quality of their work.
Highlights of the proposed reforms
Building products and methods
• clarify roles and responsibilities for building products and methods
• require manufacturers and suppliers to provide information about building products
• strengthen the framework for product certification
• make consenting easier for modern methods of construction.
Occupational regulation
• change the licensed building practitioners scheme to raise competence standards and broaden the definition of restricted building work
• introduce a new licensing scheme for engineers and restrict who can carry out safety critical engineering work
• remove exemptions that allow unlicensed people to carry out sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying work.
Risk and liability
• require a guarantee and insurance product for residential new builds and significant alterations, and allow homeowners to actively opt out of it
• leave the liability settings for building consent authorities unchanged.
Building levy
• reduce the building levy from $2.01 including GST to $1.50 including GST (per $1,000)
• standardise the building levy threshold at $20,444 including GST
• allow MBIE to spend funds raised by the building levy on broader stewardship of the building sector.
Offences, penalties and public notification
• increase the maximum financial penalties
• set different maximum penalties for individuals and organisations
• extend the time enforcement agencies can lay a charge from six months to 12 months
• remove the requirement to publish key decisions in newspapers, information would still be published on publicly accessible websites and in the New Zealand Gazette.