An improved, productive, skilled, innovative and efficient sector

1. New Zealand
Building Control
An improved, productive,
skilled, innovative and
efficient sector
Presented by, Andrew Minturn
Managing Director
Qualtech International

2. New Zealand’s Doing Business
Global Ranking 2013
EaseofDoingBusiness
Rank▲
StartingaBusiness
Dealingwith
ConstructionPermits
GettingElectricity
RegisteringProperty
GettingCredit
ProtectingInvestors
PayingTaxes
TradingAcrossBorders
EnforcingContracts
ResolvingInsolvency
NewZealand
3 1 6 32 2 4 1 21 25 17 13

3. EaseofDoingBusiness
Rank▲
FilteredRank
StartingaBusiness
Dealingwith
ConstructionPermits
GettingElectricity
RegisteringProperty
GettingCredit
ProtectingInvestors
PayingTaxes
TradingAcrossBorders
EnforcingContracts
ResolvingInsolvency
NewZealand
3 1 1 1 13 1 2 1 8 14 12 12
New Zealand’s Doing Business
OECD Ranking 2013

4. The 7 key elements of Building Permitting Reform1
When combined, these elements can support an effective and efficient system for
issuing building permits, while balancing the costs to developers and investors
without compromising fundamental health and safety outcomes for building users
1 https://www.wbginvestmentclimate.org/uploads/BuildingPermits2009-01-28.pdf
The 7 key elements of
Building Permitting Reform1

5. • Growth rate of 6% annually.
• 5 -6% of New Zealand’s GDP.
• 160 thousand people employed in building industry.
• Architecturally complex buildings.
• Multiple cladding systems interfaces.
• Amalgamations of local authorities from 300 down to 69.
New Zealand Building Trends Today

6. • Setting up of a single Central Government agency to administer
functions relating to building and construction.
• Co-regulator role between the Central Government and Local
Government.
• Collection of building consent (permit) information and centralised
delivery point.
• Active partnership of key players.
• Improved consumer focus.
• Entire building industry perspective.
• Analytically –informed decision making.
• Better informed consumer and building industry.
New Zealand Building Control Reforms
Key Policy Objectives

7. • National building design, construction and inspection compliance.
• Internationally unique performance based National Building Code.
• Safe and Healthy buildings and tightening up on issues such as
earthquake strengthening, fire protection, weather tightness and
swimming pool fencing.
• Environmental protection.
• Greater emphasis on building owners and developers to ensure
compliance with the New Zealand Building Code.
• Emphasis on buildings owners to maintain essential functions on
buildings.
New Zealand Building Control Reforms
Key Policy Objectives (2)

8. Customer Enquiry
Pre-Lodgement
Meeting Option
Inspection
processes
Building Consent
completion
checks
Issue Code
Compliance
Certificate
Building Consent
Application
Building Consent
assessment and task
allocation
Building Consent Processing
Building Consent
Administration and Approval
20 working days
Building Consent Process Overview

9. • National Building Code against which to measure compliance.
• Tighter controls on building construction methods, safer, healthier, more
sustainable buildings.
• Developers and investors now expect the same processes and interpretation
of regulations in all regions of New Zealand making inter-regional
investments easier to manage.
• Better consumer protection.
• Building project vetting.
• Project compliance cost worked out up front.
• Deposit usually taken and final costs paid before Code Compliance
Certificate issued.
• Competency assessment and appropriate work allocation for building control
staff.
• 69 local authorities formed into 9 cluster groups sharing resources,
processes, and development of Building Consent Authority (BCA) procedures.
Benefits of Reform

10. •All organisations carrying out building consent, inspection,
and approval functions under the Building Act 2004 must
be accredited and registered as a Building Consent
Authority (BCA)
•Territorial authorities (city, district & regional councils),
and private organisations must become accredited as
building consent authority before being registered by the
Ministry.
•An Independent accreditation body has been appointed to
assess BCAs for accreditation (International Accreditation
New Zealand)
Building Consent Authority Accreditation

11. Building Consent Authority Accreditation
• BCA Accreditation: quality and consistency
•Consistent interpretation of Building Act and Building
Code
• Mandatory competency assessment
• Licensed Building Practitioners scheme
• Building Consent Authority Clustering
• Private Building Control Contractors
• Pre lodgement meetings and Project vetting

12. Risked Based Consenting
• Making it clearer who’s accountable for what.
•Make it quicker and easier to get a building consent for
certain low-risk work provided other quality assurance
measures are met.
•Exempt a broader range of minor work from needing a
building consent.
•Provide a streamlined approach to the consenting process
by proactively working in a collegiate fashion to ensure
the essential design characteristics are managed before
the consent is applied for.

13. Risked Based Consenting (2)
•Shift the risk, responsibility and liability back to the design
sector for work that they have specifically designed and
that they have the skills, competencies and experience to
provide such designs.
•Limit the risk to the Building Consent Authority to those
elements of the consent application that it has the skills
and competencies to make compliance decisions on.

14. STEP PROCESS
1. Electrical contractor determines applicant’s
requirements. A request for supply is submitted to
the power supply company
Customer contacts the line company (distribution utility),
and requests a new connection account, and contractor
does site visit to prepare estimate
(21 calendar days)
2. Power supply company provides a quotation to
applicant. After acceptance applicable fees are
payable
Submit application for electricity connection with retailer
and receive, sign and submit electricity supply contract
(6 calendar days)
3. Applicant applies for easements and consents from
council (only in certain circumstances, generally not
applicable)
4. Power company will connect the property boundary
to the electricity network
Retailer conducts external connection works
(15 calendar days)
5. Applicant arranges for electrical contractor to
connect property supply to the pillar or pit at
property boundary
Electrician provides Certificate of compliance (CoC) to
retailer and requests meter installation
(8 calendar days)
6. Applicant arrange for livening of property supply
with an electricity retailer
Customer contacts line company and requests and receives
final inspection and electricity is turned on
(6 calendar days)
Electricity Connection - Green Field Site

16. The GeoBuild™ Programme
There are three initial core components to GeoBuild:
Implementing a
National Online
Consenting System
Accelerating the use
of Building
Information Modelling
Enhanced local and national location
based information and Building modelling
data – the interoperability layer
BETTER
LOCATION
KNOWLEDGE

17. A national information exchange framework
that digitises building, geographical and
environmental data and information.
GeoBuildTM
promotes open, standards
based and reusable information:
• within the built environment
• and ultimately the whole environment

20. National Online Consenting

21. GeoBuild™ National Online Consenting
Interoperability of data underpins GeoBuild optimisation
2 Years
Common Digital
Data Use
2-5 Years
Process Integration 5-10 Years
Process Automation

22. From Silos to Collaboration
GeoTech
Location I.D
Enable layering of datasets linked
to individual locations
Shared transaction
platforms and processes
through data
interoperability
Providing an easily accessible,
and more complete and
accurate/reliable, picture of
land-based property
information
A cross-government vision for location-
based property information.

23. Interoperability

24. Questions?