Earlier this year the Government commenced a review of the building consent system, as part of the Building System Reforms. The reforms are a comprehensive approach to lifting the performance of the building regulatory system, ensuring building work is done right the first time and providing fairer outcomes if things go wrong. They seek to make much-needed improvements to our building regulatory system so that building work can be done more efficiently and buildings are safe, healthy and durable.

The building consent system review is an end-to-end review from the building design phase through to the issuing of a code compliance certificate. In July 2022 the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) released an issues discussion document for public consultation along with a policy position statement on risk and liability.

The issues discussion document identified four desirable outcomes that an efficient and effective building consent system should have. It also identified issues that are barriers to achieving this. MBIE asked for feedback on whether we identified the right outcomes and issues, and whether there are others that should be considered.

The consultation received 264 submissions from a range of stakeholders, with good representation across the entire building and construction sector. MBIE has analysed all submissions and will consider all feedback and suggestions during the next phase of the review.