BUILDING REFORM SUBMISSIONS END SOON

MBIE is inviting written submissions on a 127-page discussion document covering proposed changes to the Building Act – with the deadline set at 11 June

The invitation to respond to the April 2021 Building System Reform Discussion Document comes as the Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill nears its third reading in Parliament. The proposed changes amend the Building Act 2004 and aim to “lift the efficiency and quality of building work and provide fairer outcomes if things go wrong”.

Three key areas of reform in the bill are:

• Stronger building product information requirements.
• Improvement of certification for modular building components.
• Strengthening the product certification scheme known as CodeMark.

Written submissions must be received by 5pm, 11 June 2021. MBIE offers structured questions on pages 124-127 of the document and would like to hear the opinions of those in the building and construction sector regarding:

• Building Product Information Requirements (BPIR):
• Whether the split of supply chain responsibilities to meet BPIR is clear.
• Whether the proposal that manufacturers and importers should be responsible for producing information for the building products they supply.
• Whether the proposal that manufacturers and importers must make claims about how their building product meets relevant Building Code compliance clauses.
• Whether an 18-month transition period after building product information requirement regulations are introduced is a reasonable timeframe.

Introducing a certification scheme for manufacturers of modular (prefabricated) components:

• Whether offsite manufactured building elements, such as open frames and trusses, enclosed panels/units, volumetric structures and whole buildings be prescribed as ‘modular components’?
• Whether regulatory settings provide confidence in the certification bodies that would accredit and register manufacturers under the scheme.
• Thoughts on the the costs and fees for audits to achieve certification.
• Whether there any gaps or issues with current product certificates?

Fees for manufacturer certification and product certification:

• To what extent might registration fees create a barrier to entry
  and participation in the scheme?
• Whether the prescribed fees
  have a significant impact on the costs of participating in the schemes.
• Nearly 100 submissions have been received and published since 2020 from stakeholders including BRANZ, the Building Federation of NZ, Mobile Home Association, the Building Officials Institute and many others.

Key changes summed up

Construction experts Julia Flattery and Jonathan Forsey of Duncan Cotterill say the bill was introduced because “the current consenting process, which is based on traditional construction methods, can be seen to present barriers and delays to the use of these new methods”. According to Flattery and Forsey, the bill covers the following key changes:

1. More efficient consenting, thanks to a requirement for manufacturers and suppliers to provide better information around building products. (There is currently no requirement for this, leading consenting authorities to raise queries regarding their use.)
2. Strengthening the CodeMark scheme to prevent the registration of unsuitable products. (MBIE currently does not have any power to set scheme rules for CodeMark or intervene if rules are not met.)
3. Providing a new voluntary certification scheme for modern construction methods, to enable manufacturers of off-site prefabricated and modular buildings to achieve compliance with the Building Code. Flattery said this should lead to wider use of off-site products, leading
   to quicker and cheaper construction.
4. Creating new offences and penalties for breaches of requirements and certification.
5. Increasing the scope for using the Building Levy to enable MBIE to spend levy funds on activities relating to the broader oversight of the industry.

Submissions must be made using the template provided at www.mbie.govt.nz/building-system-reform. On the website, you’ll find the full document, an explanatory video, plus a template for your submission.