Private BCA unlikely to ease council workload

Council says the approval of a new private building consent authority will have “no meaningful impact” on its workload

Despite being one of the country’s largest consenters of retirement homes, Auckland Council has indicated that the establishment of a second private building consent authority (BCA) that is specifically focusing on retirement village projects is unlikely to materially reduce pressure on its consenting teams.

The comments follow the Government’s approval of Farsight NZ as a BCA, which plans to carry out consenting and inspections for Summerset retirement village projects around the country.

When Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced the news, he cited easing pressure on council BCAs as a positive outcome of Farsight’s approval.

“Summerset is one of New Zealand’s largest residential builders, and having its own BCA will bring greater consistency and certainty in how the Building Code is applied across its developments nationwide, helping speed up the delivery of much-needed retirement homes for Kiwis,” said Penk.

“By covering a substantial number of building projects, Farsight will also take pressure off council that would otherwise have undertaken the work, allowing them to focus on other projects, which over time can lead to faster approvals across the wider system.”

However, Auckland Council BCA, which processes 629 retirement per year on average, and consented 368 retirement village units out of a nationwide 1,486 in 2025, said the immediate impact on council workloads appears limited.

To put its 368 retirement village units consented into context, in 2025 Auckland Council BCA processed 15,617 consents.

“The new BCA is handling consents for one operator only at this stage, and so it will not have a meaningful impact on the council’s Building Consents team’s workload,” said Ian McCormick, general manager of building consents at Auckland Council.

Retirement village consenting remains variable

Council officials say the scale of retirement village consenting work fluctuates significantly over time, making it difficult to quantify its overall impact on resourcing.

“The work ebbs and flows depending on demand and there are times when there is no retirement village work with Auckland Council and other times when multiple operators are building complexes,” McCormick said.

“When this happens, it is normal for them all to be at different stages of design and development and so are not competing for resource.”

Retirement village developments are also typically consented at a building level, rather than on a per-unit basis.

“Generally, retirement/lifestyle villages are developed in apartment style living arrangements and therefore are consented by one consent per building, or there is a staged consent process per building for foundations, superstructure, mechanical and fit out, etc,” McCormick said.

Limited immediate system impact

The comments suggest that, at least in the short term, the creation of a private BCA tied to a single operator will not significantly shift workload away from councils.

That position contrasts with broader industry interest in whether private BCAs could ease consenting bottlenecks, particularly for large-scale or repeat developers.

MBIE has confirmed that other organisations are able to follow a similar pathway.

“Any private organisation, including group home builders or large volume builders, can apply to be registered as a standalone (or private) BCA, provided they meet the relevant criteria,” said Simon Thomas, MBIE Head of Building System Delivery and Assurance.

Relevant criteria includes:

• Hold a Certificate of Accreditation from the accreditation body.
• Be a fit and proper person.
• Be a New Zealand citizen, resident or incorporated body.
• Pay the prescribed registration fee.

Private organisations or persons must also:

• Be of good character and have integrity.
• Be able to maintain impartiality and independence in the delivery of building control functions.
• Conduct themselves professionally.
• Demonstrate an ability to conduct business in a responsible and ethical manner.

MBIE said all applicants must meet strict requirements around independence and capability and must also have adequate means to cover any civil liabilities that may arise in performing consenting functions. As part of this, an applicant must demonstrate adequate means for the full limitation period (10 years from the date of an act or omission by the BCA as specified by section 393 of the Act).

“In order to be registered as a standalone (or private) BCA, Farsight was required to demonstrate to MBIE that it meets a ‘fit and proper person’ test, including requirements for impartiality and independence,” Thomas said.

“MBIE is satisfied Farsight meets this criteria.”

The addition of Farsight brings the total number of BCAs in New Zealand to 71, the majority of which remain territorial or regional authorities.

Enforcement powers differ for private BCAs

Private BCAs operate under the same regulatory framework as council BCAs, including enforcement powers relating to non-compliant work.

“They have a similar suite of powers in that they can issue a notice to fix for non-compliant building work, which they’ve consented,” Thomas said.

“They can effectively stop work onsite with immediate effect and until such time as the contravention (non-compliance) has been resolved.”

However, some enforcement tools remain reserved for councils.

“Infringement offences and the related penalties are for territorial authorities only,” Thomas said.

Questions remain over long-term implications

While the immediate impact may be limited, the approval of a second private BCA could impact the future structure of the consenting system – for example, a group home builder could create its own BCA specifically for its projects.

However, when asked by Under Construction whether they had any plans to move to a private BCA model, two of New Zealand’s biggest group home builders said no.