A review of the Building Act was initiated in August 2009. This review is part of the Better Building Blueprint, a series of measures that will make it easier and cheaper to build good quality homes and buildings.

In the first phase of the review, the Department of Building and Housing worked with representatives of the building and construction industry, local authorities, and home owners, to identify what could be done. They found that there have been much-needed improvements in the quality of building work since the Act was introduced in 2004, but the system was more costly than necessary and less efficient and effective than it could be.

The second phase of the review is to consult on proposals to update the system. These are set out in the discussion document called Cost-effective quality: next generation building control in New Zealand.

This document was published on 26 February 2010 and consultation is open until 23 April 2010.

You can download it from the Department of Building and Housing website www.dbh.govt.nz/consulting-on-building-act.

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