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Building Regulation and Control

Building Regulation and Control
This output expense involves delivering a regulatory regime that ensures buildings are built right first time and meet the needs of New Zealanders. It includes specifying the regulatory environment, setting standards for buildings and building sector capability, and providing advice and guidance about the regulations and standards.

Performance measures Performance to 30 June 2006
Output: Technical Standards Review - set technical standards as appropriate including reviewing Building Code Clauses/Compliance Documents; issue warnings and bans as required.

Complete Code Clause/Compliance Document reviews in the areas of:

  • fire
  • structural
  • internal environment
  • building envelope and weathertightness

Publish updated Compliance Document(s)

The Department completed work on:

  • Energy efficiency, weathertightness and building envelope, flame barriers, structural 500E steel, structural-slender concrete walls, earthquake-prone buildings, NZ Standards on timber (NZS 3603/04) and cable cars.

Work was under way on:

  • Emergency lighting, remediation of weathertightness issues, concrete structures, pallet racking systems, seismic design and performance, hazardous substances, torch-on membranes, NZS 1170 (structural designs) and other associated work.

Four amendments were published to Building Code Compliance Documents during the year.
Output: Advice and Guidance - provide guidance information and advice to the sector and consumers.
Produce guidance documents as required

A report on Grade 500E Steel Reinforcing was published as guidance information by the Department in July 2005 in response to concerns raised about the performance of Grade 500E reinforcing steel. In addition, Practice Advisory 7 and a wallchart were widely distributed to remind the industry of correct procedures.

The Department also published another Practice Advisory in June 2006. This is the eighth in the series designed to improve structural engineering practice. Practice Advisory 8 - Don't be undone - anchor your spiral is directed at concern about continuing poor design and construction practice for the anchorage and splicing of spiral reinforcing in circular columns and piles.

A guidance document Constructing cavities for wall claddings was published and distributed to builders, designers, building officials and the industry in June 2006 to explain drained and vented cavity construction for timber-framed buildings
Publish monthly editions of Codewords Seven editions of Codewords were produced. Publication was timed to reflect the available content, and coincide with significant announcements about Building Act implementation.
Publish editions of Building Controls Update as required 20 issues of Building Controls Update were published
Present at BRANZ seminar series, partnering as appropriate No BRANZ seminars were held during the 2005/06 year. Seminars are planned for 2006/07
Number of site visits to the Building Controls section of http://www.dbh.govt.nz (demand driven) There were 355,316 visits to the Building Controls section of the website during the year, an average of 29,610 a month

Building Regulation and Control (continued)
Performance measures Performance to 30 June 2006
Output: Building Officials Education - provide building officials education.
Conduct building officials seminars No seminars were scheduled in advance of developing guidance information on regulatory schemes. The Department met regularly with the sector to discuss regulatory design and key issues arising from consultation to inform the development of regulatory schemes
Output: Compliance - compliance with the Building Act
Monitor and report on the performance of territorial authorities/building consent authorities

Six technical reviews were completed.

- Queenstown Lakes District Council
- Franklin District Council
- Waitakere City Council
- Porirua City Council
- Rodney District Council
- Grey District Council
Manage complaints and disciplinary processes against building consent authorities (demand driven) The Department responded to five complaints against building consent authorities. Three complaints were resolved and two were under investigation at the end of the year
Output: Determinations - manage determinations.
Complete determinations within the statutory timeframe (60 days) 132 determinations were issued compared with 110 last year. The 60-day turnaround was achieved for an estimated 73 percent of current determinations (excluding the time taken to commission experts' reports)
Output: Public Information and Education - provide education and information to the building sector to enable them to make informed decisions.
Number of site visits to www.consumerbuild.org.nz (demand driven). There were 147,044 visits to the ConsumerBuild website during the year. The visits peaked at 17,941 in May 2006
Output - Building Industry and Market Monitoring, Research and Evaluation - undertake industry performance monitoring and reporting, and commission building-related research.
Publish an annual Building Industry Trends report, and provide associated updates regularly Building and Housing Trends reports were published for the September and December 2005 quarters during the year. The March 2006 quarterly report was expected to be published in July 2006
Undertake at least three research projects by 30 June 2006 The Department had nine research projects in progress on track at the end of the year and two further projects that were completed during the year. Projects included research on reinforcing steel, wood decay in leaky buildings, energy efficiency, Douglas fir durability, cavity drying, flame barriers for foam plastics, and post-earthquake performance of fire systems
Output: Regulatory Schemes - administer product certification scheme, building consent authorities accreditation and registration schemes, and dam safety scheme.
Measures will be developed as part of the scheme design during 2005/06 (the measures below were specified in the 2005/06 Output Agreement)  
Number of registered accredited product certification bodies and certified building methods or products The product certification scheme has not been implemented, following concern about liability and fees raised through consultation. Consequently, the Minister for Building Issues agreed to a review of the scheme design, with establishment of the scheme carried forward to 2006/07.
Establish and implement the application process for building consent authority registration by 31 May 2006 All 85 territorial and regional authorities applied for registration as building consent authorities by the legislative deadline of 31 May 2006

Building Regulation and Control (continued)
Performance measures Performance to 30 June 2006
Establish and implement the registration process for accredited dam owners by 30 June 2006 Consultation on dam safety occurred later than planned, impacting on the establishment date for the scheme. Consultation is now complete, and the scheme is planned to be fully implemented by 30 June 2007.
Monitor, and report as appropriate on, the registration of dams by regional authorities and their development of policies on dangerous dams Regional authorities started the process of establishing dam safety policies. The revised implementation timetable means that registration of dangerous dams will start once the scheme is fully implemented (by 30 June 2007)
Number of assessments and warnings issued or bans declared against building methods or products that do not comply with the Building Code No warnings or bans were issued. There have been a number of investigations and, as a result, one product has been withdrawn from the market by the supplier

Financial Performance (figures are GST exclusive)

2006

Actual

$000

2006

Main
Estimates

$000

2006

Supplementary
Estimates

$000

2005

Actual

$000
Revenue - Crown - 658 - 398
Revenue - departmental 85 99 54 4
Revenue - other 18,910 14,991 17,971 4,685
Total revenue 18,995 15,748 18,025 5,087
Total expenses 11,124 12,265 11,620 7,091
Net surplus/(deficit) 7,871 3,483 6,405 (2,004)

This output expense is being operated on a cost-recovery basis. The accumulated surpluses and deficits are managed through a memorandum account (refer to page 47).