BC Update: No.47 - Building Consent Authority accreditation standards to be drafted

26 October 2006: Cabinet last week approved the drafting of accreditation standards and criteria proposals for the building consent authority accreditation scheme.

Background

Under the Building Act 2004, an accreditation scheme needs to be introduced to enable all territorial and regional authorities to be accredited and registered as building consent authorities (BCAs) by November 2007.

The scheme aims to improve building consent and inspection performance by increasing capacity and capability, so increasing confidence for homeowners, designers and builders in the work of BCAs.

BCAs will need to meet certain standards and criteria to become accredited. Following the decision last week, these standards and criteria can now be drafted into regulations. The regulations are expected to be in place by late 2006.

Applicant building consent authorities are advised to continue their preparatory work taking into account the feedback in this and further updates.

Accreditation standards and criteria

The standards and criteria were developed in close consultation with key building industry stakeholders. The aim is to instigate good practice and consistency in the regulatory building control work of building consent authorities.

Focus on outcomes

The proposed accreditation standards and criteria are outcome-focused and performance-based. Because the standards are about quality outcomes, the way each BCA can achieve them can vary, depending on the BCA’s particular circumstances, size, and the volume and type of work they undertake. There is no ‘one size fits all’, so, for example, a robust record keeping system might be a multi-million dollar digital scanning IT system in one BCA and a manual filing cabinet system in another. As long as the records are complete, accurate, secure, accessible and easily retrievable, both systems will comply.

Standards

The standards focus on four functional areas critical to good building control practice:

Functional area	Standard to be met by
1. Formal policies, systems, processes and procedures	30 November 2007
2. Skills and resources	30 November 2007
3. Quality assurance systems	30 November 2010
4. Staff qualifications	30 November 2013

1. Policies, systems, processes and procedures

Documented policies, processes, and procedures help building consent authorities manage the way they operate, make assessments and decisions, manage risk, and achieve identified outcomes. These new standards will help building consent authorities monitor, review, and continuously improve their performance. Sound record keeping and information storage practices are also essential in the building control environment. These provide an audit trail of how the building consent authorities process consent applications, undertake inspections and issue code compliance certificates, the decisions they make, and the rationale for such decisions.

Under the new scheme, by 30 November 2007, building consent authorities will need to have documented and effective systems, policies, and processes. These will cover statutory responsibilities and also the administrative and organisational activities that do not have a statutory basis, but affect the performance of their building control functions; for example, the way building consent authorities assess alternative solutions, and allocate work.

2. Skills and resources

Having the necessary skills and resources to consistently fulfil their statutory building control responsibilities and undertake the volume and nature of work is important for building consent authorities.

Skilled and experienced internal or external resources help a building consent authority discharge its statutory obligations effectively. Having sufficient skills, competencies and resources helps ensure buildings comply with relevant legislation.

The new standard will see appropriate monitoring and review mechanisms to help identify skills, expertise and skill/competency requirements. The right skills and experience to undertake allocated work means building controls staff can work within the limits of their technical competence and experience. Training and professional development plans are an integral part of ensuring BCAs have appropriate skills and maintaining the level of knowledge needed to perform competently.

3. Quality assurance systems

A sound quality assurance system strengthens decision-making and leads to better quality and greater consistency in compliance and performance of regulatory building control functions.

The new scheme will require building consent authorities to document, implement and maintain an effective quality assurance system by 2010. This will include organisational support, so quality assurance system can be applied consistently across all building control functions.

4. Staff qualifications

Qualifications help develop a viable career path for people wishing to become building officials and provide an independent assessment of a person’s competency in a particular area. Qualifications can help building consent authorities assess its personnel to demonstrate organisational competence. This key long-term standard will improve both capacity and capability in the building control sector.

Under the new scheme, by 2013, building officials will need a nationally recognised qualification in building control or a recognised international equivalent.

Accreditation process rules

A number of process rules are designed to give effect to the building consent authority accreditation scheme. These include:

• a broad five stage process for International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ), the accreditation body to undertake accreditation assessment
• a staged implementation process, with standards being met over a six years
• the accreditation application form
• biennial accreditation re-assessments; and
• a requirement that building consent authorities provide the accreditation body with the necessary information for their accreditation assessment.

The Government has approved an accreditation preparation assistance package of $3million over three years, funded from the Building Levy. The Department is seeking sector views on how this package should be spent and on the proposed accreditation fees for Territorial and Regional Authorities.

More information on the building consent authority accreditation scheme is on line at www.dbh.govt.nz

Or contact one of the following BCA Accreditation & Registration Project team members:

Malcolm MacMillan
Manager Performance Monitoring & Review
malcolm.macmillan@dbh.govt.nz

Henry Dowler
Adviser BCA Accreditation & Registration
henry.dolwer@dbh.govt.nz

Andrew Minturn
Adviser BCA Accreditation and Registration
andrew.minturn@dbh.govt.nz