BC Update: No.68 - Extension of date for accreditation and registration of building consent authorities
8 August 2007: The Government is proposing to extend the date by which territorial and regional authorities must be accredited and registered as building consent authorities from the current 30 November 2007 until 30 June 2008.
The Minister for Building and Construction Hon Clayton Cosgrove introduced legislation into Parliament on 7 August to amend the Building Act 2004 and change the date.
The proposed seven-month extension reflects the fact that, despite councils’ strong commitment and progress to date to being accredited and registered, or to have transferred their building control functions to an accredited and registered building consent authority, some will not have completed the process by the November deadline.
This would mean that councils could not legally process building consents beyond 30 November 2007, with consequent disruption to local building and construction activities and communities. It would also undermine the commitment councils have shown and their hard work to date towards achieving accreditation.
The proposed extension will prevent those consequences.
As at 1 August 2007, 71 councils and three private organisations contracting to councils had applied to International Accreditation New Zealand for accreditation as building consent authorities or were arranging the transfer of their building control functions.
The majority of councils are expected to be accredited and registered by 30 November 2007 or to be close to accreditation.
The councils unlikely to meet the deadline are mostly small, rural provincial councils with significant capacity and capability limitations, or those that intend transferring their building control functions.
The Department will continue to work with councils to assist them to gain accreditation and be registered within the proposed new timeframe.
Most councils have shown strong commitment to being accredited, reflecting the benefits both to their building control activities and to their building consent customers and local communities.
This amendment included reference to responsibility for dams. Currently, territorial authorities are responsible for issuing building consents for new dams built in their area, but from 30 November 2007 they would lose this responsibility. The Government proposes to extend the status quo until 30 June 2008, to give all regional authorities time to gain building consent authority accreditation and registration or to transfer their responsibility to another accredited and registered regional authority, at which point the responsibility for consenting dams will transfer to regional councils.