The information contained within this Building Consent Authority Development Guide Management Module (the guide) is guidance material only,1 developed by the Department of Building and Housing to assist Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) to develop their own building consent authority quality assurance systems and processes in preparation for BCA accreditation.
The Building Consent Authority Development Guide Management Module proposes a system and methodology that building consent authorities can use as a reference, while developing their own quality assurance systems and processes. The guide is prepared in modules to distinguish between technical and managerial requirements. The Department also acknowledges that the guide is not the only methodology available.
The guide also contains references to territorial authority functions that are clearly identifiable as non-building consent authority functions. These have been deliberately included in the guide at the request of territorial authorities for clarity of building consent authority process interfaces with territorial authority functions and responsibilities.
The territorial authority processes DO NOT form part of the building consent authority accreditation scheme or assessment process. However, where the processes are intrinsically linked to building consent authority functions and processes, individual building consent information may be tracked as an input or output of specific building consent authority functions to ensure seamless end-to-end process.
The content of the Building Consent Authority Development Guide Management Module is based on the Building Act 2004 and Building Amendment Act 2005, the Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006 and the thinking of the Department at the time the guide was published (March 2007).
The reader should bear in mind that subsequent amendments to the Act and Regulations after this date might cause information in this guide to become outdated.
Under the Building Act 2004 section 175
(1)The chief executive may publish information for the guidance of—
(a) Any of the following persons to assist them in complying with this Act:
(ii) Building consent authorities:
(2) Any information published by the chief executive under this section—
(a) Is only a guide; and
(b) If used, does not relieve any person of the obligation to consider any matter to which that information relates according to the circumstances of the particular case.