Building Practitioners Board
The Building Practitioners Board will play a key role in the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme.
The Board’s role is to:
- recommend to the Minister for approval rules relating to licensed building practitioners, including licence standards
- hear appeals against licensing decisions by the Registrar
- hear complaints about licensed building practitioners.
The Board is appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister for Building and Construction.
It has eight members with a mix of skills, including industry expertise in design, construction and inspection services, legal, dispute resolution and mediation skills.
Although some Board members are affiliated to industry groups, they act independently in their role on the Board.
Introducing the Board members
Alan Bickers (Chair)
Mr Bickers is a management consultant providing services in strategic consulting, corporate governance and alternative dispute resolution to public and private sector clients.
Mr Bickers holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Dispute Resolution) and is a Chartered Professional Engineer. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ, an Associate of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute NZ and a Justice of the Peace.
Mr Bickers has worked for four local authorities with the last position as Chief Executive of Tauranga City/District Council (1987-1995). Mr Bickers has served on the Standards Council of NZ (1993-1997), Bay of Plenty Health Board and on the Board of Transit NZ (1997-2004) with the last three and a half years as Chair. He has spent the last two decades involved with the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ (including President 1991-1992) and is current Chair of their Disciplinary Committee.
Mr Bickers, a member since 2005, is from Tauranga and has been appointed for a three year term.
Paul Blackler (Deputy Chair)
Mr Blackler is currently the South Island Manager for Mainzeal Property and Construction Ltd having previously been the General Manager, Construction at Armitage Williams Construction in Christchurch.
Mr Blackler is a trade certified carpenter and has served on the Boards of Canterbury Registered Master Builders and Site Safe NZ. He is the Chairman of the Christchurch
Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) Trades Innovation Institute Advisory Board and is a member of the NZ Institute of Building (NZIOB).
In 1997, Mr Blackler received the NZIOB / James Hardie Award for Excellence in the Building Profession (residential).
Mr Blackler, a member since 2005, is from Christchurch and has been appointed for a five year term.
David Clark
Mr Clark is a Senior Partner of Wilson McKay undertaking a range of commercial and civil litigation work. Clients include homeowners, developers, contractors, builders and financiers.
Mr Clark gained his Bachelor of Law in 1987 and was admitted to the bar in 1988. He is an Associate of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of NZ and is currently engaged by the Department of Building and Housing as a Weathertight Homes Service Mediator and an elected board member of the Electrical & Gas Dispute Resolution Service.
Other professional activities include being a Code of Conduct Commissioner for NZ Cricket and a faculty member of the NZ Law Society Litigation Skills programme. He was formerly on the Executive of Te Runanga Roia O Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland Maori Lawyers’ Association).
Mr Clark, a member since 2005, is from Auckland and has been appointed for a five year term.
Jane Cuming
Ms Cuming is currently Building Standards Manager for PlaceMakers working with their suppliers and customers on regulatory changes at a technical level.
Ms Cuming is a trade certified carpenter and holds a Certificate in Teaching Adults. Previous roles include Education Advisor for the Building Industry Authority and Technical Sales Rep for James Hardie Building Products.
Ms Cuming is Past-President and current member of the National Association of Women in Construction and an acting Board member of the Frame & Truss Manufacturers Association of NZ.
Ms Cuming, a member since 2005, is from the Kapiti Coast and has been appointed for a three year term.
Patrick Lawrence
Mr Lawrence was the Building Controls Manager for the Rotorua District Council – a position he held from 1995 until his retirement at the end of 2005.
Mr Lawrence is a trade certified carpenter and a Justice of the Peace. He has been appointed as Judicial Justice of the Peace serving on the bench of the Rotorua District Court since 2003.
Mr Lawrence has held a number of public sector roles all related to the building industry. He has been President of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty branch of the Building Officials Institute of NZ and acknowledged by Local Government NZ as a key contact by his peers regarding the previous Building Act.
Mr Lawrence, a member since 2005, is from Rotorua and has been appointed for a five year term.
Graham Moor
Mr Moor is the Managing Director of Bay of Islands Roofing Ltd and oversees sales, training, work supervision and business management. Mr Moor has thirteen years experience in running a roofing business.
Mr Moor holds national certificates in three roofing types. He is an NZQA Registered Industry Assessor. He was accepted as a member of the Roofing Association of NZ in 1997 and has served on their executive since 2002. He is currently Chair of their Technical Committee.
Mr Moor, a member since 2005, is from Waimate North in the Bay of Islands and has been appointed for a five year term.
David O’Connell
Mr O’Connell is currently National Secretary, NZ Building Trades Union (NZBTU), liaising widely with industry representatives and representing NZBTU on trade training organisations.
Mr O’Connell is a time served carpenter and a Justice of the Peace.
Mr O’Connell has 30 years experience with NZBTU with current board appointments including Vice Chairman of the Joinery Industry Training Organisation and Board member of Site Safe NZ Incorporated. He is also on the Building and Construction ITO’s National Advisory Committee and is a Board member of Unimed Medical Insurance. He has been a member on apprenticeship committees and training organisation boards setting competencies for trainees.
Mr O’Connell, a member since 2005, is from Banks Peninsula and has been appointed for a three year term.
Colin Orchiston
Mr Orchiston is Principal of Orchiston & Associates: Architecture and Dispute Resolution. He is also an Associate and Managing Architect of Tse Group Ltd Wellington, a consulting firm in surveying, valuation, architecture and engineering. He is a Director of the NZ Architects Co-operative Society.
Mr Orchiston is a Registered Architect and holds qualifications in valuation and dispute resolution. He is a Fellow of the NZ Institute of Architects and of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of NZ, and is on the Arbitration Adjudication and Mediation panels for the latter. In 2003/2004 he served as a Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Mediator.
Mr Orchiston, a member since 2005, is from Wellington and has been appointed for a three year term.
The Appeals process
If you have applied for a licence class, but have been declined for a specific reason, you have the opportunity to appeal this decision to the Building Practitioners Board.
The letter you received from the Registrar of the Scheme will state exactly why your application was declined. If you feel that the decision was incorrect, you can appeal. However you can only appeal on the basis of the information in the letter – you cannot appeal on any other grounds.
If you decide to appeal, you have 20 working days to do so. You will need to fill out the Application for Appeal form that can be downloaded from the Department of Building and Housing’s website and post this back to the Registrar.
More details on the appeals process can be read on the fact sheet ‘What can I do if my licence application is turned down?’
The full appeals process is also available online »
LBP Appeals
The table below explains the appeals that the Building Practitioners Board has heard to date.
For full details, click on the PDF of the decision
| Appeal date |
Issue |
Licensing class |
Decision |
Appellant number |
| 10 June 2008 |
Applicant declined Design 1 |
Design 1 |
 Appeal declined |
A1001 |
| 20 October 2008 |
Applicant declined Design 1 |
Design 1 |
Appeal declined |
A1002 |
| 4 December 2008 |
Applicant declined Design 2 |
Design 2 |
Appeal declined |
A1003 |
| 4 December 2008 |
Applicant declined Design 3 |
Design 3 |
Appeal upheld |
A1004 |
The LBP complaints process
Once a building practitioner is licensed, a complaint can be laid against them.
The grounds for the complaint are set out in section 317 of the Building Act 2004. You may make a complaint if a Licensed Building Practitioner:
- has carried out or supervised building work or building inspection work in a negligent or incompetent manner.
- has carried out or supervised building work or building inspection work that does not comply with a building consent.
- has held himself or herself out as being licensed to carry out or supervise building work or building inspection work of a type that, at that time, he or she was not licensed to carry out or supervise.
- has been convicted, whether before or after he or she is licensed, by any court in New Zealand or elsewhere of any offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of 6 months or more, and the commission of the offence reflects adversely on the person's fitness to carry out or supervise building work or building inspection work.
- has, for the purpose of becoming licensed himself or herself, or for the purpose of any other person becoming licensed,
- either orally or in writing, made any declaration or representation, knowing it to be false or misleading in a material particular; or
- produced to the Registrar or made use of any document, knowing it to contain a declaration or representation referred to in subparagraph (i) above; or
- produced to the Registrar or made use of any document, knowing that it was not genuine.
The full form and complaints process is available here [PDF 145 KB, 6 pages].