Funding boost for building standards

Last week, the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Australia released a joint statement which includes confirmation of New Zealand's increasing investment in updating and maintaining joint building standards.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE)  will use the building levy funding for standards that relate to functions under the Building Act.

Initially, this funding will be used to realign priority building and construction standards that were previously joint standards with Australia. MBIE will then work with the sector to identify additional standards to realign.

The funding will also support new joint standards, updates and revisions to current joint standards and increase the use of other relevant international building standards.

Alignment with our major trading partners, such as Australia, supports our building and construction sector to be healthy, competitive and innovative by leveraging tried and tested international best practice.

The additional funding will enable MBIE's Building System Performance team to support a greater number of standards updates. Prioritisation will go to standards with high relevance to the Building Code. Broader factors will also be considered, such as whether it provides opportunities for innovation or contributes to strategic priorities for the sector.

Some standards will not be eligible for funding, as they do not relate to functions under the Building Act and cannot be funded via the building levy. For example, standards relating to the operation of cranes or health and safety provisions for the construction sector. As at present, the building industry will still have the option of working directly with Standards New Zealand to agree to updates these broader standards.

This will complement broader work underway to improve access in New Zealand to new and innovative overseas building products, through proposed legislative changes to recognise international standard organisations and certification schemes and the development of building product equivalency specifications.

For more information, read the Prime Ministers press release - beehive.govt.nz