Compliance and enforcement

MBIE will focus on engagement with regulated parties and stakeholders, providing education to the sector about what is required for them to achieve regulatory compliance, enabling regulated parties by providing information about best practices and regulatory requirements, and taking enforcement action where non-compliance is identified.

MBIE has an enforcement strategy which outlines our approach to enforcement, requiring us to balance principles of transparency and fairness, proportionality, timeliness, flexibility and risk. Each complaint or non-compliance we detect through active monitoring will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The Building Act 2004 provides a number of statutory tools to address non-compliance. This enables MBIE to select the appropriate tool for the appropriate situation, with an emphasis on continuing to educate regulated parties as well as ensuring importers and manufacturers are notified if their product information is not compliant and rectify the situation promptly.

MBIE will continue to provide education after the regulations take effect. We recognise that the regulations are introducing a significant change in the way many manufacturers and suppliers produce and disclose their product information, and the role and responsibilities that wholesalers, retailers, and distributors will have.

MBIE can:

• issue a notice to take corrective action, which requires a person to take actions to remedy the non-compliance, or ensure that the non-compliance is not continued or repeated
• issue an infringement notice
• carry out a prosecution.

In certain circumstances, MBIE has powers to require parties to provide information or documents to MBIE for the purpose of taking enforcement action under the Building Act. Failure to comply with a request for information or documents is an offence under the Building Act.

It is an offence to make a claim about a building product is unsubstantiated, or false or misleading in a material particular or because of an omission.

MBIE will monitor the market, investigate complaints and take enforcement action where deemed necessary.

Support for the benefits the regulations are aiming to achieve has been strong. Feedback we’ve received from manufacturers and importers who are required to meet the new regulatory requirements is that they expect to see manufacturers and importers of designated building products to be held to account where they are not complying with requirements after 11 December 2023.

Where an individual or organisation has concerns that a designated building product or building system does not have all the required information, it is recommended they contact the supplier to request further information in the first instance.

If you believe product information does not meet the regulation requirements, email MBIE at products@mbie.govt.nz.

Resources

Access a variety of resources and tools to help implement the regulation changes.

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