International connections - IRCC
The Department of Building and Housing invests considerable time and resources in ensuring it is well informed and well connected so it can develop appropriate responses to issues within the building and housing sector.
The Department maintains close connections with local and central government agencies, industry, building professionals, sector bodies, research and educational establishments, and the public through a variety of mechanisms.
Our international connections are very important sources of information, advice and help to the Department. Participation in the IRCC (Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee - too much of a mouth-ful so it is now simply referred to as the IRCC) is an important international connection.
The IRCC is a forum of 10 countries that promotes collaboration on performance-based building regulatory systems. Its focus is to identify public policies, regulatory infrastructure, education and technology issues for implementing and managing these systems. It provides an effective avenue for the exchange of information.
Specific goals of the IRCC include:
- providing a forum for promoting a common understanding of, and a framework for, performance-based building regulatory system development
- fostering the exchange of ideas and the development of 'best current practice' documents and approaches
- providing guidance and support for members who develop, implement and support performance-based building regulatory systems
- pooling international resources to aid research and development of commonly-needed components of a performance-based building regulatory system
- providing guidance and support materials to countries embarking on performance-based building regulation, thus minimising potential duplication
- encouraging investment in construction-related technology and innovation.
Members include representatives from Australia, United States, England and Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, Austria, Spain, Japan, Canada and Norway. Meetings are normally held 6-monthly. There is significant email traffic in between meetings testing ideas and seeking information on how different countries address particular issues.
Mike Stannard travelled to Tromso, Norway - the land of the midnight sun - to participate in the most recent meeting. Each country's representative provided an update on regulatory developments in their respective countries. Some of the issues traversed, from which New Zealand can learn, included:
- the current building scandal and consequent regulation amendments in Japan, the result of an architect fraudulently submitting seismic design calculations for approximately 100 high-rise buildings
- the effects of Cyclone Larry on residential construction in Queensland;
- IT developments for building consent applications in Norway
- cold-climate engineering in the north of Norway
- fire safety issues in Sweden
- the approved certifier regime in Scotland;
- sustainability for existing buildings in England and Wales
- World Trade Centre research findings
- release of the objective-based building code in Canada
- the harmonisation of regulation in Austria.
Other projects that the IRCC is working on include access issues in high-rise development, relationships with Standards organisations and risk as a basis for performance-based building regulation. A work-shop on the latter is being organised for the next IRCC meeting.
A direct benefit of membership has been the involvement in the review of our Building Code of Dr Brian Meacham, practicing US fire engineer and world-leading expert in risk and performance-based regulation. He is helping develop performance criteria for the fire provisions of the Building Code.
The IRCC has been operating for 10 years and New Zealand has contributed to, and benefited from, participation since it was first formed. It continues to help the Department stay abreast of initiatives and developments in international building regulation, so that we can share in international best practice and apply and adapt it to the New Zealand situation.
For further information on the IRCC visit its website at www.ircc.gov.au