Technical review of the building control operations of Far North District Council summary report: Next steps

Further reviews

The Department will continue to carry out technical reviews of TAs and BCAs. This includes further reviews of Far North District Council, in accordance with its statutory requirements under the Act.

New system of accreditation and registration

The Department's technical reviews are an important tool for TAs and BCAs to assess their readiness and assist their preparation for the new regulatory system introduced by the Act. The Building Consent Authority Accreditation and Registration Scheme will regulate building control provided at the local level. This will bring about significant changes to regulatory building control in New Zealand.

Accreditation in the building control sector aims to strengthen the decision-making processes at the critical building consent and inspection stages of the building process. Successful implementation will bring about greater consistency in regulatory building control across New Zealand. It will help lead to performance improvements, raised standards in the sector, and greater consumer confidence in the system.

Under the Act, organisations wanting to undertake building control functions must be registered as BCAs. In order to be registered, an organisation must be accredited by the Building Consent Accreditation Body (International Accreditation New Zealand) as a BCA.

The Department's Consent Authority Capability and Performance Group is leading the work to implement this new system. The accreditation process is involving prospective BCAs being assessed by the independent accreditation body against a set of standards and criteria Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006 covering key components of good-practice regulatory building control.

The accreditation assessment process will incorporate many of the critical regulatory building control components of the Department's existing technical review process. The Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006 have a strong industry focus and cover three key areas.

1. Formal policies, systems and processes
2. Technical competence
3. Quality assurance

Further information

Further information about both the technical review programme and the Building Consent Authority Accreditation and Registration Scheme can be found online atwww.dbh.govt.nz

Guidance documentation

Under section 175 of the Building Act 2004, the Chief Executive (of the Department of Building and Housing) has a statutory role in the publishing of guidance information for territorial authorities and building consent authorities. The Department has published a range of guidance information to assist territorial authorities and building consent authorities in understanding how to comply with the Building Act 2004 and their building control responsibilities. This includes:

• Building Officials' Guide to the Building Act 2004 (August 2005, second edition)
• Building Consent Authority Development Guide (February 2006)
• Building Consent Authority Development Guide - Management Processes (February 2007)
• Building Consent Authority Accreditation Preparation and Self-assessment Guide (February 2007)
• Building Officials' FAQs (August 2005)
• Earthquake-prone building provisions of the Building Act 2004: Policy guidance for territorial authorities
• Dangerous and insanitary building provisions of the Building Act 2004: Policy guidance for territorial authorities
• External moisture - a guide to using the risk matrix
• External moisture - An introduction to weathertightness design principles
• Critical requirements for the Assessment of 'Monolithic Cladding' (April 2004)
• Practice Advisory 6: Achieve best practice - every step of the way
• Practice Advisory 5: Allow for movement
• Reinforcing steel in New Zealand - A quick guide for designers, building consent authorities and contractors.
• Guide to applying for a building consent (simple, residential buildings) (January 2007)
• BCA Update publications (February, April, June August, October, December 2007 and March, May, July 2008)
• Guide to International Symbol of Access (January 2007)
• Guide to accessible reception and service counters (January 2007)
• Compliance Schedule Handbook (March 2008)
• Building Infringement Scheme Guidelines (June 2008).

This and other guidance information is available online at www.dbh.govt.nz The Department also participates regularly in workshops and conferences to provide updates and information to the sector.