Hon Jenny Salesa
Minister for Building and Construction
MEDIA STATEMENT
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through
some of the red tape of the Building Act.
“Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and
expensive – as builders well know,” Building and Construction Minister Jenny Salesa said.
“We are making progress in tackling the long-term challenge of housing including making high-quality, large-scale
manufacturing of prefab houses a reality.
For manufacturers who prove their systems and processes are compliant, there will be a new streamlined nationwide
consenting process for prefab buildings that will:
• enable the mass factory production of high quality buildings
• slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced buildings in half
• ensure only the location where a prefab house is installed requires a building consent, removing the possible need for
two separate consents
“Prefabrication and off-site manufacturing are the future of construction as they help produce high-quality buildings
more quickly than traditional building approaches.
“In some countries, nearly 80 per cent of newly built homes are prefabricated offsite, in New Zealand it’s about 10 per
cent.
“I will be introducing a Bill to the House early next year to ensure this process is in place as soon as possible.
As part of changes to the Building Act 2004, the Government has also decided to introduce minimum requirements for
information about building products. Roles and responsibilities for manufacturers, suppliers and builders will also be
made clearer, so the right person can be held to account if things go wrong.
“Councils have told us this will help them better assess compliance with the Building Code. Delays in consenting cost a
building owner around $1,000 for each week of delays.”
“A suite of other changes have also been agreed to that will ensure the Building Act is fit for the 21st century, and
are part of a wider package of reform that aims to accelerate building including reform of the Resource Management Act.”
“The Government is also working to improve occupational regulation within the sector and to address issues of risk,
insurance and liability. Announcements are expected in 2020.
“There is plenty of work still to be done to improve our building and construction sector after a decade of neglect but
the changes announced today are a step forward in ensuring we have a high quality and highly efficient building
regulatory system.
Further details about the first phase of changes to the Building Act are here:
ends