Building Regulatory System Review

Overview

The Building Regulatory System Review is looking at whether lower-risk building work could be carried out without a building consent, and whether existing exemptions can be made easier to understand and use.  

The building sector is a major contributor to New Zealand’s economy, accounting for around 6.3 per cent of GDP and ranking as the fifth largest industry by economic output. 

It is also one of our biggest employers, directly supporting more than 300,000 people across New Zealand and around 80,000 businesses nationwideopen_in_new.

We heard from homeowners and the building sector that some lower-risk work faces the same rules as higher-risk projects and that consent requirements can be inconsistent.

The Building Regulatory System Review will look at whether building work that is lower-risk, minor or routine could be carried out without a building consent and whether the current building consent exemptions can be made easier to understand and use. 

We will work closely with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on the Building Regulatory System Review. MBIE is progressing reforms that align closely with, and will inform, our review. Our work will complement MBIE's programme of work.

Scope

The review will look at:

• building consent exemptions (which are set out in Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004), and the interface between Schedule 1 and Schedule 1A for small standalone dwellings
• whether Schedule 1 can be expanded to exempt additional low risk building work
• inconsistencies within the current exemption framework, including cases where relatively low-risk work requires consent while higher-risk work may be exempt, and
• opportunities to improve clarity and usability of the exemptions for homeowners, builders, and territorial authorities.

See the Terms of Reference for the review (335 KB, Pdf)

Have your say

We want to hear directly from builders, homeowners, territorial authorities, industry groups, consumers, providers of regulated services, and other people and organisations affected by building regulation. 

Have your say through our engagement hubopen_in_new

Timeframes

The review is expected to report back to Ministers with recommendations in early 2027.