By Andrew Skinner - 8 Jun 2020
Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July
2020. The changes will be particularly important for building
product suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are
summarised here.
Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July 2020. The
changes will be particularly important for building product
suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are summarised
below.
Minimum Information Requirements for Building
Products
The Bill introduces a new definition of
"building products" and a mandatory requirement for the suppliers
of these products to provide certain prescribed minimum
information. The Government's hope is that better information
on building products will assist designers and builders to choose
the right the products, install them the way intended and also
support faster consenting.
The Bill establishes a framework for the
regulations to be prepared that will specify the information
required and when the information must be disclosed. The
information to be disclosed may include:
- the manufacturer, supplier or other person connected with the
supply;
- the installation, use, maintenance or disposal of the building
product;
- any warnings or bans in place; and
- how information must be obtained and verified before it is
disclosed.
This mandatory regime will replace the
optional regime currently in place for Product Technical
Statements. The Bill provides that a business must not supply
a building product unless they comply with the building information
requirements. Failing to provide the information is an offence
which, in the case of a body corporate, may result in a fine not
exceeding $30,000. This will be of particular interest to building
product distributors who supply thousands of different building
products. It is going to be a substantial exercise for these
distributors to collate and provide this information to their
customers.
Importantly, if the building information
supplied is unsubstantiated, false or misleading, then the Bill
also introduces new offences, which, in the case of a body
corporate, may result in a fine not exceeding $600,000.
Specialist Framework for Modular
Components
In recent times there has been a growing
trend towards off-site manufacture. These "modern methods of
construction" (MMC) processes use technology and assembly-line
methodology to improve efficiency. However, manufacturers of
MMC components and Building Consent Authorities have grappled with
the consenting aspects of largely finished components being
installed on site.
The Bill attempts to address consenting
difficulties by establishing a voluntary scheme which enables
modular component manufacturers, who can demonstrate strict quality
and conformance of manufacturing processes, to be
certified. Once certified, the modular component will be
deemed to comply with the building code. A further benefit of
being certified is that for cases where a building consent
application relates to a whole building, if a single modular
component represents the primary structure of the building, then
the processing time for the building consent is reduced to 10
working days.
Product Certification Scheme
The Explanatory Notes to the Bill refer to the
current lack of confidence in the CodeMark scheme. To address
these concerns, the Bill aims to strengthen the scheme by providing
greater oversight from MBIE of the product certification bodies and
to maintain a register of the products certified.
Other Matters
The Bill lumps a number of other important
changes under the heading "Other Matters", such as increased
investigative powers for MBIE and a wider discretion for the use of
the building levy. Builders should also note that the Bill
clarifies their responsibilities with respect to the use of
building products and, in some areas, increases the fines that may
be imposed for offences under the Building Act.
Get in touch today if you would like to know more about the
proposed changes or require assistance with making a
submission.
Contact
Andrew
Skinner
Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July 2020. The
changes will be particularly important for building product
suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are summarised
below.
Minimum Information Requirements for Building
Products
The Bill introduces a new definition of
"building products" and a mandatory requirement for the suppliers
of these products to provide certain prescribed minimum
information. The Government's hope is that better information on
building products will assist designers and builders to choose the
right the products, install them the way intended and also support
faster consenting.
The Bill establishes a framework for the regulations to
be prepared that will specify the information required and when the
information must be disclosed. The information to be disclosed may
include
(a)
the manufacturer, supplier or other person
connected with the supply;
(b)
the installation, use, maintenance or disposal
of the building product;
(c)
any warnings or bans in place; and
(d)
how information must be obtained and verified
before it is disclosed.
This mandatory regime will replace the optional regime
currently in place for Product Technical Statements.
The Bill provides that a business must not supply a building
product unless they comply with the building information
requirements. Failing to provide the information is an offence
which, in the case of a body corporate, may result in a fine not
exceeding $30,000. This will be of particular interest to building
product distributors who supply thousands of different building
products. It is going to be a substantial exercise for these
distributors to collate and provide this information to their
customers.
Importantly,
if the building information supplied is unsubstantiated, false or
misleading, then the Bill also introduces new offences, which, in
the case of a body corporate, may result in a fine not exceeding
$600,000.
Specialist Framework for Modular
Components
In recent
times there has been a growing trend towards off-site manufacture.
These "modern methods of construction" (MMC) processes use
technology and assembly-line methodology to improve efficiency.
However, manufacturers of MMC components and Building Consent
Authorities have grappled with the consenting aspects of largely
finished components being installed on site.
The Bill
attempts to address consenting difficulties by establishing a
voluntary scheme which enables modular component manufacturers, who
can demonstrate strict quality and conformance of manufacturing
processes, to be certified. Once certified, the modular component
will be deemed to comply with the building code. A further benefit
of being certified is that for cases where a building consent
application relates to a whole building, if a single modular
component represents the primary structure of the building, then
the processing time for the building consent is reduced to 10
working days.
Product Certification Scheme
The Explanatory Notes to the Bill refer to the current
lack of confidence in the CodeMark scheme. To address these
concerns, the Bill aims to strengthen the scheme by providing
greater oversight from MBIE of the product certification bodies and
to maintain a register of the products certified.
Other Matters
The Bill lumps a number of other important changes under
the heading "Other Matters", such as increased investigative powers
for MBIE and a wider discretion for the use of the building levy.
Builders should also note that the Bill clarifies their
responsibilities with respect to the use of building products and,
in some areas, increases the fines that may be imposed for offences
under the Building Act.
If you would like to know more about the proposed changes
or require assistance with making a submission then please get in
touch.