Major transformation for building industry in 2025 ITM Fishing – new season coming soon…
Codewords: Minor variations better defined On the deck with Blair Davies –satisfied builder
Mental fitness skills make a difference
Mental fitness skills make a difference
Just like you can become physically fitter, you can also build your mental strength and fitness. That’s the thinking behind Live Well Build Well, a nationwide wellbeing programme helping builders and tradies manage the ups and downs of residential construction. New research shows the approach is working.
Live Well Build Well passes on mental fitness skills that help people perform under pressure, keep well and achieve a better work-life balance.
Becoming mentally fit comes from small, everyday changes
Programme leader Rafael Caso says: “We use the term mental fitness because for many people ‘mental health’ has become associated with illness rather than wellness. But the science of wellbeing tells us that small, everyday changes in how we think and what we do to keep well and be happy can add up to huge changes in our mental health. We can still thrive no matter what life throws at us.”
The programme is in its second year and is rapidly building a community around mental fitness. It encourages builders and tradies to share what they do to keep well and stay on top of their game despite the demands of the industry.
Five key areas for being your best self
Live Well Build Well’s wellbeing advisor, Professor Grant Schofield of AUT, has spent years studying the human life span and how humans can be ‘their best self’. His insights have been packaged into tradie-friendly video clips and skill-based learning modules.
The resources for the basics of mental fitness focus on these five key areas:
1. Exercise
2. Nutrition and sleep
3. Flexible thinking skills
4. Active listening skills
5. The importance of knowing your ‘why’. Having a sense of purpose helps you to keep going in tough times.
Summary of key findings
A recent independent survey of 1,122 builders and tradies indicated the programme is having a meaningful impact on their wellbeing. The key findings were:
▶ After two years of Live Well, Build Well, approximately 1 in 3 residential construction workers are familiar with the programme.
▶ The average level of wellbeing of workers in the sector (as measured by the WHO-5’s 25-point wellbeing index) has increased almost a whole point from 15.5 in 2023 to 16.4 in 2024. A score below 13 indicates poor wellbeing.
▶ The proportion of workers reporting poor emotional wellbeing has decreased from 25% to 18% in the last year.
▶ There has also been a significant decrease (from 32% down to 23%) in the proportion of workers who state that they experienced stress all or most of the time at work.
“It’s really encouraging,” says Rafael Caso, “that residential construction workers are taking more action to maintain or improve their wellbeing. From the research, we can see a strong correlation between higher participation in wellbeing activities and improved wellbeing.”
However, the research also shows the wellbeing of those in the sector still remains slightly below New Zealanders overall, so there’s still work to do. And while most residential construction workers were highly satisfied with their job, only two-thirds were satisfied with their current work-life balance.
Make your wellbeing the priority
Rafael Caso sums up the programme’s potential: “The most important part of staying mentally fit is to make your own wellbeing a priority, no matter how busy the week gets. Make time for activities to de-stress and recharge your batteries. Different things work for different people, so check out the Live Well Build Well website and social media feeds to see what other builders are doing. Even small changes can make a huge difference to how you feel at the end of each day or week.”
▶ Compared to 2023, residential construction workers also report feeling less lonely. There was a decrease (from 12% to 7%) in those reporting feeling lonely most or all the time.
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Major transformation for building industry in 2025
Widespread transformation of the building industry is on the cards, with the coalition government unveiling a comprehensive programme to make building in New Zealand faster, easier, more efficient and more affordable.
The big announcements in the first half of the year included:
▶ Reform of ‘granny flat’ regulations allowing people to build a secondary self-contained dwelling (up to 60m2) on their property without resource or building consents.
▶ Planning law changes targeted at freeing up more land for development, reducing section costs and making it easier to develop land into housing.
▶ Remote building consent inspections could become the default standard throughout New Zealand.
These topics were covered in the August and October issues of Building Business magazine (available to read on itm.co.nz/buildingbusiness). Since then, the government has announced additional proposals to streamline the building process further.
Self-certification
A new opt-in self-certification scheme is being developed for low-risk residential building work done by qualified building professionals and accredited building companies.
The new scheme will remove or reduce the role of building consent authorities in reviewing builders’ work on certain projects, including simple residential dwellings. Individual builders and companies will be eligible to apply for selfcertification. They must demonstrate a specified level of competency, experience and trust.
The government believes the new scheme will reduce the load on BCAs, shift accountability to those who are doing the work, improve the efficiency of the building consent system, and reduce costs.
All changes to the Building Regulatory System, such as this, go through a review process of consultation with established building industry representatives and other interested parties before any updates or new legislation is implemented.
Major reform of the Building Consent Authority system
Major reform of the building consent system is proposed by replacing the Building Consent Authority (BCA) with a new model designed to streamline the consent process. Three options are being considered.
▶ Voluntary consolidation. Allowing councils to group together to deliver building control functions. A number of councils are currently pooling some resources.
▶ Regional BCAs. Establishing a smaller number of relatively large regional BCAs to replace the current district and city council BCAs.
▶ Single point of contact. Setting up a single point of contact for builders to submit plans to. Building inspections may be contracted out to existing BCAs or private consenting providers.
In announcing the proposals, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said New Zealand had some of the least affordable housing in the world, and a cumbersome consenting system was a crucial part of the problem.
Government finance for new homes
One of the most radical plans announced late in 2024 involves the government getting directly involved in temporarily underwriting the cost of construction of new homes. The scheme is designed to make financing easier for developers to obtain to start building.
Developers often have to pre-sell a proportion of dwellings in any development to secure finance, which has become much more difficult in the current economic downturn.
“In times of expensive borrowing, underwrites are an effective tool for supporting housing supply,” Housing Minister Chris Bishop said when announcing the proposal.
Only developments of 30 houses plus are eligible for the underwrite scheme, and the developer must have a proven track record of building or selling houses of a similar size and scale.
While targeted to high population areas, including Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, the scheme will be available everywhere.
“There are currently 67 BCAs across the country, each with different practices and approaches. We have a single building code that is supposed to apply consistently to all building work nationally.
“However, there are many instances of builders submitting the exact same plans to different BCAs and finding considerable additional costs and delays resulting from differing interpretations of the building code.”
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said the number of houses supported will depend on wider economic conditions, demand from developers, and the speed at which houses are built and sold.
“The faster projects are completed, the more capacity will be recycled back in capacity for further underwrites.”
New Zealand has 67 BCAs
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Casting lures, jigging and dropping baits in the Seychelles can deliver some incredible catches. This small blue marlin was one of many surprise catches.
ITM Fishing – new season coming soon…
By Matt Watson, Fisherman
Season 21 of ITM Fishing starts on 16th January, but don’t go looking for us on old-school television….if it’s still going.
We’ll soon release all-new episodes on YouTube and our Ultimate Fishing app and website, all of which you can watch on your Smart TV, device or computer. There are still some old-school types out there who are struggling to get their heads around streaming ITM Fishing episodes, but it’s not that hard. Search ‘Ultimate Fishing’ on YouTube or Google, and you’re a click away from watching all our episodes for free whenever you want.
No restraints
Season 21 of ITM Fishing will be different from any other. While it’s fair to say that in each of the last 20 seasons, the action, the footage, and the locations are always new and improved, this time, we can make the episodes exactly how we want, at whatever duration we want. In years gone by, we’ve had to leave out great content because of the time constraints of TV or because it doesn’t quite meet the politically correct expectations of a TV network executive. Now we can make the episodes how you and I both like them.
New content when you want it
This will be the first time we’ve released new content in January, and we’re doing this based on when most people are engaging with our Ultimate Fishing channel and our social media pages. But we’ll also release new content before then whenever
we film something cool and want to get it out there. We’ve just released an episode on bluefin tuna, and because my boat has Starlink, we’ve even live-streamed a fight with a 350kg bluefin tuna we hooked in only 15 metres of water!!
Can’t edit it when it’s live
The live streams are a game-changer. Viewers can now see what we are up to in real-time, so if it goes pear-shaped (and it often does), there is no editing it out; it’s there for the world to see. It’s easy to catch the live streams; just follow the ITM Fishing, Ultimate Fishing and Matt Watson Facebook pages, and you’ll get the notification. Last time around, we got 345,000+ views in 24 hours. It was great for our fans to be right there on the boat with us, and we didn’t have to spend days processing and editing the footage! ITM Fishing live - it’s a taste of things to come.
This new season on ITM Fishing has some cool episodes from here in NZ, where, amongst other things, we encountered giant bluefin tuna in the shallows and the usual suspects of kingfish and snapper. We’ve got some new forms of land-based fishing in there, too. I also filmed the very first fishing trip on my new boat, ‘Swordfish Mojo’, and I’ve not just launched a boat called Swordfish Mojo, I’ve also just launched a beer with the same name.
A big name to live up to
I was nervous calling my boat Swordfish Mojo. The meaning behind the name comes from always having good mojo when catching swordfish and having a great success rate. So when we went out to fish for swordfish in the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Nationals, I had my reputation on the line and a big sticker on the side of my boat claiming I had the mojo to catch swordfish.
After two days of the 8-day tournament, we hadn’t caught a thing. Normally, I’d say, ‘Watch the episode to see how we got on’, but I don’t have a TV exec telling me I can’t release details, so I’ll tell you this…. we crushed it.
We beat all the big gamefish boats with professional crews. A bunch of lads living on pies and beers for a week caught ten swordfish, a marlin and a big thresher shark. The boat lived up to its name, and the footage is Out-the-Gate!
The Seychelles
Overseas, I’ve visited what I believe is the best allround fishing location in the world, the Seychelles.
The Seychelles is a place where you can get blue marlin, black marlin, giant trevally, dog tooth tuna, mahimahi, sailfish, yellowfin tuna and emperor snapper all in the same spot, not just the same area, literally the same spot!
We’ve also filmed again in my favourite Pacific destination, Niue, where I fish with the charter boats like any other tourist and fish with the locals from the local vaka (canoes).
So there’s a whole lot to see in the new season of ITM Fishing – the pictures on these pages and the clips on our social media will do a better job of showing you what’s coming than these few words, but I’ll say this; it’s good to be back and getting our fishing content directly to our audience, and we can only do it because of the support we get from ITM.
Get a Swordfish Mojo in ya!
Matt Watson
This kingfish was hooked in the same spot as the big bluefin tuna, although there was no way Matt could hold the bluefin up for a pic!
Team Swordfish Mojo with one of ten swordfish they caught during the Game Fish Nationals, the mojo was flowing!
Matt with a big bass, in this episode, you get to see how to catch bass and process the whole fish, with a cool segment on fish smoking back at ‘The ITM Boatshed’
Matt and the lads hooked this monster tuna a couple of boat lengths from the rocks in the Bay of Islands.
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The Waipa State Mill (now Red Stag Timber) was founded in 1939 to supply sustainable timber to the New Zealand domestic market from plantation forestry. Today the site is the largest sawmill in the Southern Hemisphere, employing around 500 people
Over 1 million m³ of logs are consumed annually for supplying the New Zealand domestic market and export. That’s the equivalent of over 35,000 logging trucks.
Red Stag Timber is a unique site in that it generates all its electricity and steam from its own process waste and is a net exporter of electricity to the national grid.
This is achieved by burning all the sawdust, shavings and reject timber in 3 biomass boilers. These boilers produce up to 69 tonnes per hour of 415 degree steam at 42 bar.
This steam then passes through 2 Siemens turbines that lower the steam to 200 degrees at 10 bar whilst producing up to 7.7MW of electricity, which is sufficient to cover the requirements of the site and export to the national grid. The energy produced is enough to power a town of 15,000 people.
The steam then passes to the kilns where it is used to dry the timber for end use. The cooled steam (condensate) is then returned to the boilers where the process is repeated.
Red Stag was the winner of the EECA Business Awards 2018 ‘Large energy user of the year’ award and the 2019 Deloitte Excellence Awards ‘Large energy user initiative of the year’. Both awards were for its commitment to sustainable energy use. In 2021, Red Stag also won the ITM ‘Supplier of the year’ award.
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New high tech T-foils set to boost boat speed in epic Auckland regatta
It's been a long wait for City of Sails yachties…but well worth it. The first ITM New Zealand Sailing Grand Prix | Auckland to be held on Waitemata Harbour is likely to be one of the most spectacular events in the history of SailGP.
It'll be the first time that the F50s will be race-fitted with new high-speed T-Foils, an innovative design that boosts the speed of the cats to over 100km/h. Another first for the Auckland event is a boost in the number of boats, with two new teams expanding the fleet to 12.
More teams, faster boats – crewed by the world's best sailors – means fleet racing will be quicker, closer, more competitive and more unpredictable than ever.
The T-Foils will be used for the first time in New Zealand, following final trials in San Francisco, where Canada's F50 fitted with the new foils set a speed record of 101.98 km/h.
Faster foils, more control
The T-Foils have thinner sections than the current L-Foils, allowing them to delay the onset of cavitation, a phenomenon that sees the water boil or vaporize at high speeds, causing loss of control.
Phil Robertson, who skippered the Canadian boat when the record was set, made some telling comments: "The game is certainly going to change. Speed-wise, the averages will go up, which means sailors will need to make decisions faster, with closing speeds dramatically increasing. Going round the bottom mark at 90 km/h will be a new experience for everyone."
SailGP CEO Russell Coutts said the T-Foils would also level the playing field for new teams joining the league and create a learning curve for even the most experienced crews.
"With the change impacting the entire fleet, no team will have more experience using these foils, which will likely level the playing field. Fans may be set for a new pecking order and some surprise results."
Big crew changes
There have been significant crew changes in the teams following the season final in San Francisco and the America's Cup in Spain. New teams from Italy and Brazil have joined the series, with the Brazil boat being helmed by a woman for the first time in SailGP history – double Olympic Gold medallist Martine Grael.
A significant change for the Black Foils is the departure of long-time flight controller Andy Maloney, who has signed up as flight controller for Brazil.
Leo Takahashi is the Black Foils' new flight controller. He learned to sail at Murrays Bay in Auckland, cut his teeth in the Optimist World Championships, and won major national and international youth match racing championships.
He's an experienced and well-respected hand on the SailGP circuit, having crewed for Japan in seasons one and two and with USA in season four. He came up against Burling and Tuke in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and they have been firm friends ever since.
"It's been a pleasure to see him grow as an athlete over the last few years," says Tuke, "and fantastic to have such a young talent join our team as we continue to push the Black Foils to the next level."
Takahashi's reaction? "I was a bit shocked, actually. And now I am just elated. It's a real honour."
Racing on the ultimate global stage, SailGP’s 2025 Season will be the league's most expansive to date with events spanning five continents. The global racing championship will also make stops in iconic destinations, including Rio de Janeiro, New York, Sydney and Geneva.
Watch it live
Fans will be able to stream all SailGP events live on ThreeNow.
The ITM New Zealand Grand Prix | Auckland is scheduled to take place January 18-19, 2025 on Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour. The Auckland event will air live on Three.
For further information or to purchase tickets, visit SailGP.com/Auckland
Minor variations better defined
New and amended regulations came into force on 30 September 2024 to better clarify a ‘minor variation’ when amending a building consent, and a ‘minor customisation’ when it comes to a MultiProof.
The Government made this change in August. The changes address some of the recommendations in the Commerce Commissioner’s market study into residential building supplies related to product substitution and variations.
Minor vs major
After a project gets a building consent and begins, it is possible that some building products specified in the plans are not available. In this situation, you can make a change to your consented plan without impacting the consent as long as the change is minor and does not affect compliance with the Building Code. This is known as a 'minor variation' for building projects and a 'minor customisation' when applied to a MultiProof.
Building consent authorities will still assess changes to ensure the building will comply with the Building Code, but you won't need to submit an amendment for a building consent for minor, straightforward product or design changes.
The problem comes when there is disagreement (usually between a builder or designer and a building consent authority) about whether a change is 'minor' or needs to be dealt with under the 'major variation' rules, which require a building consent to be re-submitted.
The difference between a minor and major variation can be extensive in terms of time and cost involved, so it is important that all parties agree on the scope of the variation.
A closer look at the clarification
Minor variations are covered by the Building (Minor Variations) Regulations 2009, which forms part of the Building Act 2004.
Under the change, these regulations have had three new parts added to make them clearer:
The substitution of a comparable product is a minor variation if—
(a) the products achieve an equivalent level of performance, having regard to their design, installation, intended use, and maintenance; and
(b) it is not likely to affect the compliance of other parts of the building work with the building code; and
(c) the consequences of a building failure due to the product substitution would not be significantly worse than a building failure caused by the failure of the original product.
These sections are additional to the current minor variation definition, which simply says that a variation must not ‘deviate significantly’ from the original plans and specifications.
Planning for potential variations in advance
Building consent application forms are also being updated to allow builders and designers to specify alternative products in advance. This will be optional and allow you to specify comparable building products in advance, so an alternative will be pre-approved and ready to go without a variation needed, if needed.
This will allow for improved efficiency in the building consent process and encourage competition for building products – especially around supply and availability.
Minor customisations for MultiProof
For Licenced Building Practitioners (LBPs) designing MultiProof projects involving restricted building work, the regulation changes also impact ‘minor customisations’. MultiProof enables fasttracked building consents for pre-approved building designs. The inclusion of a definition for minor customisation now gives homeowners and builders some flexibility to make personal choices about a build without sacrificing the benefit of a pre-approved building design.
The bigger picture
Updating the regulations around defining a minor variation may help speed up consenting and improve efficiency. Other changes already announced in this space include:
▶ mandating the acceptance and use of overseas building products
▶ increasing the uptake of remote virtual inspections
▶ reducing the cost of the building levy
▶ improving the monitoring of the building consent system, including publishing data quarterly.
Codewords
Quiz
1. Why did this definition change need to happen?
a) It addresses some of the recommendations in the Commerce Commission market study into impediments to product substitution and variations
b) It will clarify what a 'minor' change is for building consent authorities, designers, and builders
c) It is aimed at speeding up consenting and improving efficiency
d) All of the above
2. The substitution of a comparable product is a minor variation if — ?
a) The products achieve an equivalent level of performance, having regard to their design, installation, intended use and maintenance
b) The new product is the same colour as the original
c) It is likely to affect the compliance of other parts of the building work with the Building Code
d) All of the above
Further guidance from MBIE
Read MBIE’s guidance for Minor Variations –building.govt.nz
3. What is another change already announced aimed at speeding up consenting and improving efficiency?
a) Mandating the acceptance and use of overseas building products
b) Increasing the uptake of remote virtual inspections
c) Reducing the cost of the building levy
d) Improving the monitoring of the building consent system, including publishing data quarterly
e) All of the above
ADD TO YOUR LBP ACTIVITY LOG
This article is from Codewords Issue 121.
Log in to the LBP portal lbp.govt.nz (or scan the QR code) and update your Skills Maintenance activities.
Communities designing communities for a more sustainable future?
Of the 17 sustainable development goals initiated by the United Nations in 2015, the most crucial one affecting construction in New Zealand is the urgent need to plan more sustainable towns, cities and communities. So what does that mean for the average kiwi builder?
The homes we build over the next 20-plus years will significantly differ from those of the last few decades, mainly due to urban intensification and its impacts. More infill housing. More multi-unit developments. More apartments.
In 2008, the global urban population outnumbered the rural population for the first time in history. By 2050, it is expected that two-thirds of the world's population will be living in urban areas.
In New Zealand, around 85% of people live in urban areas. In many cases, local councils are struggling with the need to plan for growth to enhance the quality of living in our communities in the most sustainable way possible.
Planning a sustainable community
While large urban areas in New Zealand have seen a significant rise in infill housing, apartments and multi-unit developments, the planning has been, in many cases, ad hoc. The UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide clear guidelines for building more sustainable communities, which have been adopted in principle by central government and local authorities.
The guiding principles of the SDGs are to secure humankind's resources and opportunities in the long term and to always consider tomorrow in today's decisions.
One trend that has taken root is the concept of regenerative design, an approach to building design that supports the co-production of human and natural systems within a dynamic relationship. One example is the Earthsong eco-neighbourhood co-housing project in Ranui, West Auckland.
The big picture
All the dwellings in the project are north-facing and use passive solar design. Construction materials were selected to reduce environmental impacts.
Economic burdens were also reduced with solar water heating and rainwater collection for reuse.
A core principle of the project is fostering social aspects of a neighbourhood environment, such as utilising co-housing, a form of collaborative housing whereby residents participate in the design and operation of their community and neighbourhood. The co-housing concept includes:
▶ Members participate in the planning and design process for the development and are responsible as a group for all the final decisions.
▶ The physical design encourages a sense of community while safeguarding privacy and increasing the possibilities for spontaneous social contact.
▶ Facilities are managed in common – each household has a private residence and access to common areas and facilities.
▶ Residents manage the development –they make decisions of common concern at community meetings using inclusive, participatory decision-making.
This article is the fifth in a series of articles exploring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how they affect building and construction in New Zealand.
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
For further information, visit sdgs.un.org/goals
On the deck with Blair Davies – satisfied builder. Satisfied customers.
Robust, durable and easy to install, DURAwood® is a game-changer in fencing and decking solutions. When Blair Davies of Blair Davies Building tried it out recently, he was impressed, and so were his customers.
“I’d been on the lookout for a decent fencing and decking product for some time, and DURAwood® caught my eye,” reports Blair. “I decided to give it a crack and certainly wasn’t disappointed!” So far, he’s used DURAwood® dual-purpose fibre cement products for fencing, decking, and even cladding for an outdoor storage structure – and he plans to continue using it.
“Providing you use the correct gear, DURAwood® is very easy to work with. I use a drop saw and have had absolutely no chipping when cutting or drilling. For fixings, I use Ecko stainless steel decking screws with an oval head, which I buy off the shelf at ITM. The stainless steel colour blends in perfectly with the natural colour of DURAwood®.”
Customers love it
Blair reports that, without exception, his customers have been delighted with their completed DURAwood® projects. “I’ve secured new jobs through referrals from satisfied customers, including one from a passer-by who was so impressed, he asked me to price his job on the spot!”.
Great to work with
He was also impressed with the ease of installation. “DURAwood® stays straight and stable from the get-go and looks great. Working with natural timbers always has its challenges with movement, warping and cupping. Its durability is also an outstanding feature, as it’s far more durable than any other fencing or decking alternative I’ve come across.”
Affordable
And how does DURAwood® compare when it comes to price? “DURAwood® really stacks up compared to natural timber and composite alternatives,” says Blair. “My customers are generally surprised at how affordable a DURAwood® fence or deck is.”
Head to your local ITM store to explore the longlasting benefits of
As Blair can attest, DURAwood® is a reliable, practical and cost-effective choice for all kinds of fencing and decking projects.
DURAwood®
Blair Davies
Satisf reasonable grounds
By Bruce Duggan, Senior Technical Specialist, Occupational Regulation, MBIE
Building consent authorities (BCAs) need to be ‘satisfied on reasonable grounds’ that building work will meet the requirements of the Building Code before they can issue the building consent. This is not always as simple as comparing the plans with the performance requirements of the Building Code.
The Building Code is performance-based, meaning it states how a finished building must perform in its intended use rather than describing how it must be designed or constructed. The Building Act provides several ways to demonstrate compliance:
▶ Acceptable solutions – specific construction methods that comply with the Building Code. The Building Code clauses generally have one or more acceptable solutions.
▶ Verification methods – methods of testing, calculations and measurements that comply with the Code.
▶ Alternative solutions – where all or part of the building design differs from either of the above, and other ways are used to show how it complies with the Code.
Acceptable solutions and verification methods, if followed, must be accepted by a BCA as complying with the Building Code provisions. There are other paths that must also be accepted as compliant by a BCA, such as product certification, energy work certificates, and Determinations issued by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
However, when the design includes specifically designed or bespoke features (alternative solutions) that could affect how the completed building performs in its intended use, the designer needs
to show the BCA how that design will meet the performance requirements of the Code. The BCA needs to use its collective experience to determine compliance.
This is also the case when deciding whether to issue a code compliance certificate (CCC). In fact, the CCC must include the declaration that the BCA is ‘satisfied on reasonable grounds’ that the building work complies with the building consent. Being satisfied on reasonable grounds means having enough evidence or justification to believe something to be true or valid.
If, for any reason, work is carried out differently on site to what the designer detailed, it is important to involve the designer so that they have an opportunity to make a new case for compliance. If the inspector finds that the detail on-site differs from that shown, they have no option but to fail the inspection. This could potentially lead to costly delays on-site.
Other parties involved
Although the BCA is ultimately responsible for building consent outcomes, other parties play a key role in contributing to whether a BCA can be satisfied on reasonable grounds.
▶ Owners are responsible for obtaining consents, approvals, and certificates
▶ Designers are responsible for ensuring the plans and specifications are sufficient to result in the building work complying with the Building Code
▶ Builders are responsible for ensuring that building work complies with the building consent and the plans and specifications that relate to that consent.
Further guidance from MBIE
MBIE has developed a guidance document ‘Satisfied on reasonable grounds’. This guidance document aims to help improve understanding of what satisfied on reasonable grounds means and how to apply it. It also provides clarity for BCAs, and assists them to achieve a consistent approach in applying the ‘reasonable grounds’ test.
The guidance is primarily for BCAs, however it also provides helpful information and understanding for designers, builders, and owners in their various roles.
Scan the QR code to download the ‘Satisfied on reasonable grounds’ guide.
Codewords Quiz
1. What does being satisfied on reasonable grounds mean?
a) The bearing capacity of the ground is suitable to support the proposed building.
b) The BCA assumes that the building will comply if built as-per the design.
c) It means having enough evidence or justification to believe something to be true or valid.
2. What does the BCA need to consider to be satisfied on reasonable grounds?
a) Previous knowledge of similar situations
b) Risk
c) The skills and experience of persons providing the experience
d) Complexity
e) The quality of the evidence provided
f) All the above
3. Why is it important for site or trade LBPs to understand these changes?
a) It's not – they're not the designer
b) They need to ensure the work is completed in accordance with the plans, or contact the designer before carrying out the work to ensure its compliance with the Code.
c) They don't have to worry about it –that's the inspector's job
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