9 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BUILDING SUPPLIES REPORT

“It needs to be easier for new building products and new methods to be introduced into New Zealand, and for competing suppliers to be able to expand their businesses—that is the essence of competition,” said Anna Rawlings, outgoing Associate Commissioner at the Commerce Commission, on the release of the final report from a year-long market study into residential building supplies.

The final report, released in December 2021, contains nine recommendations to improve competition for the benefit of homeowners and the construction industry. They are to:

1. Introduce competition as an objective to be promoted in the building regulatory system

2. Better serve Māori through the building regulatory system

3. Create more clear compliance pathways for a broader range of key building supplies

4. Explore ways to remove impediments to product substitution and variations

5. Establish a national system to share information about building products and consenting

6. Establish an education and mentoring function to facilitate a better co-ordinated and enhanced approach by BCAs to consenting and product approval processes

7. Develop and implement an all-ofgovernment strategy to coordinate and boost offsite manufacturing (OSM)

8. Promote compliance with the Commerce

Act, including by discouraging the use of quantity-forcing supplier-to-merchant rebates that may harm competition

9. Consider the economy-wide use of land covenants, exclusive leases and contractual provisions with similar effect. The Government is now considering the recommendations, with a response expected this March. Shortly before the report’s release, Fletcher Building announced that Winstone Wallboards had already informed its merchant customers that it would discontinue use of quantity rewarding rebates and move to a tailored, flat pricing model based on volume. Winstone Wallboards holds the lion’s share of domestic manufacture of plasterboard, which was in critically short supply in 2022.

Proposed Building Act Amends To Take Environmental Focus

The construction industry can expect to be asked for feedback in 2023 on proposed changes to the Building Act. The proposed amendments will make it clear that the building and construction sector has a core responsibility to consider the impact of climate change and the resilience of buildings.

The proposed changes will:

Make it mandatory for new and existing public, industrial and large-scale residential buildings (eg, multi-storey apartments) to hold energy performance ratings

Require those intending to undertake certain building or demolition work to have a waste minimisation plan

Change the principles of the Building Act to clarify that climate change is a key consideration.