Description

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will be seeking the sector's views on a number of amendments to the Building Code as part of the biannual Building Code update programme.

This public consultation is the sector's opportunity to have your say and help shape the future of New Zealand's building safety. These amendments will be published in June 2020.

Scope

The most significant proposed amendments aim to do the following:

Increase clarity and consistency around fire safety requirements by:

• improving building features for firefighter operations in emergencies to better align with current Fire and Emergency New Zealand procedures and equipment
• amending fire testing requirements for cladding systems, so that international fire test methods can be considered

Providing more options to comply with the Building Code for surface water drainage by:

• issuing a new Acceptable Solution for the design and installation of stormwater drainage systems
• making it easier to determine rainfall intensities for specific locations