Public consultation on Building Code fire safety review

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Building Performance group (MBIE BP), directed by the Minister of Building and Construction, is reviewing Aotearoa New Zealand’s Building Code fire safety requirements.

Building uses, technology, materials and construction methods have changed markedly since the last Building Code fire safety changes in 2012. This means that the Building Code fire safety provisions may no longer be fit for purpose. This review will provide an opportunity to improve our building fire safety requirements.

The review is currently in the first phase. This phase has focused on identifying issues in the Building Code fire safety provisions. Future phases are expected to explore options and identify solutions to address the identified issues. The overall review process is currently planned to finish towards the end of 2026.

MBIE BP consulted with Fire and Emergency New Zealand as well as approximately 100 other stakeholder groups to identify current Building Code fire safety issues. These issues have been summarised in a discussion document for public consultation that is available here (Building Code fire safety review 2024 | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (mbie.govt.nz)(external link)).

Public consultation on the discussion document is open until 5pm on Friday 6 December 2024. Any group or individual is welcome to make a submission, but it cannot claim to represent the views of Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Fire and Emergency will be making a submission. If there are points you think we should consider including in our feedback, relating to the questions for the consultation, please include them in this template(external link) by Wednesday 20 November.