Submitters

Feedback on issues in the Building Code

From 23 October to 24 December, MBIE collected feedback on issues in the Building Code fire safety provisions. Submissions for the consultation could be provided via letters, email, and an online survey tool. A sign language version of the survey was also available.

MBIE received a total of 112 responses to this public consultation. This is the most submissions received on a fire safety topic in the last ten years. In total, the submissions included approximately 1900 individual comments totalling 200 pages of comments alongside 140 pages of attachments.

Submissions from individuals and organisations

Submitters were asked to describe their role. Responses are shown in Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1. There were 64  submissions on behalf of organisations and 48 submissions from individuals. The largest number of submitters were from architects, designers, and engineers. Submitters in other categories included:

• Researchers
• Representatives and members of deaf and disabled peoples’ communities
• Firefighters’ union and Fire and Emergency New Zealand
• Electricity distributors
• Building product manufacturers and suppliers
• Twelve submissions from those who did not state a role or preferred not to say.

In comparison to past consultations, typically, fire engineers and building consent authorities make up approximately 60% of all submissions on fire safety. For this consultation, these organisations make up only 30% of the submissions. Relatively more submissions were received from disabled people, building product suppliers, commercial and residential building owners, and building users than in previous consultations.

Industry bodies who submitted on the consultation included:

• Building Officials Institute New Zealand (BOINZ)
• Society of Fire Protection Engineers New Zealand Chapter (SFPE NZ)
• Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau
• New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU)
• Fire Protection Association New Zealand (FPANZ)
• Association of Building Compliance (ABC)
• Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ)
• Deaf Aotearoa
• Disabled Persons Assembly NZ (DPA)
• Deaf Action NZ
• New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN).

A full list of the submitters is provided in Appendix A.

Appendix A: List of submitters

Table 1.1. Number of submissions received in the consultation

Role Architect, designer, or engineer Builder or tradesperson Building product manufacturer or supplier Building owner, resident, or occupant Independent qualified person (IQP) Others including those who did not state a role

Figure 1.1. Number of submissions received

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