Tradies, local authorities, designers, retailers and the public are being urged to have their say on a draft document that would enable many more overseas products to be easily used in New Zealand.

The Government is introducing a self-certification scheme for trusted building professionals and a requirement for Building Consent Authorities (BCA) to help reduce inspection wait times.

The Government has today confirmed that NIWA will be acquiring MetService as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The announcement follows the in-principle decision made last year on the acquisition.

Improvements will soon be in place to strengthen occupational regulation regimes for Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs), electrical workers and plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is seeking feedback on a range of options to control the risks from engineered stone and other sources of exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

The Government is expanding the permitted voltage range for New Zealand’s electricity networks and making changes to the building consent process to help increase the uptake of residential solar.

The Building and Construction (Small Standalone Dwellings) Bill has received its first reading in Parliament.

The Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) will visit a selection of student rentals in Dunedin this week to check they are complying with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act).

All workers and their families deserve to have confidence that they will return home safe from work, including those in the engineered stone industry and sectors working with materials that contain crystalline silica.

The Government has passed the Building (Overseas Building Products, Standards, and Certification Schemes) Amendment Bill to remove barriers to overseas building products being used in New Zealand.