Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission Te Komihana Rūwhenua o Waitaha Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission – Te Komihana Rūwhenua o Waitaha

Those who lost relatives and friends in the 22 February earthquake can be assured that there will be a very thorough inquiry into the failure of buildings that resulted in loss of life.
Chair, Justice Mark Cooper
 

Reporting Requirements

The terms of reference required the Commission to report to the Governor-General on:

(a) any measures necessary or desirable to prevent or minimise the failure of buildings in New Zealand due to earthquakes likely to occur during the lifetime of those buildings; and

(b) the cost of those measures; and

(c) the adequacy of legal and best-practice requirements for building design, construction, and maintenance insofar as those requirements apply to managing risks of building failure caused by earthquakes:

Interim Report

On 10 October 2011 the Commission delivered an interim report with interim recommendations to inform early decision-making on rebuilding and repair work that forms parts of the recovery from the Canterbury earthquakes.

Final Report

The terms of reference allowed a staged approach to the deivery of the final report.

Part One (Volumes 1, 2 and 3) of the final report contains recommendations to inform early decision-making about the central city's recovery from the Canterbury earthquakes. It was delivered  on 29 June 2012 and released by the Government on 23 August 2012.

Part Two (Volume 4) of the final report contains recommendations about earthquake-prone buildings. It was delivered on 10 October 2012 and released by the Government on 7 December 2012.

Part Three (Volumes 5, 6 and 7) was delivered on 29 November 2012. This completed the Commission's final report. It was released by the Government on 10 December 2012.