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
 

System of Building Controls

The Department of Building and Housing provided the Commission with the following briefing material about the general system of building controls prior to 1991 and the current building regulatory system.

1. Letter from the Department of Building and Housing to the Royal Commission, 27th May 2011 (.PDF) 493kb

2. Briefing to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into building failure caused by the Canterbury Earthquakes: The building regulatory framework, May 2011 (.PDF) 522kb

Includes information about:

  • The building regulatory system
  • The development of seismic design and standards
  • Building Act tools for upgrading structural performance of buildings
  • The post earthquake assessment of buildings
  • The Department’s investigation into the building collapses 

3. Building Act Review Cabinet Papers (.PDF) 1.3mb

  • Minute of Decision
  • Building Act review – further proposed amendments
  • Building Act review 1: Overview of reform proposals
  • Building Act review 2: Delivering accountability in the residential construction sector
  • Building Act review 3: Stepped consenting
  • Building Act review 4: Exemptions from requirement to have a building consent
  • Building Act review 5: Delivering building regulation
  • Appendix 1: Regulatory Impact Assessment 

4. Regulations Defining Moderate Earthquakes (.PDF) 432kb

Building (Specified Systems, Change of use, and Earthquake-prone Buildings) Regulations 2005.

5. Regulation of the Engineering Profession (.PDF) 857kb

  • Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act 2002
  • Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Rules (No 2) 2002

6. Regulation of Registered Architects (.PDF) 889kb

  • Registered Architects Act 2005
  • Registered Architects Rules 2006

7. Exhibit A and Appendix A to briefing to Royal Commission of Inquiry into building failure caused by the Canterbury Earthquakes about the building regulatory framework, May 2011 (.PDF) 259kb

Diagram of the relationship between building regulation, structural design and standards and building methods since the Napier earthquake (referred to in paragraphs 3.3 and 4.5 of the Briefing to Royal Commission of Inquiry into building failure caused by the Canterbury earthquakes about the building regulatory framework). 

8. Appendix A, Section 2: The building regulatory system (.PDF) 2.9mb

Performance-based Building Regulatory Systems, Principles and Experiences: A Report of the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee February 2010. Brian J. Meacham, Editor

9. Appendix A, Section 3: The development of structural design and standards (.PDF) 273kb

Overview timeline of Standards relating to determination of loads and methods of determining loads, compiled by Standards New Zealand 2011.

10. Appendix A, Section 4: Building Act tools for the upgrading of the structural performance of buildings

11. Appendix A, Section 5: rapid assessment of buildings during a state of emergency (.PDF) 1.2mb

Building Safety Evaluation During a State of Emergency – Guidelines for Territorial Authorities, New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, August 2009.

12. Appendix A, Section 6: The Department’s investigation into the building collapses (.PDF) 258kb

Terms of Reference for the Technical Investigation into the Performance of Buildings in the Christchurch CBD in the 22 February Christchurch Aftershock.