Consentium takes out innovation award

Consentium provides consenting services exclusively to Kāinga Ora for public housing of up to, and including, four levels, independently of councils.

National Building Consent Authority Director Anna McCrossan says winning the award is wonderful recognition for the team. 
 
"Since we began operations in March, being innovative and putting customers at the heart has been key to our approach. We will continue to innovate and improve our processes to ensure we are providing the best service possible."

Consentium has been in operation since March 2021. As New Zealand’s first nationally accredited and registered non-Territorial Authority BCA, Consentium was innovative even in its set up.

A registered BCA is usually managed by a Territorial Authority. An option outside this hadn’t been considered in the legislation. Consentium’s establishment, therefore, required collaboration at times.

Likewise, audit programmes and assessment methods needed to be updated by the regulator MBIE and assessor International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) in order for Consentium to be established.

Consentium also takes an innovative approach to its day-to-day operations, and this is reflected in the way it addresses newer technologies, such as Off-site Manufacturing (OSM).

The team is developing a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a streamlined consenting pathway for homes built using OSM methods.

In addition to the BOINZ innovation award, Anna McCrossan was also highly commended in the Women of the Built Environment award category of the RICS Awards 2021 (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) in September.

The award category celebrates inspirational role models who inspire the next generation of diverse professionals.

The Consentium team has been recognised with an innovation award from BOINZ.