National Building Consent Authority up-and-running

Consentium is New Zealand’s first accredited and registered non-Territorial Authority BCA.

Consentium was accredited as a BCA in November 2020, making it one of a handful of non-council organisations to achieve this status through International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ). Then on 9 March 2021, Consentium was registered as a BCA by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

National Building Consent Authority Director Anna McCrossan says Consentium ultimately aims to help Kāinga Ora deliver more warm and dry state homes for New Zealanders at pace and at scale.

“We are focussed on improving end-to-end building consenting processes, creating national efficiencies and enabling Kāinga Ora to reduce costs in external consenting and inspection fees.

“We also aim to contribute towards improving the quality of state homes and the speed of housing delivery through things like early engagement with architects and build teams to ensure improved process and compliance from the get go.”

Anna says it’s hugely exciting to have achieved registration. “We see Consentium as a centre of excellence and believe we have a unique opportunity to help educate and lift our internal consenting performance, and that of our suppliers.”

From 22 March 2021, Consentium will start processing national building consents for public housing of up to four levels, as well as provide inspections and Code Compliance Certification (CCC).

This covers building consent applications for new and existing homes (retrofits), as well as any repairs and maintenance that require a building consent. More information can be found on the Consentium website(external link).

The Consentium team aims to contribute towards housing quality and speed of delivery.