As many members will be aware, in April this year, the Minister for Building and Construction announced the commencement of a review of the Earthquake-prone Buildings system that was put in place in 2017. ‘The Review’ is referred to interchangeably as the EPB and Seismic Risk Management Review, or the Review of Seismic Risk Management in Existing Buildings. The terms of reference for the review were finalised in May 2024. Information on the process and anticipated timeframes is available on MBIE’s website.
As part of this, the remediation deadlines for earthquake-prone buildings that had not lapsed as at 2 April 2024 will be extended for four years, to allow time for the Review and any subsequent changes to take place. The Bill to give effect to the extension had its first reading on 8 August and is expected to be passed by the end of 2024.
The Review is being carried out by MBIE staff, and contracted research projects and technical experts where required. The Review is being overseen by a Steering Group chaired by a person independent of MBIE.
NZSEE will continue to support the review through its representation on the Joint Committee for Seismic Assessment and Retrofit (JC-SAR), through nominated representatives on the Review Steering Group, and through the work of a subgroup of the NZSEE management committee.
The important first stage of the review is now commencing in earnest and NZSEE has developed a position statement and discussion paper for the benefit of the Review and to engage and prompt discussion amongst members. The document:
- Provides a brief overview of seismic risk management in existing buildings in New Zealand (and NZSEE’s role).
- Consolidates some of the principles that have guided our journey to this point.
- Passes some preliminary observations and opportunities relevant to the review.
The document is available on NZSEE’s website and can be accessed via the link below.
Read NZSEE’s Position Statement
Further to the Review terms of reference, and NZSEE’s position statement, we welcome further feedback from members to help guide our ongoing inputs into the review process. This especially concerns further observations on drivers, behaviours, barriers and opportunities relevant to the Stage 1 “current state” and “future state options” review workstreams. Feedback can be emailed to exec@nzsee.org.nz, with the subject line prefix “Seismic Risk Review – “. Alternatively, members are also welcome to submit feedback directly to MBIE’s own feedback portal, accessible via the MBIE web page linked above.
