Cut the red tape
Make it easier to build, not harder.
The challenge
Complex, inconsistent building rules and council practices create delays, higher costs and uncertainty. This reduces productivity and slows housing delivery nationwide.
The opportunity
Government and industry can work together to simplify the building system, improve consistency, reduce unnecessary compliance costs and support faster housing delivery.
Government action
Recommended actions for government include:
- Make consenting faster, simpler and more consistent:
- Introduce nationally standardised consenting templates, inspection frameworks and documentation for common residential build types.
- Expand streamlined consenting pathways and Schedule 1 exemptions for low-risk and repeatable housing designs. This should free up consenting resources to focus on more complex projects.
- Set clear national standards – one code, one system:
- Introduce nationally consistent operational standards for building consent authorities. This should improve consistency in Building Code interpretation and reduce variation between councils.
- Make productivity a core system objective:
- Introduce nationally consistent performance measures and reporting requirements for building consent authorities.
- Measures should include consent processing times, inspection wait times and management of requests for information.
- Inspection response times should be measured from the date an inspection is requested rather than booked.
- This should improve transparency, accountability and performance across the building consent system.
- Keep rules proportionate to the size, risk and complexity of the project:
- Reduce duplicated compliance requirements and simplify regulatory processes for standardised and repeatable housing designs.
- Enforce rules fairly and consistently:
- Support a nationwide digital consenting system.
- Require all building consent authorities to provide remote inspection capability, where appropriate.
- This should improve consistency, efficiency and customer experience across the consenting process.
Industry action
Recommended actions for industry include:
- Provide clear, complete and accurate consent information:
- Improve the quality and consistency of documentation submitted through the consenting process. This should support faster approvals and reduce unnecessary requests for information.
- Lead by example on quality, safety and compliance:
- Maintain high standards of workmanship, site management and business practices. This should improve trust and confidence across the sector.
- Deliver quality homes on time, at a fair price and to a high standard:
- Plan projects well, communicate clearly with clients and manage delivery effectively. This should improve customer outcomes and long-term value.
- Manage risk, contracts and cashflow responsibly:
- Improve financial management, contract administration and business practices. This should support more sustainable and resilient construction businesses.
- Invest in digital productivity tools:
- Adopt technology, AI-enabled systems and smarter digital processes. This should improve efficiency, coordination, decision-making and project delivery outcomes across the construction process.
Current government reforms and initiatives
See government acronyms.
Get more homes out of the ground
Unlock land, infrastructure and investment.
The challenge
Planning constraints, infrastructure funding gaps and fragmented decision-making delay housing delivery, increase costs and weaken long-term sector confidence and investment.
The opportunity
Government and industry can better align planning, infrastructure investment and housing delivery. This would create a more predictable pipeline of development, improving investment confidence and supporting long-term economic growth.
Government action
Recommended actions for government include:
- Enable housing where it’s needed most:
- Provide national directions, government policy statements and long-term infrastructure strategies.
- Prioritise housing infrastructure in high-growth areas that are ready for development and have long-term economic potential.
- This should support housing delivery where demand is greatest.
- Align infrastructure funding with housing demand:
- Reform funding and financing settings so councils and providers can invest in infrastructure that supports growth over longer timeframes. This should reduce upfront cost pressures that delay or limit housing development.
- Provide a clear, long-term pipeline of housing and infrastructure projects:
- Publish plans for major housing and infrastructure projects across central and local government. This should improve market certainty, workforce planning and long-term business investment confidence.
- Coordinate land-use and infrastructure planning:
- Better align transport, water, housing and economic development priorities in regional spatial planning frameworks.
- Improve coordination between central and local government investment decisions.
- This should improve infrastructure planning and support more efficient housing delivery
- Use fair, consistent funding and levy tools:
- Review development contribution and levy settings to improve transparency, affordability and feasibility. This should mean infrastructure charges do not unnecessarily constrain housing supply or investment.
- Embed economic resilience and sustainability:
- Coordinate transport, water and housing investment to support efficient growth and long-term economic resilience.
- Support a more consistent pipeline of public housing and infrastructure projects during economic downturns. This should help reduce boom-bust impacts and maintain sector capability and productivity.
Industry action
Recommended actions for industry include:
- Deliver projects efficiently:
- Improve planning, coordination and project management. This should support more reliable delivery, stronger productivity and better client outcomes.
- Plan and price work responsibly:
- Strengthen cost estimation, risk management and financial planning. This should help businesses be sustainable and deliver on commitments.
- Invest in smarter, more efficient ways to build:
- Adopt modern construction methods, digital technology, AI-enabled tools and other innovations. This should help improve productivity, reduce waste and support better project outcomes.
- Work constructively with the supply chain:
- Build effective working relationships between builders, suppliers, subcontractors and project partners. This should improve coordination, resilience and project delivery.
- Share real-world insights:
- Bring practical industry experience and knowledge to inform policy, regulation and sector decision-making.
- Champion practical solutions:
- Promote innovation, continuous improvement and evidence-based approaches. This should support better outcomes for builders, clients and communities.
Current government reforms and initiatives
See government acronyms.
Back the crew
Support skilled tradies, safer sites, and fair pathways.
The challenge
Skills shortages, workforce constraints and low apprenticeship completion rates continue to constrain productivity, workforce development and long-term sector growth.
The opportunity
Government and industry can work together to strengthen workforce capability, improve training pathways and create safer, more productive workplaces that support long-term sector growth.
Government action
Recommended actions for government include:
- Make it easier for small and medium builders to take on, train and retain apprentices:
- Improve financial and administrative support for small and medium builders.
- Provide multi-year certainty for apprenticeship support funding and employer incentives. This should encourage long-term investment in training and improve apprentice retention, particularly during economic downturns.
- Keep training and qualification systems clear, consistent and up to date:
- Better align training provision, workforce forecasting and long-term housing and infrastructure delivery pipelines. This should mean workforce supply better reflects future sector demand.
- Align immigration and visa settings with workforce needs:
- Regularly review construction occupation shortages.
- Improve visa processing pathways for critical construction roles.
- Strengthen coordination between immigration policy, workforce planning and infrastructure investment forecasts.
- This should help address workforce shortages and support long-term industry capability.
- Support work-based learning:
- Align funding settings, training providers and industry pathways.
- Prioritise practical, on-the-job training alongside mentoring, pastoral care and work-readiness programmes. This should improve apprenticeship completion rates and support new entrants into the construction workforce.
- Focus health and safety rules on real outcomes:
- Support practical health and safety capability programmes focused on small and medium builders. This should improve workforce wellbeing, reduce injury-related disruption and create safer worksites.
- Promote construction as a professional, long-term career path:
- Strengthen partnerships between schools, trade academies, training providers and industry to create more pathways into construction.
- Expand apprenticeship pathways and support high-quality work-based learning.
- Promote the long-term career opportunities available in construction through school engagement, industry outreach and careers initiatives.
- This should attract more people into construction and strengthen the future workforce.
Industry action
Recommended actions for industry include:
- Train, mentor and retain apprentices:
- Invest in workplace training, supervision, mentoring and career development. This should improve apprentice completion rates and support long-term workforce capability.
- Build strong teams and safe, supportive worksites:
- Foster positive workplace culture, effective leadership and workforce wellbeing practices. This should support safer, more productive and more resilient businesses.
- Keep health and safety practical:
- Focus on clear, workable and outcomes-based health and safety practices. This should improve site safety while reducing unnecessary compliance burden.
- Invest in people and lead by example:
- Support workforce development, continuous learning and high standards of workmanship and conduct across the construction sector.
- Promote construction as a skilled, rewarding and long-term career:
- Engage with schools and communities to inspire future builders and tradespeople.
- Offer apprenticeships, work experience and on-the-job learning where possible.
- Share positive examples of the skills and opportunities available in construction.
Current government reforms and initiatives
See government acronyms.
Build better together
Partner early, build momentum and win together.
The challenge
Inconsistent procurement practices, excessive risk transfer and limited early industry engagement are increasing project costs, reducing efficiency and undermining collaboration across the construction sector.
The opportunity
Government and industry can work together to strengthen procurement practices, improve coordination and deliver better project outcomes through greater certainty, capability and shared accountability.
Government action
Recommended actions for government include:
- Involve industry early when designing policy, regulation and major programmes:
- Increase the use of early contractor involvement and collaborative procurement models. This should improve project planning, buildability, risk management and delivery efficiency from the outset.
- Strengthen cross-party alignment:
- Improve long-term coordination across economic, infrastructure, housing and resource management settings. This should provide greater certainty and reduce stop-start conditions across the construction cycle.
- Procure for quality, value and long-term outcomes:
- Update government procurement rules for construction to strengthen whole-of-life value assessment and balanced risk allocation.
- Ensure procurement settings give capable New Zealand builders a fair shot:
- Recognise proven local capability.
- Support greater participation by regional firms and local supply chains in publicly funded projects.
- Consider regional market capacity and delivery capability when designing and procuring projects.
- This should strengthen competition, support regional capability and improve project delivery.
- Standardise public sector construction contracts and procurement processes:
- Introduce shared contract templates and procurement frameworks. This should reduce duplication and minimise unnecessary contract variation across agencies.
- Build stronger in-house procurement capability:
- Require agencies that deliver major construction projects to demonstrate appropriate procurement capability, construction sector expertise and project governance arrangements.
- Align agencies and councils:
- Improve coordination between central government agencies, infrastructure providers and councils delivering major housing and infrastructure programmes.
- Publish long-term infrastructure and procurement pipelines.
- Monitor procurement performance and project outcomes.
- This should improve coordination, increase market certainty and support long-term investment confidence.
Industry action
Recommended actions for industry include:
- Deliver reliably and consistently:
- Maintain high standards of project management, communication and delivery performance. This should build confidence across the sector and with clients.
- Build fair, trusted relationships with clients:
- Communicate openly, manage expectations responsibly and deliver quality outcomes. This should support long-term trust and repeat business.
- Take part constructively in policy, procurement and industry discussions:
- Contribute practical industry expertise and real-world insights. This should support better decision-making and more effective sector outcomes.
- Work closely with suppliers and partners:
- Build strong working relationships across the supply chain. This should improve coordination, resilience, efficiency and project delivery outcomes.
- Present a solutions-focused voice:
- Promote practical, evidence-based and collaborative approaches. This should support productivity, investment confidence and better outcomes across the construction sector.
Current government reforms and initiatives
See government acronyms.
Lift the standards, not the cost
Deliver better quality, smarter standards, no unnecessary expense.
The challenge
Slow and inconsistent product approval processes, frequent regulatory changes and unclear accountability settings are increasing costs and limiting innovation and productivity across the construction sector.
The opportunity
Government and industry can work together to improve quality, encourage innovation and support greater productivity. This can happen through smarter regulation, clearer accountability and more efficient product assurance processes.
Government action
Recommended actions for government include:
- Keep Building Code updates flexible, practical and risk-based:
- Improve implementation planning, transition periods and industry engagement for significant regulatory changes.
- Ensure councils apply the rules consistently.
- Speed up product assurance reforms:
- Expand recognition pathways for trusted overseas product certifications and standards.
- Improve competition and reduce material costs where appropriate.
- Simplify approval processes for low-risk and proven building products and systems.
- This should improve product choice, encourage innovation and reduce unnecessary costs.
- Make regulatory changes that lift quality and performance:
- Improve the consistency of product assessment, approval and acceptance across building consent authorities.
- Introduce nationally consistent operational standards for Building Code interpretation to reduce variation between councils.
- Clarify accountability between suppliers, designers and builders:
- Clarify the roles, responsibilities and liability of suppliers, designers and builders. This should improve certainty, reduce disputes and strengthen confidence across the supply chain.
- Improve data, benchmarking and guidance:
- Strengthen national data collection, reporting and practical guidance on construction productivity, innovation uptake, building performance and regulatory system efficiency. This should support evidence-based policy development.
- Support the practical use of low-carbon, innovative materials and modern construction methods:
- Clarify approval pathways and improve consenting consistency for prefabrication, offsite manufacturing and modern construction methods.
- Work with industry to improve cost competitiveness, local manufacturing and supply-chain readiness.
- This should improve productivity, material efficiency and industry innovation.
Industry action
Recommended actions for industry include:
- Build to a high standard and standing behind the quality delivered:
- Maintain strong workmanship, accountability and quality assurance across all stages of construction.
- Focus on long-term durability, safety and client satisfaction:
- Deliver homes and buildings that perform well over time and meet the expectations of clients and communities.
- Invest in good site management and supervision:
- Strengthen on-site leadership, coordination and oversight to improve productivity, quality and safety outcomes.
- Show compliance and best practice on site:
- Maintain high standards of regulatory compliance, ethical business conduct and transparent workforce practices.
- Strengthen oversight of subcontracting arrangements and employment practices.
- Embrace innovation, new materials, design and construction methods:
- Adopt modern construction approaches, digital tools and emerging technologies. This should improve productivity, sustainability and building performance.
- Share lessons and mentor other builders:
- Support knowledge-sharing, continuous improvement and capability development across the construction sector.
Current government reforms and initiatives
See government acronyms.
Protect the consumer
Ensure fair outcomes, clear protections and trusted builders.
The challenge
Poor-performing operators, inconsistent enforcement and difficult dispute resolution processes undermine consumer confidence and create additional costs across the residential construction sector.
The opportunity
Government and industry can work together to strengthen trust, improve accountability and support fair outcomes for consumers. This can be done through better enforcement, clearer information and more effective dispute resolution.
Government action
Recommended actions for government include:
- Crack down on rogue operators and phoenix companies:
- Strengthen enforcement against rogue operators, phoenix companies and repeat offenders.
- Improve information-sharing between regulators and enforcement agencies. This should improve oversight and compliance monitoring.
- Support consistent enforcement of quality and compliance standards:
- Introduce nationally consistent enforcement approaches across councils and regulators. This should reduce variation, improve efficiency and support more predictable compliance outcomes.
- Strengthen consumer protections:
- Improve coordination between consumer protection frameworks, licensing systems and dispute resolution services. This should support a more efficient and trusted residential construction market.
- Ensure dispute resolution is fair, fast and accessible
- Improve access to timely, affordable residential construction dispute resolution services.
- Encourage early intervention and mediation to resolve disputes before they escalate. This should reduce legal costs, delays and financial impacts.
- Improve transparency of builder accreditation, performance and conduct:
- Strengthen visibility of licensing status, disciplinary outcomes and serious compliance failures. This should support informed consumer decision-making.
- Ensure consumers have clear, accessible information about home performance:
- Improve the availability, consistency and accessibility of consumer information and advice, through stronger consumer education and guidance.
- Cover a full suite of topics including home performance, contracts, warranties, guarantees, dispute resolution pathways and building responsibilities.
Industry action
Recommended actions for industry include:
- Uphold high standards of workmanship and ethical conduct:
- Maintain high standards of workmanship, quality assurance and responsible business practices. This should strengthen trust and confidence across the residential construction sector.
- Communicate clearly and honestly with clients throughout the build:
- Provide transparent information.
- Manage expectations proactively.
- Support informed decision-making.
- This should strengthen trust and improve the customer experience.
- Resolve disputes fairly and promptly:
- Engage constructively in dispute resolution processes.
- Work to achieve timely, practical and fair outcomes for all parties.
- This should reduce conflict, minimise delays and support fair outcomes.
- Offer strong consumer protections such as guarantees and warranties:
- Clearly explain guarantees (including the Master Build Guarantee, where applicable), warranties and consumers’ rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
- This should build confidence and help consumers make informed decisions.
- Educate clients about their rights, protections and performance choices:
- Provide clear, practical information about contracts, home performance, client choices and building responsibilities through the build journey.
- This should improve understanding and support better decision-making throughout the build journey.
Current government reforms and initiatives
Government acronyms
- BCA: Building consent authority
- DIA: Department of Internal Affairs
- INZ: Immigration New Zealand
- LINZ: Land Information New Zealand
- MBIE: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
- MCERT: Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport
- MfE: Ministry for the Environment
- MoE: Ministry of Education
- RMA: Resource Management Act
- TEC: Tertiary Education Commission
- TSY: The Treasury