Expansion of the Waikato Building Consent Group
21 August 2013
Two new partners are joining the Waikato Building Consent Group.
Hauraki and Waitomo districts are the latest to join Hamilton City and Waipa, Waikato, Matamata-Piako and Otorohanga districts in the group, which aims to deliver excellent and consistent building control service across part of the Waikato region.
Group chairperson Wayne Allan said the introduction of the Building Consent Authority accreditation in 2007 was a further incentive for councils to increase their levels of collaboration and the new partners would strengthen the voice of the group even further.
By working together collaboratively we strengthen our position, that assists us when working with Central Government on legislative changes and ensuring our building consent accreditation compliance is achieved when assessed by International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ), he said.
A manager was appointed to assist the group including preparing for IANZ assessments and to promote a more collaborative approach to service delivery.
As a result of consultation with the construction industry, the Building Consent Group moved to a common quality assurance system and documentation in 2010.
Since then, the www.buildwaikato.co.nz and has become a growing information and resource hub for both the construction industry and their customers.
The industry works across territorial borders and consequently needed consistency of building control services for ease of doing business, said Mr Allan.
We are pleased with the results of the group. The quality assurance system has passed with no corrective actions recorded against it in the 2013 round of IANZ assessments and further improvements continue to be made, he said.
Four of the seven councils have been assessed so far this year. Three have passed their assessments, with the fourth currently working on some minor corrective actions.
Matamata Piako District Council passed with no corrective actions lifting the game for the rest of the Councils who will be assessed over the coming months.
Mr Allan advises that part of the success of the group has been due to the transparency and accountability.
IANZ reports are shared and each Council is expected to check their own compliance against the reports they receive from other Councils in the group, and address any potential issues they find.
The compliance of each Council is also supported by their own internal audits and also external audits by the group.
Over the next couple of months the group will be working with Hauraki District Council and Waitomo District Council to assist them in the transition.
ENDS
For further information contact:
Wayne Allan - Board Chairperson -Waipa District Council, phone 0800 924 723.
Elizabeth Goodwin - Waikato Building Consent Group Manager - Waikato District Council
