The Government is making it easier for overseas building products to be used here by providing assurance that building consent authorities will accept them as complying with the building code. By Frana Divich, Partner, Heaney and Partners.
Overseas products have faced barriers for uptake here due to them not been tested against our own standards. On 28 July 2025 the government published the first edition of Building Product Specifications which lists international standards for products like plasterboard, cladding, windows and external doors.
The Government heralded this news as the beginning of its work to open the door to more building products. The Building Product Specifications document will be updated over time to include more trusted international product standards. It contains specifications for building products in relation to the manufacture, fabrication, testing, quality control, physical properties, performance, installation, and/or maintenance. It can be used with an acceptable solution or verification method to show compliance with the building code.
The Building Products Specifications cannot be used in isolation to demonstrate compliance with any requirements of the building code. Acceptable solutions and verification methods may cite the Building Product Specifications to include relevant product specification information. Where this occurs, the Building Product Specifications forms part of the acceptable solution or verification method.
Acceptable solutions and verification methods outline how the product is used in building work. Products specified must be used within the scope and limitations of the relevant acceptable solution or verification method. As long as a product complies with a standard cited in the Building Product Specifications for its specific purpose and is used in building work which complies with an acceptable solution or verification method, the work must be accepted by building consent authorities as complying with the building code.
The first edition of the Building Product Specifications contains specifications and standards that include work products and testing; and structural products and testing for concrete, steel, and timber elements. We are still feeling the effects of the leaky building crisis which stemmed from the enactment of the Building Act 1991. That Act came into force in 1993 and altered building controls from a prescriptive system to a more self-regulated regime.
The crisis has been blamed on imported cladding systems that were not suited to our climate, flawed regulatory oversight, insufficient testing, and a lack of skilled installers. Homes built with “the new” methods and materials failed to withstand moisture ingress, leading to widespread rot and structural damage. That crisis underlines how imported products not rigorously assessed and adapted to local conditions can introduce systemic defects.
The 2025 amendments to the Building Act include several safeguards designed to avoid a repeat. They include MBIE and the Minister can now only recognise standards and certification schemes that satisfy regulatory thresholds and are vetted through future regulations.
Building consent authorities will be protected when relying in good faith on recognised certifications, reducing their legal exposure. Residential building work is still subject to implied warranties, defect repair periods, mandatory contracts, and other safeguards under the Building Act 2004 framework. The Building Advisory Panel and NZ Institute of Building Surveyors have emphasised the importance of training, guidance, and robust protocols during the roll-out to ensure correct interpretation and application of overseas standards.
Nevertheless, building surveyors and industry bodies warn that without sufficient guidance and resourcing, misinterpretation or misuse of foreign specifications could lead to a poor fit for local seismic, moisture, or UV conditions. The release of the Building Product Specifications marks a substantive milestone in the Government’s reform journey. It paves the way for accessible, cost competitive, internationally certified building products in areas that have historically suffered supply constraints and high prices.
Whether this will lead to a new generation of building defects depends critically on how regulations, enforcement, and professional guidance roll out through late 2025 and beyond. Proper training for designers, builders, and building consent authorities, and robust infield feedback mechanisms will be essential to ensure products are used correctly for seismic, moisture, UV, and fire performance in our diverse climate zones.
If MBIE successfully vets and restricts recognised schemes to those meeting equivalent or superior standards, including durability and environmental suitability, while maintaining real-world oversight, the reforms may well deliver on affordability and quality goals without duplicating past failures.
Conversely, if oversight is weak, pressure to cut costs overrides caution, or imported standards are taken out of local context, risks remain that inappropriate materials could lead to defects in the years ahead.