The Building Consenting System - Aiming for Consistency

Consistency is essential for the industry to become more transparent, efficient and achieving a quality built environment. At Objective, we're committed to helping New Zealand's consenting process become more consistent.

The most common issue raised in surveys, via complaints, through submissions and feedback from the industry is the lack of consistency in the consenting process.

Consistency seems to be the dream we all strive for but has been difficult to achieve nationally to date.

A performance based building code allows for flexibility in solutions and decisions, but there can still be gains in consistency through the ‘process’.


Why do we want consistency?

  • Increased certainty for applicants/builders/developers
  • Time and cost efficiencies for all stakeholders in the industry
  • Ease and familiarity for resource sharing nationally
  • Improved performance nationally during IANZ audits
  • Improved understanding and interpretation legislation and process
  • Reduced cost for ongoing software maintenance and development


The consenting system

The New Zealand consenting system includes the legislation framework, the consenting process, the regulators and industry stakeholders.

The consenting process has largely moved from a paper based process to a digital process. There are very few BCAs that are still paper based.

The digital software is a significant cog in the system and is the central piece to the inputs and outputs of the consenting process. All stakeholders ‘touch’ the software and all data is captured in the software.



Consistency is essential for the industry to become more transparent, efficient and achieving a quality built environment.

Consistency goal

Objective provide consenting software to over 80% of BCAs in NZ. Our solutions currently include Objective Build, AlphaOne and GoGet.

At Objective, our goal is to develop one Objective Build end-to-end product and achieve alignment across BCAs.

We are doing this by analysing where inconsistencies occur and using this knowledge for future developments, engaging with our stakeholders to identify pain points, seeking clarification from MBIE where there are mixed interpretations, providing guidance and advice and communicating when and why changes are occurring.

Where a change or solution requested in response to an IANZ GNC is implemented, this will be configured for all BCAs on the equivalent Objective Build/Build Processing software.

The move to greater national consistency will need willingness, acceptance and understanding from everyone.  It will require bigger picture thinking and an open mindset.

We look forward to working with you all to achieve this worthwhile and exciting goal.