25 Nov 2025
Welcome to our two-monthly advocacy update where you can hear about how we have been advocating for you and the engineering profession.
Upcoming consultations
We’re expecting around four major pieces of draft legislation for comment before Christmas or early next year, all of which we know are of interest to members. They are:
- Earthquake Prone Building legislation
- Resource Management Act replacement legislation
- Emergency Management legislation
- Health and Safety reform legislation
We understand this is to be closely followed next year by:
- Building legislation- including proportionate liability, building consent authority voluntary consolidation and consumer protection measures
- Fire Regulations
We will be making every effort to provide timely updates on these proposals to you and opportunities to input into our submissions. We will also advise you of any webinars providing information and discussion on these proposals.
We encourage members to keep an eye on our consultations page for updates. We will also be working directly with Groups that have interest in any of these areas.
Completed submissions
The full list of our submissions is always available on our Government submissions page.
Since the last update, we have made one submission:
Earthquake Prone Building survey closing soon
The survey on the EPB webpage is closing on 1 December. We are gathering thoughts from members and interested people to help Engineering New Zealand and our Groups prepare our submission on the draft legislation.
As mentioned, we are expecting the legislation to be introduced shortly. We will seek further input from you and look to run another webinar once the details are known.
Reform of the Standards System
Engineering New Zealand recently met with Minister Simpson, at his request after receiving the Joint industry letter seeking reform of the NZ standards system. The Minister was appreciative of the work we are all doing to bring solutions to the table and our ongoing commitment to system improvement. He was aware of the issues being raised and had recently received advice from officials on options for the way forward.
The Minister anticipates making announcements on the Government’s decision in the new year. He thanked the sector for their ongoing engagement, contributions, and suggestions to improve the New Zealand Standards system. Following any Government decisions, it is anticipated that there will be the opportunity for industry input to the design and implementation of the next steps.
In parallel, we are continuing to meet with officials to advocate for tactical changes to the standards system and are encouraged to see some of our recommendations gaining traction. For example, more information is now being shared by Standards NZ. To help you, we want to highlight that Standards NZ has:
- A high-level forward work programme, including joint projects with Australia – a positive first step. You can access it here
- A slightly larger preview function allowing you to get an idea of what a standard covers before purchasing
- A sign-up option for notifications to keep you up to date on draft standards and aged standards out for comment.
- Email updates (Touchstone) so that you can get more information directly. Sign up here.
The most recent edition of Touchstone includes information on the release of new construction standards: NZS 3916:2025 (Design & Construct) and NZS 3917:2025 (Fixed Term) as updated companions to NZS 3910:2023.
It also noted the development of two new standards for natural hazard risk analysis and flood modelling which many structural, geotech, lifelines and water engineers will want to track and contribute to. It says that public consultation on a draft is likely mid-2026.
It is great to see Standards NZ sharing more information and providing updates on standards development. We will continue to work with them and the Government to deliver much needed systemic improvements and quick wins. We know there is still much more needed to make the standards system work for engineers, so we will continue advocating for change in the new year.
Get involved
If you want to know more about our advocacy or to get involved, get in touch at advocacy@engineeringnz.org
