The Government recently announced the changes they intend to make to the earthquake prone building system. The changes will see the system move to a more proportionate and risk-based system – targeting high-risk building types and focusing on buildings most vulnerable to earthquakes.
These changes are significant, and members are already getting questions from their clients. To keep you up to date as the policy progresses, this webpage will provide the latest information and what it means for the engineering profession.
A summary of the changes
The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) has developed a summary of the key changes proposed and key consultation and legislative process/timings. The document highlights what the proposed changes could mean for owners of earthquake-prone buildings, and what it could mean for engineers engaged in EPB and non-EPB seismic assessment, risk communication, and retrofit design.
Please note that these are proposals and no changes will be made until after legislation has passed (not expected until late-2026). This means that the current system remains in force.
Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill
The Government introduced the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill in December 2025. The Transport and Infrastructure Committee (select committee) is considering the Bill and is due to report back by 15 June 2026. You can find more information on Parliament’s website. The explanatory note to the Bill is a great overview of key proposals and can be found here.
Engineering New Zealand submitted on the Bill and appeared in person before the select committee to give an oral submission. You can read our submission here. The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) and the Structural Engineering Society New Zealand (SESOC) also submitted on the Bill and appeared before the select committee.
You can watch the oral submissions before the Transport and Infrastructure Committee here (each link jumps directly to the submission start time):
Webinars presented by MBIE to support engineers
To support the industry and ensure engineers understand the proposed change to the EPB system, we are working with MBIE to deliver a series of webinars as they develop the policy.
The first webinar took place on Monday 13 October and had over 1200 participants. Chris Hubscher (Principal Policy Advisor) and Ken Elwood (MBIE-NHC Chief Engineer) explained the announcements and the steps ahead as we move toward Select Committee and eventually implementation.
If you missed this session, you can find the recording below.
The slides during the webinar can be found here | 2.5 MB
This was the first in a series of webinars on this topic - we'll continue to ensure you hear from the experts as the policy development progresses.
More information available on MBIE website
You can read more detailed information on the proposed changes on the MBIE website – which outlines the proposed changes and provides links to the Cabinet paper, reports, and supporting analysis.
Get involved
We welcome your input to help shape our responses. If you're interested in getting involved, please get in touch with us at advocacy@engineeringnz.org.
