A Word from the Chair

Kia ora koutou katoa, 

Last month the Association of Building Compliance (ABC) brought together building compliance professionals from across Aotearoa New Zealand for our most comprehensive conference yet. Held at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland, the “Unified Compliance – Strengthening Standards Across the BWoF Industry” conference ran over two packed days (30 - 31 July). Our theme, “He waka eke noa – we are all in this waka together,” resonated throughout the two days. The conference clearly demonstrated that a collaborative, standardised approach to compliance benefits us all. My opening speech emphasised the importance of uniting IQPs and councils, raising education standards and working towards a cohesive regulatory framework. The overwhelming engagement at the conference and feedback received post conference underscored that our community is ready to move forward together.

Following my opening, our keynote speakers tackled both local and international perspectives: James Groves from BB7 in the UK explored Section 108A issues and fire risk assessment, while Nat Andrews of Certifiers2U from Australia challenged us to build accountability and success across our industry. What made this conference truly special was the spirit of collaboration. Councils, IQPs, consultants and BWOF Agents sat side‑by‑side to discuss challenges and share solutions. One of the many highlights from the conference that I personally enjoyed was recognising three key industry professionals for their contributions to the building compliance industry: Gary Higham - MBIE, Michael Arthurs – Wellington City Council and Ian Saunders – Bay Building Compliance Management. Congratulations again to you all.  Another highlight of mine (aside from the social interaction had with many) was hearing IANZ’s perspective on compliance (which surprisingly aligns with industry views). Finally, none of this would have been possible without the support of our partners, sponsors, exhibitors and of course our members who attended. A special congratulations is also in order for the ABC Management Committee and our incredible ABC team Trent Fearnley, Rachael Chandler & Kim Mort for the work undertaken to put this conference together.

Please continue to keep an eye out for upcoming workshops and seminars as we continue to build momentum following this conference. Let’s carry the lessons from this year’s conference back into our daily work and remember that together, we can ensure New Zealand’s buildings remain safe for everyone “He waka eke noa”.

Ngā mihi nui

Laura Williams

Kia ora koutou katoa, 

To reiterate what Laura has mentioned above, wow!!! What a great conference. The interaction was amazing, and I think that everyone got something out of it. Thank you to our great line up of speakers whose presentations were right on the mark. To have a 2-day conference with the room still 3/4's full for the last speaker of the conference is a tribute to not only the quality of the last speaker but to the quality of all the speakers and the information that they shared. Thank you to all of our speakers.

One constant theme through the 2 days was competency. Not just competency of IQP's but also council, BWOF Agents and Fire Engineers. Our workshop on competency assessments really highlighted that the industry is ready for competency assessments and there is a desire to implement soon. When asked in the workshop, "Do you think IQP's should have a competency assessment as part of registration?" There was a unanimous reply "Yes". ABC will work with on this to ensure we have a collaborative approach to them.

We are now focusing on training with our introductory workshops and refresher workshops with many of them coming up in the next few months. As you will see below, we have two new courses on Automatic Doors Inspections and Automatic Fire Alarm Inspections. We are fortunate to have two very experienced people to deliver these workshops, Terry Dartnall and Jarrod Ward. 

Lastly, we have the new Certificate in Building Compliance with the first course starting on August 25th. This course is designed as a 2-day block course with 4 evening tutorials. This will allow you to study while still working. For more information on this, please see below.

Once again, thank you to everyone who supported our conference and we look forward to seeing you at Conference 2026 - Building Confidence through Competency - Real Competency, Confidence through expertise, Compliance for safety, Trust you can build on. The conference will be in Christchurch on 29-30 July, so save the date in your diary now. Extra Earlybird tickets go on sale next Monday. 

Noho ora mai,

Trent Fearnley

The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) and the Association of Building Compliance are pleased to invite you to a half-day session on Protecting Buildings from the Risks of EV Fires in carparks.

This event will examine the international evidence from EV fires on building structures, the risk for safe egress and explore potential solutions to protect building structures in carparks, avoid widespread damage, and keep people safe.

Why attend?   This is a unique opportunity to engage with the fire protections industry, insurers, insurance brokers, property owners, councils and regulators on EV fire risks in carparks and provide an opportunity to gain insights to improve safety and minimise building losses in New Zealand.

Forum Overview  Electric Vehicle Fires in enclosed spaces such as building carparks can generate significantly more heat than present fire protection systems are designed to cope with.  Egress paths in these carparks may need to be better protected.

Recent overseas parking building EV fires incidents have authorities in those countries looking for practical solutions. We think it's time New Zealand starts to seriously look for practical solutions as well.   

Key Topics include:

• Educate key stakeholders on evolving risks and what are the current solutions.
• Understand what the Fire & Emergency response with an EV fire in and enclosed carpark.
• Discussion on egress solutions to minimise personal harm

 Main Speakers

• Malcolm Christie from Ryan Fire
• George Hare, BRANZ, AFAC researcher seconded to FRSNSW research team, will be discussing the latest research and test data from the AFAC EV project 
• Representative for Fire Emergency New Zealand (FENZ)
• Ed Claridge, Auckland Council Fire Engineer, from the Engineering New Zealand Working Group looking at developing future guidance on safety of EV in buildings

This event will be moderated by ICNZ’s Insurance Manager John Lucas.

Your member profile on the ABC website gives you access to a range of useful features, including:

• Updating your contact details

• Adding your biography and photo

• Tracking your CPD hours

• Downloading attendance and training certificates

• Access to your ABC membership certificate

• Viewing all emails sent to you by ABC

• Checking any upcoming registrations

If you are your organisation’s primary Accounts contact, you’ll also have access to both current and historical invoices, along with convenient payment links for ease and peace of mind.

Log in now and make the most of your profile to stay connected and up to date!

Upcoming Training Workshops – REGISTER NOW TO SECURE YOUR PLACE!

We are excited to announce our upcoming scheduled workshops over the next couple of months, some delivered online to provide greater flexibility and convenience. These workshops are designed to enhance your skills, update your industry knowledge, and help with your IQP registration. Whether you're aiming to upskill or update your qualifications, our sessions offer valuable insights and networking opportunities to keep you leading in building compliance.

Don't miss this opportunity to advance your professional development. Register now!

ONLINE

Thursday 11 September - Means of Escape to a Final Exit and Emergency Lighting - Two Half-day workshops

Thursday 11 September - Means of Escape to a Final Exit - Half-day workshop

Thursday 11 September - Emergency Lighting - Half-day workshop

Monday 29 September - HVAC and Smoke Control - requirements for SS5, SS9, SS11 and SS13 - Full-day workshop

Thursday 9 October - Compliance Schedule Best Practice - Half-day workshop

Thursday 23 October - BWOF Fundamentals and Owners Compliance Checks - Two Half-day workshops - Register for both and get 15% off!

Thursday 23 October - BWOF Fundamentals - Half-day workshop 

Thursday 23 October - Owners Compliance Checks - Half-day workshop 

*NEW* Friday 4 November - Automatic Doors for Compliance - Half-day workshop

Friday 7 November - Understanding a Fire Engineering Design Report - Full-day workshop 

AUCKLAND

Thursday 14 & Friday 15 August - IQP Backflow Prevention Course with Unit Standards - 2-Day workshop

Friday 15 August - SS7 Automatic Backflow Preventers - Refresher Theory and Practical - Full-day workshop

Thursday 21 August - HVAC and Smoke Control - requirements for SS5, SS9, SS11, and SS13 - Full-day workshop

*NEW* Tuesday 2 September - Automatic Doors for Compliance - Half-day workshop

*NEW* Friday 26 September - Automatic Fire Alarm Systems - Half-day workshop

WELLINGTON

*NEW* Thursday 11 September - Automatic Doors for Compliance - Half-day workshop

*NEW* Friday 21 November - Automatic Fire Alarm Systems - Half-day workshop

PALMERSTON NORTH

*NEW* Wednesday 10 September - Automatic Fire Alarm Systems - Half-day workshop

CHRISTCHURCH

*NEW* Thursday 17 September - Automatic Doors for Compliance - Half-day workshop

Thursday 18 & Friday 19 September - IQP Backflow Prevention Course with Unit Standards - 2-Day workshop

Friday 19 September - SS7 Automatic Backflow Preventers - Refresher Theory and Practical - Full-day workshop

*NEW* Thursday 6 November - Automatic Fire Alarm Systems - Half-day workshop

To find out cost and times for our courses, as well as others taking place later in the year, click here:  Workshops/Seminars » Association of Building Compliance (abciqp.org.nz)

 If you have any queries regarding the above workshops or require further assistance please email us - admin@abciqp.org.nz 

Certificate in Building Compliance

The new NZQA approved course is now live. Best the first to get on the course and qualified with the new qualification. The first course starts on August 25th. It's not too late to enrol, so if you are interested, please contact Helen at Future Skills at helen.hegley@futureskills.co.nz or call 0800 550 410. For more information about the courses, enrolment options and fees please click here. 

We are pleased to confirm that we are ready to roll out an ABC member specific Professional Indemnity, Public Liability and Statutory Liability scheme commencing from 1 September 2025. 

The policy covers and wordings have been designed and drafted specifically for ABC members to address the specific risks that IQP’s have. 

The insurance comes with ABC Member discounted premiums and several enhancements:

Professional Indemnity (PI) cover:

Several enhancements have been negotiated, but the main ones are:

Fines and Penalties – this is normally excluded under PI policies.  The ABC PI policy provides cover for this up to $50,000 per claim and $100,000 in the annual aggregate.  This is very important especially in light of the fines/penalties that could be issued by the Council. 

The policy provides for an additional reinstatement of cover.  Normally policies have one reinstatement – yours will have two.  That means that if you have a limit of $500k per claim – you could have 3 claims in the year of $500k each, rather than two. 

The policy provides cover of $100,000 in respect of Public Relations Expenses.  In the event of a claim this is very important to ensure that you have the right advice following a major incident where the media is all over it.  This will help to provide best response to protect your reputation as much as possible. 

Public Liability cover:

Extends to provide cover for Business Advice or Service.  This is normally excluded. 

Fines and Penalties cover of $50,000 any one claim and $100,000 in the annual aggregate.  This is normally excluded. 

Higher sub-limits relating to Care, Custody and Control and Lost or Stolen keys. 

The above will be at substantially reduced rates. 

We can also provide cover in relation to Management Liability , i.e. Directors and Officers, Material Damage and Business Interruption, and Vehicle insurance. 

We are currently building out a scheme on this, however have arranged discounted rates for you on these items too. 

Next Steps / Process

1. We are ready to roll out this offer with immediate effect.
2. Attached please find a copy of our health check document, this details what documentation we require to assist.  

I have also updated the presentation for our road shows.  At the roadshows we will present on this but also the value of the cover for fines and penalties and the business advice extension. 

For more information click here or visit Howden or contact Rene Hattingh rene.hattingh@howdengroup.com. 

Rene will be presenting at both the Central and Wellington Forums this month for those interested in hearing more.

We are delighted to welcome our new members to the Association. Your addition to our community is exciting, and we look forward to both sharing our expertise and learning from your experiences. We are committed to continuous improvement and development, and we believe that together, we can achieve great strides in building compliance excellence.