A Word from our Acting Chair

Happy New Year everyone,

As we begin the year, we acknowledge the recent tragic events of the Mount Maunganui landslide and numerous road related fatalities. Our thoughts, best wishes and prayers go out to family, friends and those responders who provided assistance.

As is often the case when we attempt to enjoy some quality time on holiday, many of us experienced a mix of sun, rain, wind — and at times all four seasons in one day. Hopefully, there was still some enjoyment and time to recharge in whatever you chose to do.

We are starting the year where we left off — full steam ahead — with member forums taking place next week in Christchurch (Wednesday) and Nelson (Thursday). If you have not already done so, please confirm your attendance this week. *FORUMS.

New training courses are also being added to help keep members informed of current practices and what best practice looks like. These courses will support IQP renewals by assisting with competency requirements and ensuring you remain up to date. *TRAINING

The ABC was invited to provide a final review of MBIE’s Draft Compliance Schedule Handbook.  This final submission is expected to be completed within the next couple of weeks.  We thank MBIE for the opportunity to be part of the review process and to contribute to ongoing positive change within our industry.

With Waitangi Day just around the corner, please take care and stay safe and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Forums and at the Conference at the end of July — registrations are now open. *CONFERENCE

Update: The Christchurch cohort currently completing the Level 4 Certificate in Building Compliance with FutureSkills are very much like Year 11 and 12 students — waiting nervously for their results. More information to follow soon.

Ngā mihi nui,

Lyall Senior

Vice-Chair, Association of Building Compliance

Kia ora koutou katoa, 

I hope that you all got some downtime over the Christmas and New Years period and are fully charged for the year ahead. We are starting the year with a packed schedule, starting next week with our forums which are followed by the Code of Practice Passive Fire Protection Inspections workshop. Then we launch into a series of various training workshops, please take a look at them below and sign up now. 

I am pleased to see another Building Compliance Certificate Course has been launched today in Wellington. Comments from those that completed the first 2 courses state that they were surprised how much that they didn't know about our industry - some had been in it for over 25 years. As we all know, our industry is under the spotlight due to recent unfortunate events and the time for complacency is over. We are being held accountable for our actions, and we need to know the legal playing field in which we operate and the responsibilities that we have to owners, councils and the public. This course is the first step in not only changing the way we work but also changing the P in IQP to Professional. We at ABC strongly recommend you take the opportunity to engage in this course.

Our conference planning is well underway however we are still looking for speakers. Please pass on the speaker "Call for Papers" link to anyone interested or if you have a topic to share, please let us know. One topic that is front of mind at the moment, not only because of the Hong Kong fire, but because of the few dangerous building notices given out lately in the news, is buildings being occupied while undergoing alterations. I was alerted recently to 2 buildings that had consents for alterations, the Compliance Schedule did not reflect the state of the building while alterations took place, the Means of Escape were compromised due to construction activities and the fire safety systems were partially disabled in an accommodation building. We will be looking at this in more detail at our conference but please, make sure the building is still compliant while undergoing alterations when people are still occupying the building. 

I look forward to catching up with as many of you as I can in the first round of forums and training. I am looking forward to an action-packed year ahead, I hope you are too.

Noho ora mai,

Trent Fearnley

29–30 July, Christchurch Town Hall

Join us in Christchurch for ABC Conference 2026, a two-day event bringing together industry leaders, regulators, educators, and practitioners to explore how competency builds confidence, strengthens compliance, and earns trust.

With public safety and accountability under increasing scrutiny, this conference focuses on expertise that matters, where compliance is a culture, not a checkbox, and confidence is built through credible, consistent practice. Guided by the theme He waka eke noa – one direction, one team, we’ll look ahead to a safer, stronger, and smarter built environment.

Be part of the conversation shaping the future of the BWoF industry and register now!

EARLYBIRD FINISHING 31 May 2026

EARLYBIRD REGISTRATIONS

Call for Papers - yes, we still have a few spots left for speakers. Please forward the link on to people who are interested in speaking at our conference. We love to have a variety of speaker from all IQP disciplines. Here is the link

Our first round of forums kick off next week followed by the Code of Practice - Passive Fire Protection Inspections Roadshows.

To attend just the forum or both the forum and the COP - Passive Fire Protection Inspections Roadshow Register here  to secure your spot and stay connected throughout the year! 

We are proud to announce the release of our new Code of Practice Passive Fire Protection Inspections. This is the result of significant effort by our Working Group, supported by the valuable feedback provided by our members. We hope that this document can feed into the Compliance Schedule Handbook to help guide IQP’s and BWOF Auditors through the challenges they face doing Passive Fire Protection Inspections. We understand the challenges with both the size of some buildings, time taken to undertake inspections and the cost associated with it. We believe that this document is a workable solution for the industry.

This seminar is an opportunity to introduce the COP and to walk IQP’s BWOF Auditors and others through the various chapters and fully explain the process of using the COP. It will be a hands on workshop where we will go through the COP and also work through an example.

Presented by Rob Nelligan (Director, Nelligan) and Trent Fearnley (CEO, Association of Building Compliance)

To view the full list of Roadshows taking place around the country - click here

All members and non-members are welcome to attend at no cost - CPD available to ABC members only.

ROADSHOW DATES - In-person only

Canterbury - 11 February 2026   Canterbury - follow this link to register

Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman - 12 February 2026   Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman - follow this link to register

Auckland - 17 February 2026   Auckland - follow this link to register

Wellington - 19 February 2026   Wellington - follow this link to register

Rotorua - 20 February 2026   Rotorua - follow this link to register

ROADSHOW DATE - Online only

Live Virtual Webinar - 4 March 2026    Online Roadshow - follow this link to register

For all other enquiries, please reach out by email to admin@abciqp.org.nz

Upcoming Training Workshops - Register NOW!

We’re excited to announce our first training workshops scheduled for the year!

Don’t miss this opportunity to boost your professional development - so register today!  

More workshops to be added - including in our Fire and Smoke Separations workshops with learnings from our Code of Practice: Passive Fire Protection (coming April/March) - WATCH THIS SPACE!

ONLINE

Friday 20 February  - BWOF Fundamentals - Half-day workshop

Friday 20 February - Owners Compliance Checks - Half-day workshop

Complete both Half-day workshops and save 15%!

Friday 27 February - Means of Escape to a Final Exit - Half-day workshop

Friday 27 February - Emergency Lighting -Half-day workshop 

Complete both Half-day workshops and save 15%!

Thursday 19 March - Automatic Doors for Compliance SS3.1 - Half-day workshop

Thursday 19 March - Egress Control SS3.2 - Half-day workshop

Complete both Half-day workshops and save 15%!

Thursday 16 April - Understanding a Fire Engineering Design Report - Full-day workshop

Friday 1 May - Signage for Compliance SS14.2 & SS15.4 - Half-day workshop

Friday 1 May - Compliance Schedule Best Practice - Half-day workshop

Complete both Half-day workshops and save 15%!

AUCKLAND

Friday 20 February - IQP Backflow Prevention Course with Unit Standards - 2x Full-day workshops

Friday 27 February - SS7 Automatic Backflow Preventers - Refresher Theory and Practical - Full-day workshop

Friday 27 February - Automatic Doors for Compliance SS3.1 - Half-day workshop

Friday 27 February - Egress Control SS3.2 - Half-day workshop

Complete both Half-day workshops and save 15%!

Friday 6 March - HVAC and Smoke Control - requirements for SS5, SS9, SS11 and SS13 - Full day workshop

Friday 13 March - Automatic Fire Alarm Systems SS2 - Half-day workshop

Friday 13 March - Smoke Control for Compliance SS13.1, SS13.2 & SS13.3 - Half-day workshop

Complete both Half-day workshops and save 15%!

To view the full list of our courses (including cost and times) 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. Be the first to get on the course and qualified with the new qualification.  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 have rolled out an ABC member specific Professional Indemnity, Public Liability and Statutory Liability scheme which commenced in 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. 

 For more information view HERE

GAIN AN NZQA ACCREDITED QUALIFICATION THAT IS UNIQUE, RELEVANT, AND INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC.

The first of its kind, this 20-week programme allows you to study while working in the field. Gain the core expertise you need to operate effectively in the building compliance environment, as an Independent Qualified Person (IQP) or Building Compliance Officer.

*** Are you an ABC member? Get 10% discount on course fees ***

Got more than one staff member wanting to do the course? Pay for 3 registration and get the 4Th free - use code ABCMEM43. they can be on different courses, just contact Helen to get more information helen.hegley@futureskills.co.nz

See the Future Skills website for more information Certificate in Building Compliance (Level 4) - Future Skills 

Fire Engineering with Future Skills

Future Skills will be delivering new qualifications in fire engineering. They will be starting in early in the New Year with the first being the Diploma in Fire Engineering. They will also be delivering Micro-credentials in Fire Engineering, starting with Building Means of Escape (Level 6). 

Micro-credentials are small, stand-alone awards that recognize specific skills and knowledge. They are designed to meet the needs of learners, employers, and industries, and are part of the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).

Want to more of what's happening in this space, read our new article here.

We are delighted to welcome our new members to the Association.  Additions to our community are 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.

Our annual membership renewal invoices are due to go out later this month.  If you have any additions to your team, please let us know.