Council ‘delighted’ with glowing building accreditation audit

The Council has passed a review of its accreditation as a Building Consent Authority with flying colours.

Auditors from International Accreditation New Zealand’s (IANZ) who undertook the two-yearly review said Kāpiti is in the top group of the Building Consent Authorities in the country.

Kevin Currie, Group Manager Regulatory Services, says he’s delighted with the result.

“This is extremely pleasing and a testament to the commitment of the Council’s building team to continuous improvement within the framework of our Open for Business initiative.

“Having good systems and processes is the foundation to delivering excellent, accurate and timely service to our clients and that has been reflected in the results of this audit. “

Mr Currie said they the auditor’s formal report is yet to arrive but they have advised staff of their key findings.

“They made a number of very complimentary comments about our operations, noting that we are making good decisions and we have a very proactive culture.”

Councils are required under government legislation to hold Building Consent Authority status before they can issue building consents, inspect building work and issue code compliance certificates.  Accreditation assessments are carried out on behalf of central government, assessing each council against a suite of government regulations and standards.

The audit has required just one corrective action of an administrative nature and a number of recommendations for minor improvements.

“The bottom line, and what really matters,” says Kevin Currie, “is that we retain our accreditation to undertake building consenting functions and the community can be assured our processes are very sound.”

Chief Executive Pat Dougherty congratulated staff involved. "It's a great result and shows what a committed team can achieve.”