In response to recent media coverage involving allegations that some building products are unfit for purpose or non-compliant with the Building Code, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has established a dedicated email address to collect product complaints for analysis and investigation.

Even though a number of concerns have been raised in the media, MBIE has yet to receive specific details or evidence for most of these.

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As the Commerce Commission is responsible for dealing with false or unsubstantiated claims as well as misleading advertising, please direct any complaints about such issues directly to them. We may also refer a complaint to the Commerce Commission if we believe it is within its jurisdiction rather than (or as well as) our own.

MBIE’s role and responsibilities in relation to building products are to monitor the market, investigate complaints and deal with products that don’t comply with the Building Code. An investigation by MBIE might result in a formal warning or ban issued on the use of a product, guidance issued to the industry, or more education provided to those involved in manufacturing, supplying, specifying or installing building products.

MBIE has recently updated its product assurance toolkit to help explain to product manufacturers and suppliers the various legal obligations they have and how to determine what they need to do to show their product complies with the Building Code. This toolkit is available online at www.building.govt.nz/product-assurance

To investigate your complaint fully, please include the following information:

  • The name of the building product
  • Where it was purchased or who it was supplied by, if this is known
  • Any compliance information you have for the product from the manufacturer or supplier; such as test reports, assessments or calculations, claims of compliance, technical information etc
  • The reasons why you believe the product does not comply with the Building Code
  • Any evidence of failure; such as photographs, or locations where it was used
  • Any other information you think supports an investigation.

Update shared by our Information Centre Manager Brian Low