New Zealand has opened new product pathways without removing compliance
New Zealand has changed how overseas building products can be used within its Building Code system.
The Building (Overseas Building Products, Standards, and Certification Schemes) Amendment Act 2025 introduced three additional pathways: Building Product Specifications, Endorsed Standards, and Approved Products Certified Overseas.
By 2026, these were no longer simply proposed reforms. Specifications, recognition notices and practical guidance were available for designers, manufacturers, importers and building consent authorities.
That is significant for an overseas modular supplier because credible product evidence from other markets can now enter the New Zealand system more directly in certain circumstances.
The scope of the reform still needs to be understood carefully.
A clearer route for a window, insulation product, plumbing fitting or structural material does not automatically approve the complete modular building containing those products.
An imported project has to distinguish between three questions: how an individual product demonstrates compliance, whether modular manufacturing itself is covered by an accepted certification pathway, and how the complete building obtains consent for the actual New Zealand site.
A building product and a modular building are not the same regulatory object
The new pathways make more sense once the project separates individual products from the building assembled from them.
A window, steel section, cladding panel, insulation product, fire door or sanitary fitting may have a test method, product standard, certification or formal recognition that supports its use.
A volumetric room or complete modular dwelling is more complex. It combines structure, envelope materials, windows, internal finishes, plumbing, electrical work, fixed equipment, joints, transport design and installation interfaces.
Evidence for one of those products does not demonstrate compliance for every part of the assembled module.
Nor does it necessarily cover the connection between modules, the connection to the foundation, site drainage, external services or the completed building as a whole.
A useful import package should therefore include an evidence map. For each important element, record the product identity, intended use, relevant compliance pathway, technical information, limitations and the party responsible for integrating that element into the final design.
Building Product Specifications work inside defined compliance pathways
The Building Product Specifications, commonly shortened to BPS, are now a formal regulatory instrument covering specifications for building products.
The current First Edition Amendment 1 became effective on 2 April 2026.
It contains specifications and standards for areas including sitework products, concrete, steel and timber, cladding, windows and external doors, insulation, wall-bracing products, heating and ventilation systems, and a range of fire-related characteristics.
The important point is how the BPS are used.
MBIE states that the BPS do not operate alone as proof that building work complies with the Building Code. They are used where cited by an applicable Acceptable Solution or Verification Method, and the proposed work has to remain inside the scope and limitations of that compliance pathway.
That makes the BPS valuable without turning them into a blanket list of approved imported products.
The document is also intended to evolve.
In August 2026, MBIE published a proposed Amendment 2 covering additional standards and specifications for concrete reinforcement, steel, timber, flashings and metal sheet roof and wall products. Consultation closed on 11 September 2026.
As of 5 October, that proposal should still be described as a draft amendment rather than part of the current BPS.
Endorsed Standards strengthen evidence but do not automatically approve products
The second pathway is Endorsed Standards.
New Zealand has formally recognised groups of standards produced by a range of overseas standards organisations. The current list includes organisations responsible for ISO, IEC, British, ANSI, Australian, European, ASTM, ICC, CIE and Canadian standards.
The relevant recognition notice commenced on 1 October 2025.
For suppliers, recognition improves the usefulness of testing or manufacturing evidence based on standards issued by those organisations.
It does not mean every product that references one of those standards is automatically compliant with the New Zealand Building Code.
MBIE describes the pathway as supporting evidence. A building consent authority may consider the relevant standard while assessing whether a product is appropriate for its intended use and whether the proposed building work will comply with the Code.
The recognition is of the standards groups. It is not a detailed approval of every individual standard, every certified product or every assembled building.
A technical submission should therefore identify the exact standard, test report, scope and product. A general statement such as “manufactured to international standards” provides far less useful information.
Approved Products Certified Overseas provides a stronger form of recognition
Approved Products Certified Overseas operates differently.
Under this pathway, MBIE can formally recognise specified overseas-certified building products or methods.
When an exact product falls within a current recognition notice, is used for its intended purpose, remains within all conditions and limitations, and is supported by the required technical information, that recognised product is deemed to comply with the New Zealand Building Code for the recognised use.
Building consent authorities must accept the recognition within that scope.
This is stronger than relying on an Endorsed Standard because the recognition is attached to specified products or methods.
New Zealand has already issued recognition notices for categories of overseas-certified products, including WaterMark-recognised plumbing products.
The boundary of each notice remains important.
Recognition of a tap, shower component or leak-protection device does not automatically cover the bathroom pod containing it. Recognition of one material does not extend to the complete wall assembly unless the recognition itself says so.
A procurement register should therefore record the recognition notice, exact product or model, intended use, limitations and technical information that apply to the supplied item.
BuiltReady addresses modular manufacturing through a separate scheme
New Zealand also has a certification framework specifically relevant to offsite construction: BuiltReady.
BuiltReady is a voluntary certification scheme for modular component manufacturers.
Its role is different from the three overseas-product pathways. Rather than recognising an individual material or product standard, BuiltReady allows a certified and registered manufacturer to work within an approved scope for the design and/or manufacture of modular components.
A manufacturer certificate clearly identifies which design and manufacturing work is covered.
For work inside that certificate, the scheme can reduce repeated regulatory assessment of the factory-produced component during the building consent process.
BuiltReady should not be treated as a general approval for any modular factory supplying New Zealand.
The manufacturer itself must be appropriately certified and registered, and the project needs to check whether the required work falls inside the current certification scope.
MBIE is also considering the future role of BuiltReady as part of broader building-system reform. Buyers should therefore verify the current register, scope and scheme requirements when a project intends to rely on it.
A BuiltReady certificate does not replace the complete building consent
MBIE’s guidance for projects using BuiltReady makes the division of responsibility clear.
The building consent applicant remains responsible for coordinating the relevant project engineer, overall designer and modular manufacturer.
The application must identify which parts of the building are covered by the manufacturer certificate.
Where modular design and manufacture fall within a valid BuiltReady certificate, the building consent authority does not reassess those covered parts in the same way. The certificate serves as evidence of Building Code compliance for that certified scope.
The authority still assesses the overall building and the parts of the consent that are outside the certificate.
Interfaces with other building work may require additional information or inspection. Foundations, external services, connections, site-built elements and other project-specific work do not disappear simply because the modular component carries a manufacturer certificate.
After consent is issued, onsite work proceeds under that consent and the relevant inspections are completed before the Code Compliance Certificate is issued.
This division is useful even for projects that are not using BuiltReady. Strong factory evidence can reduce uncertainty, but the completed building still requires coordination between the factory scope and the destination scope.
Create a product-and-evidence matrix before ordering
An imported modular project benefits from a simple product-and-evidence matrix.
For the structural system, record material grades, applicable design standards, calculations, fabrication information and the module-to-module and module-to-foundation connections.
For windows, doors, insulation and envelope materials, identify the exact product, performance data, evidence pathway and installation limitations.
For plumbing products, check whether a current Approved Products Certified Overseas recognition notice covers the exact model and intended use.
For electrical systems, heating, ventilation, cooling and fixed equipment, distinguish factory supply from work that must be connected, tested or certified at destination.
For module joints, foundations and site connections, identify the project-specific engineering inputs.
The evidence matrix should also have a revision status and a named owner.
That matters when a product becomes unavailable during production. A substitution may look commercially minor while changing the test report, recognition notice, durability information, thermal performance or installation instructions on which the design relies.
Changes should be checked before they reach the production line rather than documented retrospectively.
New Zealand site conditions still control important parts of the design
The new overseas-product pathways do not remove environmental and site-specific design requirements.
A modular project in New Zealand may need to address seismic demand, wind, moisture, corrosion exposure, thermal performance, drainage, ground conditions and other natural hazards according to the project location and use.
Those design inputs should come from the relevant New Zealand professionals and compliance documents.
A generic factory specification cannot determine the appropriate seismic bracing, site wind design or foundation strategy for every destination.
As a result, the same factory platform may require different bracing, fixings, cladding details, insulation, glazing, ventilation or foundation connections from one site to another.
The project should provide the factory with a controlled design basis before production release.
When local review results in a change to a structural connection, window specification, roof detail or service interface, the production drawings and evidence register should be updated together.
Consent becomes easier to manage when the configuration described in the documents is the same configuration that arrives on site.
The document set must match the delivered unit
New Zealand’s reforms make overseas technical evidence more useful. That increases the importance of document control rather than reducing it.
A structured factory handover package may include approved drawings, product schedules, material specifications, calculations, test reports, recognised product notices where applicable, manufacturing quality records, inspection records, photographs, packing lists, installation instructions and maintenance information.
Each record should be tied to the actual revision of the delivered product.
If a manufacturer substitutes glazing, insulation, a sanitary fitting, an electrical component or an envelope material, the project should check whether the existing evidence remains valid before approving the change.
Manufacturers and importers also have information responsibilities in New Zealand. MBIE guidance places emphasis on accurate technical information and evidence supporting claims made for overseas products.
Good documentation serves several parties at once.
It allows the designer to specify the correct item, helps the consent authority understand why that item is being relied on, gives the installer clear interface information and gives the owner a usable record for maintenance and replacement after handover.
Use an import-readiness checklist for the New Zealand project
Before an overseas modular order is released, the project team should be able to answer these questions:
- What is the site, building use and overall building-consent strategy?
- Who is coordinating Building Code compliance in New Zealand?
- Which parts of the project are individual products, certified modular components, site-built work or complete-building design?
- Which current BPS provisions apply?
- Are any relied-on standards within the current Endorsed Standards recognition?
- Are any exact products covered by a current Approved Products Certified Overseas notice?
- If BuiltReady is being relied on, is the manufacturer currently certified and registered for the required scope?
- What structural, seismic, wind, moisture, thermal, fire, accessibility and service information is required?
- Which elements require site-specific engineering?
- Who owns foundations, inland transport, lifting, installation and utility connections?
- What inspections, certificates and records will be needed during the consent and construction process?
- How will product substitutions and drawing revisions be approved?
- What technical information must be made available by the manufacturer or importer?
- Which warranties, spare parts and maintenance information need to remain available after installation?
The final answers should be confirmed with qualified New Zealand professionals and the relevant consent authority.
The checklist is not intended to replace the consent process. It makes the overseas supply package easier to integrate into it.
Better product recognition still requires complete project coordination
New Zealand’s reforms can reduce unnecessary duplication in the treatment of overseas building products.
The BPS create clearer product specifications inside defined compliance pathways. Endorsed Standards make recognised overseas standards easier to use as supporting evidence. Approved Products Certified Overseas provides formal deemed-to-comply recognition for specified products and methods within the scope of recognition notices. BuiltReady addresses certified modular manufacturing through a separate mechanism.
These pathways solve different parts of the compliance problem.
None of them removes the need to connect the factory package to the New Zealand site, building design, consent, foundations, transport, installation, services, inspections and completion records.
For an international manufacturer, the strongest position is therefore a clearly defined one: provide the agreed factory-built scope, controlled drawings and technical information, production and inspection records, packing and export handover.
The destination team can then use the appropriate New Zealand product and certification pathways while completing the engineering and approval work that remains local.
Seen this way, the reforms create a better environment for credible evidence. They do not turn project responsibility into an import exemption.
Sources
New Zealand Building Performance — Overseas products and standards
New Zealand Building Performance — Building Product Specifications
MBIE — consultation on Building Product Specifications First Edition Amendment 2
New Zealand Building Performance — Endorsed Standards
New Zealand Building Performance — Approved Products Certified Overseas
New Zealand Building Performance — BuiltReady
New Zealand Building Performance — BuiltReady guide for design and manufacture
