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Changes to NZ Building Product Code: What do Overseas Products Mean for Us?
- Bill Zhao
- Jul 30
- 2 min read
The steep costs associated with home building is a familiar sight to New Zealanders. In an attempt to tackle the rising costs in building materials, the government has recently given the go ahead for a number of overseas building products to be used in New Zealand. The standards by which these products are allowed adhere to a newly published Building Product Specifications document.
Why the Push for Overseas Material? In an announcement made by Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, the key reason attributed to this initiative was the comparative cost of standalone homebuilding in New Zealand, which Chris cited as being 50% more expensive compared to Australia. Plasterboard played a major role in this announcement, primarily in regard to its significant cost in New Zealand as well as the country’s dependence on Fletcher Building for the majority of its plasterboard supply. The 2022 plasterboard shortage was a large contributing factor in necessitating overseas supply, as Chris cited wildly overpriced job and material costs during that period.
What Does this Mean for Us? The new Building Product Specifications document is stated to list international standards, which many overseas products have already been tested for, facilitating a broader range of products to appear in New Zealand. This means more brands and more product variation, and in turn, the potential for cheaper products to appear. Aside from plasterboard, Chris also cited cladding systems, external doors, and windows as examples of products that would be easier to use in construction sites.
Fletcher Building’s GIB, New Zealand’s largest supplier of plasterboard, has become synonymous with the product. Time will tell if New Zealanders readily adopt the influx of overseas brands or stick with the tried and true.
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