The Problem It Is Solving
New Zealand’s plasterboard market has been, for practical purposes, a monopoly. Fletcher Building’s Gib brand supplies approximately 97 percent of the market. Kiwis pay 38 percent more for plasterboard than Australians, 47 percent more than UK consumers, and 67 percent more than Americans. The 2022 supply chain disruption — when Gib product was unavailable for an extended period and prices increased sixfold on the spot market — exposed exactly how exposed the construction sector was to a single-supplier dependency.
The underlying cause of the monopoly was not lack of alternative products — international suppliers produce plasterboard and a wide range of other building materials to rigorous standards. It was the absence of a New Zealand pathway for internationally certified products to be used without country-specific testing. A product meeting European, Australian, or American standards could not simply be specified and used — it required New Zealand-specific performance data that only a supplier willing to invest in that market would develop.
The Reform
The government is releasing product specifications that allow products certified to recognised international standards to be used in New Zealand construction without the country-specific testing requirement. The first tranche covers plasterboard, cladding, windows, and doors — the products where the cost gap with comparable markets is largest and the supply concentration is most acute. A parallel scheme for plumbing products certified in Australia takes effect within the same timeframe.
Expected Impact
The government projects potential savings of thousands of dollars per home from reduced material costs as market competition increases. The exact savings depend on supplier uptake — the reform creates the pathway, but international suppliers still need to establish distribution, logistics, and support networks in New Zealand to compete effectively. The initial impact will be felt most acutely in the segments where the cost differential is largest and where builders have the procurement scale to access international supply.
The Quality Question
The reform allows products meeting rigorous international standards — not any overseas product. The equivalence assessment is the key safeguard: MBIE establishes which international standards are accepted as equivalent to New Zealand code compliance, and products must meet those standards. For builders and councils, the practical challenge is becoming familiar with the equivalence framework so that alternative products can be specified, checked, and accepted with confidence. The reform is an opportunity — but it requires the industry to develop the knowledge to use it effectively.
