A deceptively simple question has caused significant inconsistency across New Zealand’s 67 building consent authorities: when a council assesses a building consent application, what does it mean to be “satisfied on reasonable grounds” that the work will comply with the Building Code?
The phrase appears in the Building Act 2004, but until now it has had no set definition. Different councils have interpreted it differently — leading to different levels of scrutiny, different information requirements, and different outcomes for applicants presenting equivalent documentation.
Why Consistency Matters
The current inconsistency has real costs. Builders and developers working across multiple regions encounter different documentation requirements for the same type of work. Applications that sail through in one jurisdiction get queried extensively in another. This unpredictability adds time and cost to the consenting process, and creates justified frustration for applicants who understand the Building Code but can’t predict how their local authority will interpret it.
For smaller building consent authorities — councils that process relatively few consents — the absence of clear guidance has sometimes led to overcaution, with assessors requesting more information than strictly necessary because the consequences of approving non-compliant work fall heavily on the council.
What MBIE Has Done
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has developed formal guidance on what “satisfied on reasonable grounds” means in practice, with the aim of bringing greater consistency to how building consent authorities assess applications. The guidance sets out a framework for determining what evidence an assessor reasonably needs to be satisfied, and establishes that the test should be proportionate to the complexity and risk of the work being consented.
Straightforward, low-risk building work — a standard residential extension using familiar materials and standard details — should not require the same depth of documentation as an innovative structural system or a complex fire-engineering solution. The guidance formalises this proportionality.
What It Means for Applicants
The guidance is primarily directed at building consent authorities, but it has practical implications for applicants too. Understanding the standard against which your application is being assessed helps you provide the right documentation upfront — reducing the likelihood of requests for further information that delay consent processing. Well-prepared applications that clearly demonstrate compliance with the Building Code should now face more consistent assessment across different councils.