The objective of this study is to analyse the Building Act 2004, to assess the changes affecting fire safety in buildings, and to identify the contribution that fire safety can make toward the revised purposes and principles of the Act.

The main changes in the Act relate to the introduction of sustainability as a purpose of the Act. Supporting the new purpose are several new principles including maintenance requirements of housing, whole-of-life costs, sustainable materials and material conservation, conservation of energy use and water, and reduction of waste. The report discusses the connection these principles have with fire design, and specific measures that could help achieve the purposes of the Act.

The old Act had an emphasis on health and safety matters, and these are carried over into the new Act. However, the new requirements of sustainability and user wellbeing would appear to support a greater level of amenity, including the need to provide for property protection and for future change in building use.

New regulation requires a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) and usually a supporting cost benefit analysis (CBA). The report reviews recent building related CBA and finds that their format and scope varies greatly, depending on the proposed measure. The Ministry of Economic Development RIS guidelines are adequate for building regulation, but it is suggested that some guidance could be given on the economic parameters to be used in building regulation CBA, and the risk factors associated with building health and safety controls.