NZ’s second private building consent authority gets the green light
Thursday, 5 March 2026
New Zealand’s second private building consent authority has been approved, and although it’s not for everyone, it will add competition and capacity to the consent system, the Government says.
Farsight NZ announced it had been accredited and registered as a private BCA on Thursday and that it would work exclusively on projects for Summerset Group.
The retirement village giant has 40 projects completed or in development nationwide and land to build more than 4600 homes in its pipeline. The new BCA will now carry out the consenting of its homes.
Over the 2025 financial year Summerset built 637 homes in New Zealand and its domestic build target for the 2026 year was 600 to 650 homes, which made it one of the country’s biggest residential builders.
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Summerset chief development officer Aaron Smail said the unique partnership would allow it to work faster and with greater certainty.
It would provide greater consistency and predictability of application of the Building Code across the company’s development pipeline, he said.
The consenting process could vary widely from council-to-council, he said, so consistency would improve its processes and allow it to deliver villages on time and to a consistently high standard.
“It’s well known that we are not building enough retirement homes to meet the expected demand [from the ageing population]. If we can make this process easier it will allow us to work to better meet that demand.”
While the Building Act has allowed for independent BCAs to enter the market since 2004, Farsight is just the second company in New Zealand to be made a private BCA.
It follows Canterbury-based Building Consent Approvals, which was approved last May.
Farsight’s founder and principal Rob Tierney said achieving registration had been “a significant collective effort” by the company’s team and partners.
“We recognise that BCA registration carries an important public responsibility. Our focus is on delivering a robust, independent, and professional service that upholds the integrity of the building control system.”
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said the new BCA would add competition and capacity to the building consent system.
By covering a substantial number of building projects, Farsight would take pressure off council BCAs that would otherwise have undertaken the work, he said.
Penk said consumer protections remained strong because all BCAs, public or private, had to meet the same legal requirements.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) only approved those that were fully accredited, run by “fit and proper” persons, and able to manage the liabilities of their role, he said.
Streamlining the consent system has been a key focus of the Government’s drive to try and reduce New Zealand’s high building costs.
To that end, it has announced the biggest reforms to the building consent system since the Building Act came into force in 2004, is introducing self-certification schemes for builders, and has set up a consent exemption for granny flats.
New Zealand now has 69 BCAs: 66 are territorial or regional authorities, two are private BCAs, and one, Consentium, is an independent division of Kāinga Ora.