Australasia Changes to New Zealand's earthquake-prone building system: what you need to know webinar

Overview

New Zealand's earthquake-prone building (EPB) framework is set for its most significant overhaul in a decade. The Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill, introduced to Parliament in December 2025, proposes sweeping changes that will reshape how buildings are identified, assessed, and remediated, with around half of the ~5,240 buildings currently on the EPB register expected to be removed. The webinar addresses what these changes mean for building owners, engineers, and industry practitioners, including:

• A narrowed scope: why the system is shifting focus to unreinforced masonry and multi-storey concrete buildings in medium and high seismic zones, and why regions like Auckland and Northland are being removed entirely
• The end of %NBS for EPB classification: how a new characteristics-based assessment approach will replace the current rating system and what that looks like in practice
• Reduced regulatory burden: changes to secondary compliance requirements, priority building status, and new deadline extension provisions
• What stays the same: the ongoing role of %NBS for non-EPB buildings and how market-driven forces will continue to shape seismic upgrade decisions
• Implications for Wellington — a closer look at what this means for one of New Zealand's highest seismic risk centres, with ~600 EPBs on the register and strengthening deadlines looming
   

Whether you're a building owner navigating compliance or a property professional assessing risk, this session will give you the clarity you need ahead of the expected.