Vetting & Pre-application Meetings
Supporting you through your building project
We understand that starting a building project is a significant milestone, and we’re here to help make the process as straightforward as possible.
To assist you, we provide the Building Consent Pre-Application and Vetting Meeting Services. These services are designed to help make the journey a smooth and efficient process to obtaining your building consent.
Pre-application meetings are for larger or complex projects. Vetting meetings can help speed up approval by ensuring all required information is provided before you submit your application.
Through these services, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss your project in detail, covering all aspects related to the Building Act and the Building Code. This ensures that all key considerations are addressed before you submit your application. The building consent process ensures that your proposed project meets the requirements of the Building Act 2004 and the Building Code.
Pre-Application meetings for Building Consents
Starting a building project for a larger or more complex project? We highly recommend booking a pre-application meeting. While these are optional, these your building journey are a great way to make the process smoother and faster. We strongly recommend these meetings for:
- Large, complex commercial buildings
- Communal residential or short-term accommodation buildings
- Staged building consents
- Buildings on land affected by natural hazards
- Complex residential buildings
- Projects that change how a building is used or add household units
What’s covered in a Pre-Application meeting?
Our pre-application meetings help you prepare for your building consent. As long as you have initial plans, you can:
- Discuss potential compliance issues early
- Get advice that helps you submit a strong, complete consent application
- Reduce the need for additional information requests (RFIs), saving time
We can guide you on:
- The building consent process
- Which experts (e.g., architects, engineers) might be needed
- Key areas to focus on when preparing your application
- How to submit a high-quality application for faster approval
What you need to bring
Before your meeting, you will need to have:
- Site plans or floor plans
- Photos of the site
- Specialist reports (e.g., engineering)
- Any other relevant documents
To get the most out of your meeting:
- Tell us what topics or issues you want to discuss ahead of time
- Share as much detail as you can, even early-stage ideas or plans
- Highlight any compliance challenges or alternative solutions
Important to note
Pre-application meetings are purely advisory and are led by you. These meetings don’t guarantee approval and are not part of the formal consent process. They help you identify potential challenges, like resource consents or stormwater approvals, so you can prepare a stronger application. Final decisions are only made once your formal application is reviewed.
Building Application Vetting meeting
Once you are ready to submit your Building Application you can arrange meeting with us to have an optional quality check. While we do vet every application, booking a vetting meeting with us could speed up your application approval.
Booking a vetting meeting will allow us to check that you have provided everything required to process your application before you submit it, ensuring a smoother building consent process.
While walk-ins are welcome, availability cannot be assured without an appointment. We'll contact you with the best meeting time after receiving your online booking request.
Please ensure you bring your application form and all supporting documents to the meeting.
The following form is for pre-application vetting appointments only. If your building project has already commenced, you need to fill out the request a booking inspection form or phone on 07 349 5646 between 8am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.
