New Zealand Government entities have stewardship obligations under the State Sector Act to monitor the performance of the regulatory systems they oversee. A charter supports the living regulatory system approach 1 and reinforces shared ownership for the system among those with regulatory functions. The charter is designed to support cooperation between system participants and ensure any changes contribute to the desired outcomes of the system as a whole.

What’s in the regulatory charter?

Regulatory charters:

• clarify roles and responsibilities of system participants

• identify overlaps in the regulatory system

• identify gaps in the regulatory system

• provide guidance to resolve systemic uncertainties when they arise

To complement charters MBIE periodically undertakes system assessments to identify risks and gaps and review its own performance as the steward of the system.

Charter ownership

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is formally responsible for the charter. The charter must record the
shared understanding of all organisations with key roles in the building regulatory system. It is a product of, and vehicle for, dialogue across the system.

Charter functionality

The charter describes the current building regulatory system and how it ought to work. It sets out the purpose of the system, the roles and relationships between participants. The building regulatory system is complex and MBIE is working to simplify as it aims to improve the system. Changes are underway and further work is planned. The Charter does not capture the future work programme, but provides a foundation for understanding the current state and roles and responsibilities.

Charter review and management

The responsibility for keeping and reviewing this charter document sits with the MBIE. A review of this document should occur at least every five years and after significant changes to the Building Act. A charter review should include assessments of:

• Whether system objectives, policy or context have changed over time

• Whether the charter document should be updated to reflect these changes

• Whether, as a result of system assessments, progress has been made in addressing identified risks and closing gaps.

____

1 A living system is one which is continuously monitored and improved, rather than set and forgotten. A living system incorporates mechanisms to enable the regulators in the system to identify, assess and evaluate the system and make adjustments where appropriate to meet evolving opportunities and risks. In a living system, the system’s owners have shared expectations of how the system is supposed to perform and can assess how that system is performing against those expectations.