17 November 2025
Gisborne District Council’s Building Services team has achieved a strong result in its latest IANZ accreditation audit, reflecting steady progress and improved performance.
The International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) audit found no issues with Council’s statutory timeframes, noting significant improvement in building consent processing over the past year.
Council Director of Sustainable Futures, Jocelyne Allen said the result shows the benefits of Council’s commitment to continuous improvement.
“We’ve worked hard to lift performance, streamline processes and ensure customers receive timely, consistent service,” she said.
“It’s encouraging to see that effort recognised through a clean result on our timeframes.”
Since March, Council has consistently issued 100% of building consents within the required 20-working-day timeframe, with just two short weeks where the rate dipped slightly to 92% and 98%.
The audit did identify eight General Non-Compliances (GNCs), but these were mostly minor housekeeping issues such as broken website links and areas where more explanatory documentation was needed – particularly around processing consents for dams.
Remedial work is already well underway, with Council aiming to have all items cleared before Christmas.
“This audit reinforces that our systems are robust, our team is providing good service and we’re continuing to improve,” Ms Allen said. “It’s a great result for the organisation and for our community.”
Footnote:
An IANZ audit is a formal assessment by New Zealand’s body for accreditation including for Building Consent Authorities, to verify required standards of competence, impartiality, quality and consistency are met in line with regulations.