Roles and responsibilities for building emergency management

Building management in an emergency requires having coordinated arrangements in place that involve:

• building owners
• territorial authorities
• Emergency Management Committees (EMCs)
• agencies 
• building professionals.

These arrangements include preparing for future emergencies, responding when emergencies occur and recovery.

Building emergency management is a shared responsibility.

A range of organisations, including territorial authorities, Emergency Management Committees, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, the Minister for Building and Construction and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), have roles and responsibilities under New Zealand's building and emergency management legislation.

As the steward of New Zealand's building regulatory system, MBIE supports the effective management of buildings before, during, and after emergencies. This includes providing policy leadership, technical guidance, advice to government, and national coordination and support when significant emergencies occur.

This page provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the key organisations involved in building emergency management.

Summary of building emergency management roles and responsibilities

MBIE's responsibilities for building emergency management

MBIE has legal obligations, roles and responsibilities under the National Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Plan Order 2015 and the Building Act 2004. Both legislative vehicles require MBIE to have systems and functions to be in place in the event of an emergency.

MBIE's building emergency management responsibilities include:

• coordinating national building management support in designated areas, in consultation with EM Committees, relevant agencies and professional bodies, as required
• providing support and advice to the National Controller and the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) on building safety matters 
• providing policy advice to the Government on building safety matters
• developing and managing New Zealand's national rapid building assessment training programme, including training building professionals to assess damaged buildings after emergencies
• maintaining a national register of qualified Rapid Building Assessors (RBAs)
• providing the tools, guidance, and resources needed to carry out rapid building assessments, including field guides, assessment forms, placards, and notices used to identify whether buildings are safe to occupy
• advising the Government on how to support the repair, rebuilding, and recovery of buildings and communities following an emergencyI

If there is a local state of emergency, MBIE can provide support to territorial authorities where requested. This could include advice on designations, and coordinating the mobilisation and deployment of RBAs and specialist staff (for example engineers).

MBIE's roles and responsibilities under a National State of Emergency

Under a National State of Emergency, some of MBIE's roles for building emergency management can change at the request of the National Controller in the NCMC.

In this situation MBIE has several building management roles and responsibilities, including:

• monitoring the event and response
• reporting to the Minister for Building and Construction
• providing liaison officers to the NCMC
• leading rapid building assessment functions.

More specifically, MBIE may also:

• advise and report on operational building management needs and options to the Director National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) or the National Controller
• appoint a liaison officer to the NCMC, which facilitates the central government crisis management response
• collate the notification of designations, which provides a system and powers for managing buildings after an emergency (new and 90-day reviews)
• identify specialist MBIE staff and Tier 1 Technical Leads to deploy to the field to lead the rapid building assessment function where required or requested
• support collection of intelligence (from building owners) in designated areas
• prepare intelligence documents – eg maps, to target areas of the highest need
• deploy RBAs (including Tier 1 Technical Leads) where additional support is required  
• coordinate the mobilisation and deployment of RBAs where requested by territorial authorities
• lead the securing and management of compromised building sites for forensic investigations, including developing and giving notice of investigations
• give advice, support, and engage with district councils or building consent authorities who are leading responses, as well as formally notify territorial authorities of ministerial decisions
• help facilitate consultation with required parties in the event of a request for the whole/partial removal of a heritage building.

For more information on RBAs, including Tier 1 Technical Leads, visit:

Rapid Building Assessor programme

Responsibilities of territorial authorities

When an emergency occurs that causes damage to buildings, MBIE helps territorial authorities manage resources to protect lives, buildings, and infrastructure.

Under the Emergency Management Act 2026 (EM Act), territorial authorities are required to plan for civil defence emergency management in consultation with their communities, and in collaboration with emergency services and lifeline utilities.

Territorial authorities roles and responsibilities for Building Management are detailed in Section 15 of the National CDEM Plan Order 2015 - civildefence.govt.nz

As part of this, territorial authorities must develop and maintain arrangements to ensure they are ready to respond to an emergency and lead recovery work to achieve the building emergency management objective of the National CDEM Plan Order 2015, such as:

• protecting life and promote safety within and in the vicinity of each building
• minimising damage to and loss of property
• restoring building functions as soon as possible to minimise social and economic consequences of the emergency
• minimising losses or disruption of lifeline utility services that are in or near any building.

In the case of a designation, a territorial authority must use the Building Act's powers to manage damaged or potentially unsafe buildings instead of the EM Act. These powers provide a flexible framework and a range of tools to help protect public safety and support recovery.

Resources for decision-makers and territorial authorities

Guidance for managing buildings in an emergency

• Building emergency management guidance for territorial authorities and decision-makers

Related information

• Designating an area for building emergency management
• Rapid Building Assessment System
• Rapid building assessment placarding system
• Remediation, repair and urgent works

Related legislation

• The Building Act 2004 Part 2 Subpart 6B of Part 2 – special provisions for buildings affected by emergency – legislation.govt.nz
• Overview of the Emergency Management Act 2026
• National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2015 and Guide to the Plan