Building Act 2004

Review of building code

Schedule 2: Buildings in respect of which requirement for provision of access and facilities for persons with disabilities applies

You could also call this:

"Buildings that must be accessible to people with disabilities"

You need to know which buildings must provide access and facilities for people with disabilities. The Building Act 2004 says this applies to many types of buildings. These include transport terminals, public toilets, and banks. You will also find these requirements in childcare centres, schools, and universities, as well as in hospitals and medical centres. They apply to libraries, museums, and places of worship too. Other buildings like shops, restaurants, and hotels must also provide access and facilities. These rules are part of the Building Act 2004, as outlined in s 118(2). They help make sure people with disabilities can get into and use these buildings. This is an important part of making sure everyone can participate in their community.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM309341.

This page was last updated on 5 February 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Public healthRights and equality > Anti-discriminationHousing and property > Home safety and repairs

Schedule 1A: Other building work for which building consent not required, or

"Building work that doesn't need consent, like small stand-alone homes"

Schedule 3: Further provisions applying to Board, or

"Rules for Being on the Building Board"

2Buildings in respect of which requirement for provision of access and facilities for persons with disabilities applies Empowered by s 118(2)

The buildings in respect of which the requirement for the provision of access and facilities for persons with disabilities apply are, without limitation, as follows:

land, sea, and air passenger transport terminals and facilities and interchanges, whether wholly on land or otherwise:

public toilets wherever situated:

banks:

childcare centres and kindergartens:

day-care centres and facilities:

commercial buildings and premises for business and professional purposes, including computer centres:

central, regional, and local government offices and facilities:

courthouses:

Police stations:

hotels, motels, hostels, halls of residence, holiday cabins, groups of pensioner flats, boarding houses, guest houses, and other premises providing accommodation for the public:

hospitals, whether public or private, and rest homes:

medical and dental surgeries, and medical and paramedical and other primary health care centres:

educational institutions, including public and private primary, intermediate, and secondary schools, universities, polytechnics, Te Pūkenga—New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology and its Crown entity subsidiaries, and other tertiary institutions:

libraries, museums, art galleries, and other cultural institutions:

churches, chapels, and other places of public worship:

places of assembly, including auditoriums, theatres, cinemas, halls, sports stadiums, conference facilities, clubrooms, recreation centres, and swimming baths:

shops, shopping centres, and shopping malls:

restaurants, bars, cafeterias, and catering facilities:

showrooms and auction rooms:

public laundries:

petrol and service stations:

funeral parlours:

television and radio stations:

car parks, parking buildings, and parking facilities:

factories and industrial buildings where more than 10 persons are employed:

other buildings, premises, or facilities to which the public are to be admitted, whether for free or on payment of a charge.


	Compare: 1991 No 150 s 47A(4)

Notes

Schedule 2 paragraph (m): amended, on 22 October 2025, by section 51 of the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 56).
Schedule 2 paragraph (m): amended, on 25 September 2020, by clause 4(2) of the Education (Name Change for NZIST) Order 2020 (LI 2020/260).
Schedule 2 paragraph (m): amended, on 1 April 2020, by section 78(1) of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 1).