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Building Act 2004

Building - Special provisions for earthquake-prone buildings - Application and interpretation

133AE: Meaning of priority building

You could also call this:

"What is a priority building in areas with high earthquake risk?"

When you hear the term 'priority building', it refers to certain buildings in areas with medium or high seismic risk. These buildings are important because they might be needed in an emergency, such as a hospital or a building used for emergency services. They can also be buildings where many people gather, like schools or early childhood education centres.

You can find more information about what makes a building a priority building in the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. The likelihood of a building being needed in an emergency is assessed using national and local civil defence emergency management plans. For example, a building might be considered a priority if it is likely to be used as an emergency shelter or centre.

If only part of a building meets the criteria, then only that part is considered a priority building. Whether a building is a priority building affects deadlines for identifying and fixing earthquake-prone buildings, as outlined in section 133AG and sections 133AM, 133AMA, 133AMB, and 133AMC. You can learn more about these deadlines and how they impact priority buildings by reading about the Education and Training Act 2020 and the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7340930.

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133AD: Meaning of low, medium, and high seismic risk, or

"What 'low', 'medium', and 'high' seismic risk mean for building safety"

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133AF: Role of territorial authority in identifying certain priority buildings, or

"Councils must find buildings that could be dangerous in an earthquake and block roads or paths."

Part 2Building
Special provisions for earthquake-prone buildings: Application and interpretation

133AEMeaning of priority building

  1. In this subpart, priority building means any of the following that are located in an area of medium or high seismic risk:

  2. a hospital building that is likely to be needed in an emergency (within the meaning of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002) to provide—
    1. emergency medical services; or
      1. ancillary services that are essential for the provision of emergency medical services:
      2. a building that is likely to be needed in an emergency for use as an emergency shelter or emergency centre:
        1. a building that is used to provide emergency response services (for example, policing, fire, ambulance, or rescue services):
          1. a building that is regularly occupied by at least 20 people and that is used as any of the following:
            1. an early childhood education and care centre licensed under Part 2 of the Education and Training Act 2020:
              1. a registered school or an integrated school (within the meaning of the Education and Training Act 2020):
                1. a private training establishment registered under subpart 5 of Part 4 of the Education and Training Act 2020:
                  1. an institution established under section 268 of the Education and Training Act 2020:
                  2. any part of an unreinforced masonry building that could—
                    1. fall from the building in an earthquake (for example, a parapet, an external wall, or a veranda); and
                      1. fall onto any part of a public road, footpath, or other thoroughfare that a territorial authority has identified under section 133AF(2)(a):
                      2. a building that a territorial authority has identified under section 133AF(2)(b) as having the potential to impede a transport route of strategic importance (in terms of an emergency response) if the building were to collapse in an earthquake.

                        1. For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) and (b), the likelihood of a building being needed in an emergency for a particular purpose must be assessed having regard to—

                        2. any national civil defence emergency management plan made under section 39 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002; and
                          1. the civil defence emergency management group plan approved under section 48 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 that covers the district in which the building is situated.

                            1. If only part of a building meets the criteria set out in subsection (1), only that part of the building is a priority building.

                            2. Whether a building is a priority building affects—

                            3. the deadline by which a territorial authority must identify whether the building or a part of the building is potentially earthquake prone (see section 133AG); and
                              1. the deadline for completing seismic work on the building or a part of the building, if it is subject to an EPB notice (see sections 133AM, 133AMA, 133AMB, and 133AMC).

                                Notes
                                • Section 133AE: inserted, on , by section 24 of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 22).
                                • Section 133AE(1)(d): replaced, on , by section 668 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (2020 No 38).
                                • Section 133AE(4)(b): amended, on , by section 14 of the Building (Earthquake-prone Building Deadlines and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 49).