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Position description: Building Practitioners Board – Chair
November 2025
On behalf of the Minister for Building and Construction, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment is
seeking applications from candidates interested in bringing their legal background and tribunal experience to the
role of Chair of the Building Practitioners Board.
About the Board
The Building Practitioners Board (the Board) plays an important role in overseeing the Licensed Building
Practitioners Scheme. The Board’s functions are to:
 Approve rules for recommendation to the Minister relating to Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) that are
prepared in accordance with Part 4 of the Building Act 2004 (the Act).
 Hear and decide complaints about, inquire into the conduct of, and discipline, LBPs in accordance with the
Act.
 Hear appeals against certain decisions by the Registrar of the Board.
 Review and report to the Minister on the performance of the functions and duties, and the exercise of the
powers of the Board in accordance with the Act.
The Board is not a governance board in the same way a Crown entity board provides strategic oversight for a
Crown entity, instead it acts more like a tribunal. The Board is independent of MBIE but is supported in the
performance of its role and functions.
The Board is committed to supporting the capability of New Zealand’s building and construction industry and
maintaining building practitioner standards. Further information on the Board can be found on their website.
The Board is a statutory body
The Board is established under section 341 of the Act. The Minister for Building and Construction is the
responsible Minister for the Board. Further provisions applying to the Board are contained in Schedule 3 of the
Act. More information on the Act can be found here.
Board member responsibilities
Role of members
The Act sets out the provisions for the governance, reporting, and accountability arrangements of the Board. The
collective duties of members are to ensure that the Board acts consistently with its objectives, functions,
Statement of Performance Expectations and Output Agreements and that the Board’s functions are performed
efficiently, effectively and in a manner consistent with the spirit of service to the public, in a financially
responsible manner and in accordance with the rules of natural justice.
The individual duties of members are:
 To comply with their letter of appointment.
 To bring an objective and fair approach to disciplinary hearings.
 To be collaborative and an effective communicator, and be willing and available to devote time and energy
to the role.
 To act with honesty and integrity, in good faith and in accordance with the principles of natural justice, and
with reasonable care, diligence and skills.
 Not to disclose or make use of information that otherwise would not be available to them.

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Position description: Building Practitioners Board – Chair
Members are expected to adhere to the Public Service Commission code of conduct. Further information can be
found here: https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/guidance/guide-he-aratohu/standards-of-integrity-and-conduct/
Membership of the Board
Members are appointed for terms of up to five years and may be reappointed on the expiry of their term. Members
of the Board may resign by written notice to the responsible Minister. Members may be removed from office at any
time, and for any reason, by written notice from the Minister.
Time commitment and remuneration
Members are entitled to receive remuneration at a rate determined by the shareholding Ministers in accordance
with the Cabinet Fees Framework. The Board Chair is paid a daily fee of $787 and in addition to this, members are
entitled to be reimbursed for actual and reasonable experiences incurred while carrying out the duties of the
Board.
The Board will meet as often as is necessary to carry out its role. Generally, the Chair time commitment is at least
ten days per month (including preparation time and dependent on individual member availability) at Board
meetings, hearings, and sub-committee meetings throughout New Zealand. The Board maintains a rolling
complaints fixtures schedule (CFS) that captures member availability and assigns them to matters based on their
availability. Board members are expected to regularly attend and participate and to commit to CFS allocations.
Person specifications
Specific skills required
At this time, the Minister of Building and Construction is seeking candidates for the position of Chair who have
the fol owing experience and expertise:
 Barrister or solicitor of at least five years standing.
 Tribunal or dispute resolution experience in a quasi-judicial setting.
 Expertise in one or more of the following areas:
o Contract law.
o Building and construction legislation.
o Consumer protection law.
 A genuine interest in supporting effective regulation of licensed building practitioners.
Additional skil s, experience, and attributes required
Ideally, candidates will have some or all of the following:
 Building industry knowledge.
 Board Chair experience.
 Experience working a member in a collegial decision-making environment.
Additional information
For enquiries about the position, email: [email address]

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BUILDING PRACTITIONERS
BOARD
Operations Manual
BUILDING PRACTITIONERS BOARD OPERATIONS MANUAL – MAY 2026

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1.3  Payment of fees, expenses and allowances

Fees

Introduction
The authority for the payment of fees and expenses to the Board is the

Fees and Travel ing Al owances Act 1951.1  Guidance on fees can be
obtained from the Cabinet Fees Framework, Circular CO (22) 2

Note Board members are not employees of the Board or the Ministry.
Appointment to the Board does not alter the individual Board member's
employment status prior to the appointment (e.g. self-employed,
employee, not employed).

Fees
The daily fees from 1 December 2024 are:

a.  $787 per day for the Board Chairperson
b.  $661 per day for the Board Deputy Chairperson
c.  $530 per day for Board members

A day is defined as at least 8 hours.  Payment may be made for periods of
less than 8 hours pro-rata (e.g. payment for a period of at least 4 hours at
half the daily rate, or an hourly rate of 1/8 of the daily fee).

What does the
The daily fee covers:
daily fee cover?

a.  attendance at meetings;
b.  work performed outside of meetings e.g. preparation for
meetings, representing the Board at other forums; or
administrative work.

Work outside of meeting attendances
For example, a member could spend 3 hours one evening preparing for a
meeting the next day.  If the preparation and meeting time combined were
between 6 and 8 hours, then the daily fee would be paid for the combined
preparation and meeting time.

Rates for
Where a member is required to chair a meeting or a subcommittee
chairing
meeting, then, for that particular meeting, the member wil  be paid the
meetings &
same daily fee as the Chairperson.  See Section 1.4 for appointment of
subcommittees  subcommittees.

Rates for
Where a working group has been set up to consider an issue and report to
working
the Board, then the daily fee shal  be the member’s usual daily fee.
groups

1 See Schedule 3,Clause 21.

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  Payment of
1.
Board members may claim travel time where, in any one day:
travel time

a.  3 hours or more hours travel is undertaken in the course
of the normal business day and a part day fee is paid for
meeting time.  The maximum claimable is 1 day’s fees
(for combined meeting and travel time); or
b.  3 hours or more hours travel is undertaken and the
travel day is other than the day of the meeting; or
c.  11 hours or more of combined meeting and travel time is
undertaken; and 3 hours or more of the 11 hours was
spent in travel.

2.
Travel time must be approved by the Board Deputy Chairperson,
or in the case of the Deputy, the Chairperson, with agreement of
the Ministry.

3.
Members may apply for travel time outside of ‘1’ above in extreme
situations.  A reason for the claim must be provided.  Approval is at
the Chairperson’s discretion, or in the Chairperson’s case the
Deputy’s discretion, with agreement of the Ministry.

4.
Travel time is claimed on an hourly pro rata rate, rounded to the
closest hour, or time at the discretion of the Chairperson if ‘3’
above applies.

5.
Travel time commences and ends as follows:
a.  Commences upon arrival at the airport and ends at the
start of the meeting; and
b.  Commences again at the time the meeting finishes to the
time a member arrives at the airport of their final
destination.
c.  If a situation does not fit with ‘a’ and ‘b’ above, alternative
‘commence’ and ‘end’ times may be approved at the
discretion of the Chairperson
d.  , with agreement of the Ministry.

6.
If a member chooses to arrive significantly earlier to a meeting
than is required, the additional time prior to the commencement of
a meeting is not claimable as travel time.

7.
A member cannot claim the same period of time as preparation
time and travel time.  If preparation for a meeting was undertaken
during travel time, this should be claimed as preparation time.

8.
Where practicable, meetings are to be arranged so that members
can travel to the meeting venue on the day of the meeting and
return home on the same day.

In considering payments for travel ing time, the Chairperson and the
Ministry need to consider issues of equity, the Government’s intention for
geographical representation, and ensure attendance at meetings does not
result in undue personal hardship.

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Payment for
Locum fees or other overheads of running a business are not to be paid
locum or
under any circumstances.
business

overheads
For example, if a Board member is self-employed, the cost of a locum to

continue the business of the member while on Board business wil  not be
paid.

The reason for this is that the Board is not responsible for funding
members' own business costs.  Issues such as the potential loss of
income and maintenance of a professional practice (including business
overheads) need to be considered by the individual prior to accepting
appointment to the Board.

Payment of a fee  Where a meeting or other activity of the Board is cancelled, or takes fewer
for a cancelled
days than planned, the Board may, in exceptional cases and in consultation
meeting
with the Ministry, consider approving payment of the fee where:

a.  the cancellation was unforeseeable, and
b.  the member was unable to reschedule other work to take
advantage of the time made available, and
c.  the member suffered real loss of income as a result of the
cancellation.

The Board would need to consider each case on its merits, after the
cancellation occurred.

An affected member wil  need to make a case to the Board on each
separate occasion.  The Board should not approve payment if it is believed
the member had not tried to reschedule other work.  Partial payment might
be appropriate if rescheduled appointment fees do not fully compensate a
member for the lost fee from the meeting.

If the Board does resolve to pay the fee for part or all of the time a meeting
was cancelled, that resolution must be recorded in the minutes.

The Ministry’s approval is required to make any payments under this
section.

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Expenses

Introduction
Generally, Board members’ travel (air, car rental and taxis), and meals

wil  be organised by the member. Expenses are reimbursed on an ‘actual

and reasonable’ basis.

Members travelling to meetings, or on Board business (where the
members are required to be away from their residence) may however,
incur ‘out of pocket’ expenses.  These expenses are reimbursed on the
same basis as that paid to employees of the Ministry,2 on an ‘actual
and reasonable’ basis.

Board members must exercise prudence and be mindful of the
appropriateness of such expenditure.

Expense/fees
Expense/fees claim forms are available to members through the Case
claims
Officer.

Members complete claim forms monthly and attach itemised receipts for
expenses requiring reimbursement.  Members must include on meal
receipts the names of those whose meals for whom the member is
seeking reimbursement.

Members forward signed claim forms, with receipts attached to the
Deputy Chairperson (or Chairperson in the case of the Deputy), who
approve and forward to the Case Officer for processing. The National
Manager approves claims.

Members receive an email from the Ministry’s Finance department
confirming payment of each claim.

Meals
The Ministry reimburses actual and reasonable expenses on production

of itemised til  receipts for 3 reasonable meals a day, tea, coffee, cold
drinks and bottled water.

Catering may be provided for meetings and hearings. This is arranged on
the request of the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson to the Case Officer

A member may be obliged to buy a meal where they have to get a very
early flight, or where they are delayed in their travel, or where they are
driving a considerable distance.

Accommodation  Generally, members’ accommodation is booked by a Case Officer, using

negotiated preferred suppliers.

Where this is not possible, or a member is obliged to arrange their own
accommodation due to unforeseen circumstances, accommodation
chosen should be ‘reasonable’, having regard to its proximity to the
location being visited, availability and cost.

2  See Cabinet Office Circular CO (22) 2 – Fees framework for members appointed in which the Crown has an
interest

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Private stay
Members may stay with friends or family while travelling and claim actual
  accommodation  and reasonable expenses with supporting documentation.

Air travel
Generally, members may book their own air travel and claim it as an
expense. Air Travel can be booked by a Case Officer, on a case-by-case
basis.

Rental vehicles  Where a member has to organise a rental vehicle, in lieu of other agreed

travel arrangements, the vehicle must, where possible, be booked through
the Ministry’s appointed agency, and charged back directly to the Ministry.
The most economical vehicle for the length of the trip must be hired
(generally up to a 2.0 litre vehicle).  Where a member needs to fil  the
tank, a claim for reimbursement can be put to the Ministry.

Board members wil  be covered under the Ministry’s insurance policy for
damage while using a rental vehicle for Ministry business, so long as the
rental company’s offer of insurance has not been accepted.

Under the Ministry insurance policy the applicable extension wil  provide
insurance cover up to $150,000 for any single vehicle.  The standard
excess (first amount payable in the event of a loss) is $2,000 for loss or
damage to the rental vehicle.  This is payable by the Ministry.

Taxis
Taxis or rideshare services may be used where this is the most cost-

effective option.  Actual and reasonable costs are payable subject to

production of receipts for travel to and from the airport, meeting venues
and accommodation.

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Use of private
Reimbursement for the use of a private motor vehicle while on Board
vehicles
business wil  be at the Ministry standard rates defined by Inland

Revenue3. They are as below.

The Ministry’s insurance policy covers for loss or damage to a member’s
private vehicle while on Ministry business only if the member’s vehicle is
either not insured, or if their own vehicle insurance policy wil  not cover
damage while used for business purposes.  The Ministry’s insurance
policy conditions would apply (e.g. excess).  The expectation is that this
is a last resort.

Parking,
Parking fees are reimbursable.
internet data

use and tolls
Toll calls from a landline of a reasonable duration to the family home on
the day of travel on Board business are reimbursable.

Tol  calls from a landline made from the Board member’s home, which
relate to Board business only, are reimbursable.

Internet data use expenses incurred on Board business are only
reimbursable in exceptional circumstances.

Entertainment  Entertainment must be for building business relationships, reciprocating
and alcohol
hospitality, or recognising a significant business achievement.

Entertainment expenses wil  only be paid if approval has been given by
the Board.

The Ministry wil  not reimburse any purchase of alcohol.
Board members must adopt a prudent approach to the nature and cost of
the entertainment to be provided.  Expenditure must be ‘sustainable under
public scrutiny’.

3 Kilometre rates 2024-2025
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Non-
Members are responsible for:
  reimbursable
expenses
a.  their own alcoholic drinks

b.  mini-bar tabs
c.  in-house movies and videos
d.  traffic fines
e.  parking infringements

These expenses are not reimbursed by the Ministry.

1.4  Board Meetings
Introduction

Regulate its
The Board regulates its own procedures except where otherwise provided
own
for in the Act (including Schedule 3).  This section describes the
procedures
procedures covered by the Act.

Additional procedures that may be used by the Board to help regulate
meetings are provided below under “Meeting procedures”.

The Board may develop protocols for when to invoke these additional
procedures (to facilitate running a meeting).

Confidentiality  The Board adopts the approach its meetings and hearings may be
of Board
conducted as an open forum.
meetings

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Board Member iPad Acceptable Use
Policy
Document Control
Policy Owner
Duncan Connor, National Manager Occupational Regulation
Review Frequency
Annually
Date of Last Review
Implemented 13 February 2026
Date Next Review Due
13 February 2027
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2. Acceptable Use
iPads are issued to all Board members for use during their tenure on the Board. Board members
may use MBIE iPads for:
• Accessing Board papers, emails, and official MBIE communications.
• Participating in virtual meetings and secure collaboration platforms.
• Incidental personal use, provided it:
o  Does not degrade device performance, speed, or availability of Board related
information,
o  Does not involve media streaming unless directly related to Board business,
o  Does not incur additional costs to the Board,
o  Does not involve significant storage use or large volumes of personal content,
o  Does not include inappropriate, offensive, or unprofessional material,
o  Does not negatively affect the reputation of the Board or MBIE in any context.
o  Does not use personal email accounts or messaging apps to access, store, or share
Board information

MBIE-issued iPads must not be taken overseas for travel that is unrelated to Board business.
If overseas travel is required for Board business, members may take their MBIE-issued iPad
when travelling to a Five Eyes country (Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United
States). Members must ensure compliance with MBIE security and data protection requirements
and notify a Case Officer prior to travel.
3. Data Protection
Board members must:
•  Keep personal security login confidential and secure.
•  Treat all Board information as confidential unless explicitly stated otherwise.
•  Avoid storing sensitive Board data on unauthorised applications.
•  Use only MBIE-approved platforms for sharing or storing documents.
•  Ensure iPads are locked when unattended and not shared with others.
•  Report any suspected data breaches or loss of information immediately to the National
Manager, Occupational Regulation.
•  Keep the operating system and any Board related applications up to date.
4. Security and Privacy
Board members must:
•  Keep the device secure at all times (home, travelling, at Board meetings).
•  Report any loss or theft immediately to Case Officer who will report to Service Desk/Cyber
Security Operations.
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•  Use only MBIE-approved applications and services.
•  Not insert personal USBs or SIM cards into the device.
•  Not remove the MBIE SIM card without approval.
•  Do not jailbreak or otherwise attempt to circumvent iOS protections.
•  Disable AirDrop except when required for MBIE business; use “Contacts Only” when
enabled.

5. Artificial Intelligence Tools
Use of AI or generative AI tools on MBIE iPads is not permitted without prior approval from the
National Manager, Occupational Regulation.
6. Monitoring and Compliance
MBIE may monitor device usage to ensure compliance with this policy. Non-compliance may
result in device retrieval, restricted access, or formal notification to MBIE governance. Serious
misuse may lead to investigation and other actions per MBIE policies and applicable laws.

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Document Outline

About the Board
- The Board is a statutory body
Board member responsibilities
Person specifications
- Specific skills required
- Additional skills, experience, and attributes required
Additional information
4. Board Member iPad Acceptable Use Policy (003).pdf
- Board Member iPad Acceptable Use Policy - 13 February 2026