Amendments and Minor Variations

During the construction phase of your project, it may develop that changes are necessary to the building design/construction. Changes to construction depicted in the consented documents are required to be captured as a minor variation or a formal amendment prior to those changes being carried out/constructed.

Formal amendments are significant changes to the design and must be submitted to Council for approval in the same way an application for Building Consent is made. Formal amendments usually require revised plans, specifications and/or other documentation to be attached to the application. Refer to Applying for a Building Consent.

What is a minor variation?

A minor variation is a small change to the consented plans and specifications after the building consent has been issued. So long as the changes are minor enough, achieve an equivalent level of performance, and do not affect Building Code compliance, it is at the discretion of the building consent authority as to whether it is significant enough to require an amendment to the building consent

Minor Variation: The mechanism for requesting approval of a minor variation is typically via the Minor Variation Form .

The Minor Variation Form is available for both in-office and onsite variations, where it is appropriate to obtain Owner/Agent approval.

The requirement for a completed Minor Variation Form is at the discretion of the inspecting or processing Building Control Officer (BCO). Where used, the Minor Variation Form must be completed and signed by the Owner/Agent, and must include sufficient detail of the proposed variation.

Supporting plans and specifications must be provided where necessary.

Minor variations may be approved by a Building Inspector onsite or by office-based BCA staff, subject to adequate information being provided.

Examples of on-site minor variations may include, but are not limited to:

• As-built plans for the drains that do not change the system type
• Minor wall bracing changes
• Changing a room layout
• Product substitution of building wrap, roof underlay, tanking membrane, insulation, etc.
• Change of location of a sanitary fixture, bracing element, meter board, gas bottles or smoke alarms
• An increase in specification such as using a higher grade of timber treatment, higher concrete strength, glue-laminated timber instead of sawn timber, additional surface water sump, increased dimension of framing member or framing members at closer centres

Minor variation requests should be supported with sufficient relevant documentation for a decision to be made.

For the definition of a minor variation, refer toBuilding [Minor Variations] Regulations 2009

Minor Variations Guidance - Guidance for minor variations to Building Consents