James Marsh from KiwiSpan tries out the new online portal.
Building consents have gone digital, and from next month we’re beginning a drive to get all applications paper-free.
Since 1 July people have been able to apply and pay for Porirua City Council building consents using our online services portal, says Nicola Etheridge, General Manager Policy, Planning and Regulatory Services.
“Since launching the portal, we’ve had more than 75 per cent of building consents using the digital option. This is a great start, and our aim now is get 100 per cent of applications online,” she says.
“The new system makes it easier for people to apply for a consent, and means paper applications don’t have to be processed and scanned – which is much more efficient and removes the chance of scanning errors.”
Online submission also means customers can share their applications with other parties, like builders or architects, and gives them more control of their documents.
“The move to a digital channel is something our customers have told us they want, so we’re happy to have made it happen,” Ms Etheridge says.
Council staff are available to help applicants create their online accounts and submit applications, and can guide people through use of the new portal.
“We have a kiosk available at the front counter to make this easy for customers and if anyone needs assistance, our friendly staff can lend a hand.”
Later this year a paper processing charge will be put in place, to cover our costs if customers choose to lodge a paper copy of their building consent or use our scanning service, rather than using other scanning companies or requesting digital files from their architect or builder.
“Building consent applications are the first major service to be rolled out digitally and we’ll be making further building compliance forms available in the future,” Ms Etheridge says.
“When this happens, customers will be able to submit other forms, like applications for Code Compliance Certificate or amendments through our online services too.”
22 Aug 2019
