Property Matters newsletter | July 2024

In this edition of the Government Property Group newsletter – We share how we supported agencies during an accommodation emergency earlier this year, celebrate NZTA’s recent win at the NZIA Wellington awards, share the latest NABERSNZ results, recap the latest Knowledge Hour and more.  

Supporting agencies with space utilisation 

Our Property, Planning and Advisory team have been busy supporting agencies who have identified they have surplus space and wish to reduce their footprint. Alongside the Brokering Map we have facilitated discussions between a number of agencies with several now planning to move to their new location. 

We also have a new space calculator available for 2024 which supports agencies to manage the impact of hybrid working on an agency’s occupancy and space requirements. If you would like a copy of the latest GPG space calculator email info@gpg.govt.nz. 

Working as a unified public service to help our colleagues

In February this year, our colleagues at Treasury, Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) based in 1 The Terrace had to evacuate their offices in Wellington due to a switchboard fire. 

As the property system lead, we immediately assembled a response team to support the three affected agencies, understand their needs, and find them a suitable space in the government property portfolio to allow them to continue their important work.

We had to quickly get up to speed with the event itself, the impact on the agencies, the likely duration that agencies would be displaced, and how we could best ensure their requirements (people numbers, space, security, desking and admin services) could be met.

Read more about how we supported our affected colleagues.

Proposed non-earthquake prone building seismic assessment guidelines

The Joint Committee for Seismic Assessment and Retrofit is inviting feedback on proposed changes to the Seismic Assessment Guidelines for non-earthquake prone buildings (non-EPB). Consultation is being conducted by Engineering New Zealand on behalf of the Joint Committee and is open until 15 August 2024.

The Seismic Assessments of Existing Buildings – Technical Guidelines for Engineering Assessments (July 2017), known as the Red Book must be used when carrying out seismic assessments under the earth-quake prone building system. For other assessments engineers often use the 2018 non-EPB Seismic Assessment Guidelines, referred to as the Yellow Chapter, as this reflects the latest engineering knowledge on how concrete buildings are likely to perform in an earthquake. The proposed changes are expected to improve the clarity and accuracy of assessments, and on balance, in many cases improve the %NBS scores of certain elements.

Proposed non-EPB seismic assessment guidelines | Engineering NZ

This consultation on non-EPB Seismic Assessment Guidelines is not related to the earthquake-prone building system review MBIE is currently undertaking.

Property Knowledge Hour recap - Building information modelling 

In June, we hosted a Knowledge Hour to share information on Building Information Modelling (BIM) using two case studies. It was great to have so many attend the session.

Alex Hampshire, Director, WT New Zealand provided insights into how agencies could use BIM to lift asset and facilities management practices in agencies that have an owned property portfolio.

We also heard from Rob Stevens from the Department of Internal Affairs about the new archives building. This 10 storey, 20,000 sqm building is under construction to a 5 Green Star standard. Once completed it will be the most advanced building in the country due to the specific environmental requirements. Alex explained how a “digital twin” could be used to obtain a real-time view of the building and performance of its systems. 
 
Euan Hogg, Parliamentary Service, shared with us the extent of their property portfolio, known as the Parliamentary Precinct, where a lack of asset data was making it difficult to plan or forecast their capital planning requirements. Alex highlighted that Archibus (the Government Property Portal - GPP), was one of the best Integrated workplace management systems available in the world. He explained how Parliamentary Service were able to develop a consistent data repository framework using the Portal.

Alex illustrated how GPP could provide real benefit to end users and how GPG continues to work on expanding the functionality of the system by adding modules that enhance the asset management module.

Thanks Alex for your plug for the portal, encouraging agencies to make better use of this world class platform to better manage their properties.

Government Property Portal

To watch this, and previous Knowledge Hours, including one on conflicts of interest, head to the Hīkina video library.

Want to present a Property Knowledge Hour?

We’re always keen to hear from our property colleagues around the country about the mahi they’re doing.

If you’re interested in hosting a Property Knowledge Hour or have a particular topic you would like us to present on, please email us. 

Government Property Portal - upcoming modules

The Government Property Portal (GPP) is our integrated workplace management system designed to help agencies manage their property portfolios more effectively. 

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be delivering several changes to add functionality and visibility for agencies including:

• A new module called Capital Projects that ties in with the existing Condition Assessment functionality and enables the capture of Property Projects.
  
• Connection to email to deliver notification straight to your inbox.
• Enable the ability for agencies to load directly all their Building Risk Assessments and see them in a consolidated view.
  
• The "demand side" of the Space Brokering console (the supply side is already there under the Portfolio menu), where an Agency can create a record of Space they need for others to see.
  

To ensure you get the best use of the GPP tool we encourage everyone to keep their property information up to date. 

For more information on the GPP, email us. 

NABERSNZ - reporting progress

The National Australian Built Environment Rating System New Zealand (NABERSNZ) is the energy rating system used to measure and compare the environmental energy and carbon performance of government office buildings.

The NABERSNZ requirement was introduced in January 2021. The standards are compulsory for all mandated agencies who occupy single-tenant, co-tenanted or co-located government office accommodation.

A base building assessment is needed for all buildings where government occupies ≥ 2,000m2 of space. Where government occupies ≥ 5,000m2 a tenancy assessment is also required. 

NABERSNZ assessments and ratings

NABERSNZ reporting began in 2022 and our latest round of reporting shows good progress, with 50% of eligible buildings now rated. Assessments are planned or underway for another 15% of the 92 buildings in scope. 73% of the buildings rated 4 stars or higher, which is great news and means they don’t need to be re-rated for another three years. 

Our Senior Property Portfolio Specialists will be working with agencies yet to start their NABERSNZ journey so that we can all play our part in reducing energy use, and contribute to the government carbon emissions targets.

In line with Cabinet expectations, all government office buildings occupied by mandated agencies must be assessed by December 2025. To ensure your agency meets this deadline, please get in touch with your Senior Property Portfolio Specialist if you (or your landlord) have not engaged an accredited assessor to obtain your rating.

If you’d like any further information about NABERSNZ reporting, email us. 

NZTA wins at the NZIA Wellington awards

Congratulations to our colleagues at New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). Their office at 44 Bowen Street, designed by DGSE, won the Interior Architecture award at the New Zealand Institute of Architecture (NZIA) 2024 Wellington Architecture Awards ceremony last month.

The building was praised for the fitout that embraces views to the motorway, parking areas and busy Bowen Street, a location that represents what NZTA is all about. The judges complimented the uncluttered floor design, providing natural light to workspaces, and meeting rooms that act as a buffer between the open-plan layout and support facilities. “Concept delivery weaves its way with subtlety in a coherent choice and application of materials. Through robust reversed briefs to the client, the architects have delivered a honed result that is generous, makes good use of the budget and doesn't compromise sustainability, earning it WELL certification.”

Other winners in this category were Kiwirail (Wgtn operations), Human Rights Commission and KPMG.

It's fantastic to see our property colleagues acknowledged for their mahi, ka rawe.

Property consultancy services - suppliers appointed

At this stage we’ve appointed the following 34 providers for the Government Property Group's (GPG) common capability property consultancy services (PCS) contract. The providers are:

Align, APL Property, Aurecon, Beca, Betta, BGIS, Catalyst, CBRE, Colliers, Darroch (QV), Designgroup Stapleton Elliott (DGSE), EY, Gemtech, JLL, PAE, Preston Rowe Paterson, PRISMA, RCG, RCP, RDT, ResolveXO, Stephenson & Turner, Studio DB, Telco, TBIG, TPG, TwentyTwo, Unispace, Veros, Warren and Mahoney, Whirico, WSP, WTP and Zerometric.

The new PCS contract starts on 20 September 2024, for a term of up to nine years (three years + two rights of renewal of three years). 

The contract is intended for office accommodation but may also be useful in operational property settings. The expectation is for agencies to access these services through the PCS panel, not the construction consultancy services or consultancy services panels.

If you have any questions about the upcoming contract, email the PCS project team.