Panel discussion

Nic Brooke, outgoing SESOC President and Managing Director of Compusoft, convened a panel discussion focused on the liabilities arising when engineers issue Producer Statements. The discussion sought to clarify risks and responsibilities for engineers in light of recent legal cases.

Engineers issuing Construction Review Producer Statements received a sharp reminder from the Court of Appeal that these are documents of legal significance, and care needed to be taken when issuing them and undertaking all related review work.

In a recently released judgement, the Court confirmed that issuing a PS4 Producer Statement in relation to non-compliant building work was itself capable of giving rise to criminal liability for the issuing engineer under the Building Act 2004.

CEAS, ACE, and Engineering New Zealand commissioned advice regarding the implications of this judgement for engineers. They generously made the resulting practice alert available to SESOC members as well. All members were recommended to familiarise themselves with the practice alert, particularly those responsible for issuing PS4s. The practice alert was available to view at **Practice Alert 2 December 2024**.

Participants in the panel discussion included:

Hannah Bryce, General Manager Engagement, ACE New Zealand
Paul Kirby, General Manager Regulation and General Counsel, Engineering New Zealand
Craig Lewis, Managing Director of Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers and Chair of CEAS
Hamish McKenzie, Industry and Engagement Lead, Holmes New Zealand LP
Amy Rutherford, Partner, Greenwood Roche Project Lawyers
Adam Thornton, Structural Engineer (emeritus), Dunning Thornton Consultants