Explore careers

Useful experience for building surveyors includes:

• hands-on work in construction such as carpentry or plumbing
• work in quantity surveying, architecture or engineering.

Building surveyors may do some or all of the following:

• inspect plans and/or building constructions to see if buildings are, or will be, built correctly
• check for problems such as presence of asbestos, methamphetamine (P), damp or mould
• discuss building work and regulations with builders, architects, owners and property buyers
• assess and report on problems or potential problems with the design, location or materials of buildings
• advise on solutions for existing or potential problems with land or buildings
• assess building conditions for property owners or potential owners, banks and insurance companies, and provide them with specialist reports
• help resolve building disputes, or administer construction contracts.

Building control officers who work for councils may also:

• process building consent applications
• check that buildings comply with approved plans, and relevant laws and regulations such as the Building Act 2004
• issue relevant notices or certificates, depending on whether the building meets requirements or not.

Construction boom and building issues create demand for building surveyors

Demand for building surveyors is strong due to:

• a construction boom that is predicted to last until 2021, meaning more building work will need to be assessed
• the extra 22,000 houses that are needed over the next 10 years in Auckland
• the need for assessment of buildings that are leaky, earthquake-prone or contain asbestos, and the rebuilds of such buildings
• building work to repair earthquake damage in Wellington and Kaikoura
• the Christchurch rebuild
• an ageing workforce – many building inspectors and surveyors are approaching retirement and will need to be replaced.

Although the number of building surveyors is increasing, there is still a shortage of workers. As a result, building surveyor appears on Immigration New Zealand's regional and construction and infrastructure skill shortage lists. This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled building surveyors from overseas to work in New Zealand.

According to the Census, 1,002 building surveyors worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Demand for building surveyors and inspectors strongest in Auckland

Building surveyors are in demand all over New Zealand, but the strongest demand is in Auckland.

Types of employers varied

Most building surveyors work for city, regional or district councils, or independent construction or building inspection companies.

About a quarter are self-employed.

Building Officials Institute of New Zealand

(04) 473 6002 - BOINZ website

Capable New Zealand Otago Polytechnic

0800 433 109 - info@capeablenz.co.nz - https://capable.nz

New Zealand Institute of Building Inspectors

(09) 435 4255 - www.nzibi.co.nz

New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors

0800 113 400 - office@buildingsurveyors.co.nz - www.buildingsurveyors.co.nz

Te Pūkenga

0800 327 648 - https://earnlearn-tepukenga.ac.nz

Building surveyors may become self-employed or move into management.

If they work for a city or district council as a building control officer, they may specialise in: 

• building control processing – receiving and processing building consents and reviewing plans
• building control inspection – carrying out on-site inspections to make sure buildings are built correctly.

Building surveyors need to be:

• accurate, with an eye for detail
• efficient and good at record-keeping
• confident communicators with strong relationship and negotiation skills
• able to translate building jargon into easily understood terms
• responsible, with good judgement.