Taupō District Council reviews consents after engineering sign-off allegations

The council says the consent documents were submitted without the sign-off of a chartered engineer. Photo / NZME

The Taupō District Council says it has been notified of a concern an Engineering New Zealand member, who is not a chartered professional engineer, has allegedly been completing and signing documents using the sign-off of chartered professional engineers.

Stuff reported hundreds of homes in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and the central North Island were being investigated.

The council said the documents were submitted to the council as part of the building consent process without the consent or involvement of the chartered engineers, and it was now reviewing the documentation.

Engineering New Zealand and the New Zealand Police have been notified, the council said in a media statement.

“We have already been in contact with builders and designers working on current projects that may be affected. We are also contacting any potentially affected homeowners and construction professionals.

“If you are a homeowner or builder/designer that has potentially been affected, the council would be grateful for your patience and understanding, as we work through this as quickly and thoroughly as possible.”

Council chief executive Julie Gardyne said the council was working with other councils and acknowledged the support of Engineering New Zealand.

“We also recognise the concern this will cause in parts of the community,” Gardyne said.

“We have a special project team working as quickly as possible to confirm which buildings are affected and what actions are needed going forward and we will be in direct contact with affected property owners as we work through this process.”

Engineering New Zealand chief executive Dr Richard Templer said they were aware one of its members, who is not a chartered professional engineer, had allegedly been completing and signing documents using the identities of various chartered professional engineers, without their permission.

“We understand these concerns relate to designs in the central North Island, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, but may not be limited to designs in these regions,” Templer said.

“‘Chartered professional engineer’ is a protected title and quality mark reserved for engineers who have committed to and been assessed for a given level of competence.”

Engineering New Zealand has referred the matter to the police and relevant authorities and was working with affected councils to provide certainty to owners with impacted designs.