How NZ law and NZS 3910 fit together

Law sits at the top and a contract can’t override it. The contract sits under the law and the job runs inside the contract. Click any item to see what it is, which NZS 3910 clauses it touches and how it plays out on a job.

Written by: Tim Christie
Published: 30 September 2026
Applies to: NZS 3910:2023 and 2013 and the NZ Acts around them
Format: Interactive map

Acts beat the contractWhere an Act applies despite the contract, like the Construction Contracts Act or the Health and Safety at Work Act, a clause that tries to avoid it has no effect.

The contract fills the spaceNZS 3910 is a published standard, not a law. It binds nobody until the parties sign it as their contract.

Specific beats generalSchedule 1 and special conditions change the General Conditions. NZS 3910:2023 adds an order of precedence in the Contract Agreement.

The job runs on processNotices, claims, schedules and Instructions on time and in the right form. That’s where most rights are won or lost.

A contract can’t override itA contract can vary or exclude parts of it

Acts of Parliament

Construction Contracts Act 2002. Sets the payment rules for construction contracts, the retention trust rules and fast adjudication. It applies despite anything in the contract and pay when paid clauses have no effect.

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Every business on the job has duties to keep people safe so far as reasonably practicable. Where duties overlap they must consult, cooperate and coordinate. Duties can’t be transferred by contract.

Building Act 2004. Controls building work through building consents, the Building Code and the code compliance certificate. Fire and life safety systems are usually specified systems on a compliance schedule. Section 393 sets a 10 year longstop for claims about building work.

Resource Management Act 1991. Controls effects on the environment through plans and resource consents. The Planning Act 2026 and Natural Environment Act 2026 passed their third readings in September 2026 to replace it. The RMA stays in force through a transition expected to run to about 2030. NZS 3910:2023 says Resource Management Law, so the contract keeps working through the change.

Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Act 2014. An archaeological site, generally from human activity before 1900, can’t be modified or destroyed without an archaeological authority from Heritage New Zealand. Finds usually trigger an accidental discovery protocol.

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017. General contract law in one Act: misrepresentation, cancellation for breach, contracts for the benefit of third parties and electronic transactions.

Arbitration Act 1996. Gives arbitration its legal footing. The award is final and binding, appeals on points of law are limited and the court can enforce an award.

Limitation Act 2010. Most contract claims must be brought within 6 years of the act or omission, with a 15 year longstop. The Building Act adds a 10 year longstop for building work.

Fair Trading Act 1986. Bans misleading or deceptive conduct in trade. Parties in trade can contract out in writing where it’s fair and reasonable.

Land Transport Management Act 2003. Sets up NZTA and land transport funding. Councils and others spending NZTA funding must use procurement procedures NZTA has approved.

Local Government Act 2002 and LGOIMA 1987. A council is both a client and a regulator. Under LGOIMA, contract correspondence can be requested as official information.

Utilities Access Act 2010. Controls how utility operators and contractors get into road and rail corridors, through the National Code of Practice and corridor access requests.

Regulations, codes and rules

Building Code and Building Regulations. Performance requirements for building work such as structure, fire, water and durability. Acceptable solutions often cite NZ Standards, which is one way a standard becomes mandatory.

Health and safety regulations. Detailed duties under the Act, including General Risk and Workplace Management and the Asbestos Regulations 2016, which matter on older buildings.

District and regional plans. Rules such as noise limits, earthworks and discharges. They decide when you need a resource consent.

Government Procurement Rules. How government agencies buy, including advertising, evaluation and economic benefit weighting. The 5th edition applies from 1 December 2025. Required for public service departments and many other public agencies.

NZTA Procurement Manual and specifications. How NZTA and approved organisations procure and run contracts, plus NZTA specifications and accreditation for contract administrators.

Temporary traffic management. NZTA’s guidance for working on roads. Road contracts under NZS 3910 pull in Appendix B for traffic and public access.

Standards Act 2015 and the NZS 391x family. Standards New Zealand publishes the forms. NZS 3910 (Principal appoints a CA and IC), NZS 3916 (design and construct) and NZS 3915 (no Engineer, the Principal administers). None are law. They bind only once signed as the contract.

Who the client is

A council. Client and regulator in one organisation. Its regulatory decisions aren’t Principal breaches if made in good faith. Official information requests apply.

NZTA. Funded under the Land Transport Management Act. Procures under its own manual, uses its own special conditions and accredits contract administrators.

A Crown agency. Government procurement rules shape how the contract is let. Work in live facilities such as hospitals adds shutdowns, infection control and access limits to the programme.

Insurance and securities. Who insures what, the bond amounts and whether a bond in lieu of retentions is allowed. Each client sets these in Schedule 1 and the insurance schedules.

The contract

Contract Agreement. The signed front sheet. Lists the contract documents. 2023 adds an order of precedence (cl 5), entire agreement (cl 6) and electronic signing (cl 7).

Schedule 1 Specific Conditions. The job’s settings: defects periods, retention scale, bond amounts, liability cap, insurances and who nominates an arbitrator. It changes the General Conditions for this job.

General Conditions NZS 3910. The standard clauses, sections 1 to 15. Where an Act applies despite the contract, the Act wins. Where the Act lets the parties agree, the clauses fill the gap.

Contract Administrator. Acts for the Principal. Gives Instructions and runs the job day to day. In 2013 one Engineer did this and the independent role together.

Independent Certifier. Makes Decisions fairly and impartially: Payment Schedules, valuations, EOTs that aren’t agreed and completion certificates. Can’t delegate Decisions.

On the job

Payment claims and schedules. Claim served on the IC, Provisional Payment Schedule at 7 Working Days, Payment Schedule by 12, payment by 17.

Retentions and bonds. Retention held on trust, half released at PC and the rest after the defects period. Under 2023 the IC releases it within 7 Working Days, claim or not.

Health and safety on site. Safety plan accepted before work starts, disclosure of known risks, removal of unsafe people, barriers and signs.

Consents. Principal gets consents for the permanent works, Contractor for its temporary works and methods. Conditions that change design or methods can be a Variation.

Environment. Contractor avoids discharges, noise breaches and consent breaches, notifies at once and follows Instructions. No relief where it was at fault.

Discoveries. Stop, protect, report and follow Instructions. Delay and cost is a Variation. The archaeological authority process runs alongside.

Utilities. Principal shows them from records, Contractor locates and protects them. Not shown or not where shown is a Variation.

Delays and extensions of time. Early warning, then claim. An agreed EOT is a CA Instruction, otherwise it’s an IC Decision.

Completion and defects. PC Certificate, defects period, Final Completion Certificate. Producer statements and completion records are due before PC.

Notices. Right person, right form, right time. Dispute and termination notices have stricter service rules.

Disputes. IC review, negotiation, mediation, arbitration. Adjudication at any time. Keep working and keep paying.

When it goes wrong: the dispute route under NZS 3910:2023

IC review6.4
Challenge a CA Instruction or IC Decision. Ends in a Final Decision.

Negotiate13.1
Notice of dispute, then the parties meet.

Mediation13.2
Confidential and not binding.

Arbitration13.3
Final and binding under the Arbitration Act 1996. Any dispute, not only Final Decisions.

Adjudication, any time13.4.3
A statutory right under the Construction Contracts Act. Runs alongside the contract steps. Keep working and keep paying (13.4).

Under NZS 3910:2013 the Engineer’s review and formal decision (13.2) was the gateway, with 1 Month time limits. Clause numbers on this page are NZS 3910:2023 with the 2013 equivalent shown. Act descriptions are short summaries for contract administration, not legal advice. Last checked 30 September 2026.

Common questions

NZ law and NZS 3910 questions

Can an NZS 3910 contract override the Construction Contracts Act?

No. The Construction Contracts Act applies despite anything in the contract. Pay when paid clauses have no effect and the right to adjudicate can’t be removed. NZS 3910 is written to work alongside the Act.

Is NZS 3910 a law?

No. It’s a standard form published by Standards New Zealand. It only binds the parties once they sign it as their contract, usually with Schedule 1 and special conditions that change parts of it.

Which Acts matter most on an NZS 3910 contract?

The Construction Contracts Act for payment, retentions and adjudication, the Health and Safety at Work Act for safety duties, the Building Act or the RMA for consents and the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act for archaeological finds.

What happens to the RMA references in NZS 3910:2023 now the RMA is being replaced?

NZS 3910:2023 uses the term Resource Management Law rather than naming the RMA, so references roll over to the replacement Acts. The RMA stays in force during the transition.

Can a safety obligation be passed to the contractor in the contract?

No. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act each business keeps its own duties and can’t transfer them by contract. Where duties overlap, the businesses must consult, cooperate and coordinate.