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Property Matters newsletter | August 2022

In this edition of the Government Property Group newsletter – we discuss our new seismic guidance, give you an update on how our office accommodation projects are tracking, and provide a summary of our recent Knowledge Hour: Planning for transition to electric vehicles.

Seismic guidance for government office accommodation guidance goes live

We have developed new seismic principles to help agencies make informed decisions about the seismic resilience of their property portfolios and the continued occupation of buildings with low seismic ratings.

Seismic guidance for government office accommodation

These principles were designed to support the recently released 'Seismic Risk Guidance for Buildings', which the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) created to help building owners and users understand seismic assessments.

Seismic Risk Guidance for Buildings [PDF, 2.7 MB] – Building Performance

At our recent Knowledge Hour, Dr Kenneth Elwood, Chief Engineer, MBIE joined David White, Chief Advisor Property, GPG to discuss the two publications and how the guidance can support agencies. If you would like to watch this Knowledge Hour, keep an eye out for the recording on our learning platform Hīkina.

Hīkina - Learning for Government Procurement and Property

Read more about the seismic guidance for office accommodation:

Government office accommodation

Property Forum highlight – why a property plan is crucial

Property Forums are held quarterly for agency property leaders to share their knowledge and expertise, so that we can collectively deliver and improve public service outcomes.

July’s Property Forum discussed the new seismic guidance (as above), the refresh and renewal of our collaborative property contracts, which can be found later in this newsletter, and the importance of property planning.

Members of the GPG Property Planning and Advisory team discussed why plans are important to ensure property resources are managed, provide visibility on changes within the property context and assist with investment decisions.

Key take-aways:

  • The property planning stage is crucial to deliver future fit-for-purpose property solutions. It is important that when a property plan is being developed it is aligned with the organisation’s objectives and future demands (e.g. growth). This will ensure solutions remain fit-for-purpose throughout the life cycle.
  • Property plans should integrate with HR and ICT planning. It is important to build in sufficient time during the development planning stage to engage with relevant stakeholders to receive feedback.
  • Plans need to be reviewed to ensure they continue to meet objectives and support the desired outcomes.

Check out further information on property planning here:

About property plans

Property plan content

Creating a property plan

Future of government office accommodation – project updates

Central government hub

Work is underway to develop a central government hub in the Wellington CBD. Located in the old Bowen House, the newly refurbished building will reflect the latest thinking in workplace design and will provide flexible accommodation for public service agencies.

Regional hub projects

The Blue Mountains Campus hub in Upper Hutt is well underway with occupation expected early next year. There are three further hub projects in Manukau, Porirua, and Palmerston North which are all in the planning stages. These hubs will demonstrate the new ways of working that are envisaged by the Public Service Act 2020. They will provide a great opportunity for agencies to secure flexible working spaces that incorporate our standard approach to fitout and ICT connectivity. We’ll be in contact with all agencies over the next couple of months to determine interest in these and future hub projects.

Government Property Portal updates

The Government Property Portal (GPP) is our property management system designed to help agencies manage their property portfolios more effectively. GPP has property and lease, asset, space and facilities management modules as well as reporting capabilities that help agencies manage their property better.

We continue to offer one-on-one training sessions for agencies, and we are happy to demonstrate the additional modules to help you manage your assets and facilities.

If you are interested in a training session or want to know more about the GPP, please contact us.

Knowledge Hour recap - planning for your electric vehicle transition

Reducing the number of motor vehicles in the government fleet is part of the government’s Carbon Neutral Government Programme and an immediate priority to reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the public sector.

At our recent Knowledge Hour, Paul Bull from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) joined Justin Angell, Government Property Group (GPG) and Douglas Parker, New Zealand Government Procurement (NZGP), to discuss what agencies will need to do as they transition to electric vehicles.

Preparation is key. Before you purchase your electric vehicle (EVs) it is important to undertake a fleet audit to identify the effectiveness of your current fleet and determine exactly how many EVs you will need.

“It’s about understanding your fleet and what it is used for, how this matches your business needs and what that may look like in the future.” Douglas Parker

Justin highlighted the importance of reviewing the infrastructure required to support your EV fleet. Before installing charging stations you should consider: your lease, speaking with other agencies if you are co-locating and/or any other tenants that may also be in the process of transitioning to EV’s.

“The best solutions will come from using both demand and supply information to solve unique site issues – that way the solution will be optimal.” 

Paul finished up the webinar by sharing some helpful case studies on planning and implementing fleet EV transitions and explained how agencies can access EECA’s state sector decarbonisation fund.

State sector decarbonisation fund – Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority

If you would like to watch this Knowledge Hour, all previous knowledge hours are kept in the Hīkina video library.

Hīkina - Learning for Government Procurement and Property

Check out the new electric vehicle transition guidance

New Zealand Government Procurement have produced a set of guidelines to help government agencies with the electrification of their vehicle fleet. Government Property Grou[p (GPG) and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) both contributed to the development of this guidance which gives agencies useful end-to-end information for every stage of their vehicle electrification journey.

Transitioning to electric vehicles

Quick-fire property updates

Property suite of contracts

Property consultancy services and facilities management services contracts 

Together with New Zealand Government Procurement (NZGP) we have been working on how we can improve the buying experience of government agencies while using these contracts. In the coming weeks we will be engaging with government agencies, participating agencies and panel providers to identify current and potential future services and commercial needs, and learn more about their experiences with these types of services.

If you would like to know more or contribute to the future design of these contracts, please email Jas Qadir.

Workplace and classroom furniture (formerly known as office furniture)

As the current agreement is set to expire in February 2023, we have been working with NZGP to establish a new contract. The evaluation panel have now reviewed the proposals submitted by suppliers. Further information confirming the new panel suppliers will be released in November.

If you would like to know more, please email the Furniture team.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s survey. We really appreciate everyone who took the time to complete the survey as your feedback helps us identify areas for improvement as we continue our work to support your property needs. We are now summarising the key themes from the survey and will share these later in the year. If you have any further thoughts you’d like to share with us directly, then please get in touch with your GPG portfolio specialist or email us.

Save the date

Friday 16 September

Property Knowledge Hour - Te Puna Hāpori - An iwi led whānau and community wellbeing vision for Whanganui. Join us to learn more about this community partnership between local iwi, Ministry of Justice and New Zealand Police.

If you'd like to know more, please contact us.