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Property Matters newsletter | October 2022

In this edition of the Government Property Group newsletter – we discuss Statistics New Zealand and Ministry for the Environment’s new accommodation at 8 Willis Street, a summary of our latest Knowledge Hours, and updates on Serraview and the Government Property Portal.

Statistics New Zealand and Ministry for the Environment – a new evolution in government accommodation 8 Willis

Bridgette Hickey, Chief Financial Officer, Stats NZ and Mike Porter, Chief Information Officer, MfE

Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) and the Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE) move into 8 Willis Street, Wellington, represents another evolution in shared accommodation for government agencies.

We asked Bridgette Hickey, outgoing Chief Financial Officer for Stats NZ and Mike Porter, Chief Information Officer for MfE, who both oversee the management of the property, about the move and what it meant for the two agencies now that they have been onsite since June.

Bridgette Hickey said, “It’s been fantastic. For us it’s a new chapter – a new organised way for all of us to be together. 8 Willis is a people-centred workspace that encourages a total activity-based style of working, and a new way of co-locating with another government agency.”

Read more about how MfE and Stats NZ have found this co-location and how the building supports a range of working styles.

A new evolution in government accommodation 8 Willis

Interested in checking out the space for yourself? On Thursday 17 November we’ll be hosting our final Knowledge Hour of the year at 8 Willis Street. Keep an eye out for your invite!

Te Puna Hāpori - An iwi-led whānau and community wellbeing vision for Whanganui

At a recent Knowledge Hour, we were joined by local iwi, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and New Zealand Police to hear how they are collaborating to develop Te Puna Hāpori, a shared vision of uniting the community to provide better social outcomes.

"Our ultimate goal for this project is to strengthen, empower, protect and endure our family", Nicole Beckham, Kaiwhakahaere, Tupoho Investments Limited.

Working together, they have secured a shared space on the former UCOL site for justice and social services. Plans include the existing marae, a new courthouse and a police hub with the potential for iwi health and social services in the future.

Learn more about the fantastic work this group are doing to change and improve whānau and community wellbeing.

Te Puna Hāpori – An iwi-led whānau and community wellbeing vision for Whanganui

Knowledge Hour recap - Document Builder virtual demonstration

Eileen Moughan and Charlotte Austin Chen, Senior Legal Advisors, Government Property Group, provided a live demonstration of the new online document automation platform, Document Builder.

The Document Builder is an online platform that has been customised for government agency use. This tool will help your agency save time and money, minimise risk, and create more consistent documents.

Charlotte illustrated how you and your legal advisors can generate documents using the following automated templates:

  • Memorandum of Understanding
  • Co-location agreement
  • Agreement to lease
  • Deed of lease (complex and less complex)
  • Development agreement

If your agency is interested in finding out more information about the Document Builder platform, please email the Document Builder team.

Don’t worry If you missed out on either of the Knowledge Hours. Webinar recordings and slides from previous Knowledge Hours are kept in the Hīkina video library.

Hīkina - Learning for Government Procurement and Property

Building performance specification update

The building performance specification (BPS) is a baseline set of defined building specifications to help government agencies work with current and prospective landlords to create a modern, healthy, safe and environmentally responsible workplace.

We last updated the BPS in August 2018 and since then, several changes to specifications across multiple areas and new policies have been established.

Our research and stakeholder engagement has identified opportunities to improve both the BPS document itself and to clarify when it is appropriate to use it.

We’re currently developing a set of standards for our office accommodation that are easy to use and integrate well with existing standards and guidelines. These standards will also include the latest guidance on climate change, energy management, hybrid working impacts and support the objectives of the Public Service Act.

We’ll be coming back to you with an update on this work in early 2023. If you need more information on the BPS now, please reach out to the Government Property Group team.

Energy efficient buildings – NABERSNZ reporting

Have you taken on a new lease, or had a lease renewal since January 2021? If yes, then you should be well underway in obtaining a NABERSNZ rating.

As part of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme, the status of NABERSNZ assessments are regularly reported to Ministers. NABERSNZ is the energy rating system being used to measure and compare the environmental energy and carbon performance of government office buildings, owned or leased.

NABERSNZ ratings need to be reported to the Government Property Portal team.

You can provide an update by following the link to the NABERSNZ assessment form below:

NABERSNZ assessment form [DOC, 85KB]

Email the completed form to the Government Property Portal team and copy in your property portfolio specialist.

Government Property Portal updates

It is a busy time for us as we look to increase system options in the Government Property Portal (GPP) to manage your property portfolio, including facilities management, asset management and staff management tools e.g., desk booking.

We are looking to provide access to further modules as we go into 2023, including carbon tracking, energy utilisation and more.

Training programme available

From November, we are offering a monthly training programme for the GPP. This is an opportunity for new staff, or anyone wanting a refresher to join an online session and cover off any questions they might have.

Invites for these sessions will be sent out to GPP users shortly.

Hoteling pilot underway

We are currently piloting hoteling (desk booking) through the GPP. Available via mobile and desktop, this function connects your staff in medium-sized agencies to the spaces they can work in. Staff can book a desk or workspace prior to coming into the office, thereby knowing with confidence there is somewhere to sit before they leave home. The tool also provides flexibility to allow staff to only book certain areas or seats, ensuring teams can sit together.

Watch out for future updates on what we learn and how we plan to roll out this feature.

Property brokering dashboard

Agencies have asked for a real-time solution that displays available space and we are keen to deliver! This will allow agencies using the GPP to see where there might be room should they need additional space and agencies with space to offer it up for those on the hunt for additional office space.

We are expecting to have this available in the GPP by the end of the year. This will be an evolving dashboard so will welcome feedback on what would be useful and how you would like to see this develop

If you would like to know more about the GPP, please email the Government Property Portal team.

Space management tool - Serraview

Is your agency interested in tracking space utilisation and obtaining real time data on desk booking metrics so that you can understand how space is being used?

Following the success of our proof of concept, we’re excited to be able to offer agencies a discounted rate for the Serraview space management tool. This is an is an opportunity for agencies looking for a space management software solution.

Agencies who were part of the proof of concept commented on how easy the tool was to deploy and appreciated the insights it offered. 

If you are interested in finding out more about Serraview or want to talk about what you could achieve with a space management tool, please email the Government Property Portal team.

Quick-fire property updates

Workplace and classroom furniture (formerly known as office furniture)

The Request for Proposal process for the new workplace and classroom furniture contract is on track. We are currently negotiating with respondents, and are aiming to award contracts to successful panel providers by the end of November. We will host an agency briefing in late November/early December to launch the new solution.

Capability across our government property system

Our property capability project is well underway. We are planning a demystifying property procurement learning module in the coming months, in partnership with agencies. Thanks to the government property advisory group (GPAG) for supporting our work to identify how GPG can support capability development in the sector.

Universal design guidelines draft imminent

We are close to finalising the universal design guidelines draft, previously called the accessibility and inclusion guidance. These guidelines support the vision of diversity and inclusion being at the heart of the public service. A key objective of the guidelines is to set a minimum expectation for agencies that are looking to take a universal design approach to their workplace in the future. The sections we are focussing on are gender neutral toilets and showers, parenting rooms, health (sick) rooms and multi-purpose wellness spaces (ie for prayer, karakia/quiet use). We will be consulting with mandated agencies and other key stakeholders very soon.

Save the date

Thursday 17 November – Property Knowledge Hour: 8 Willis Street – Join us to learn more about the co-location of Statistics New Zealand and Ministry for the Environment.

If you’d like to know more please contact us.