The Commerce Commission has launched a new website for the construction industry aimed at helping industry members increase their understanding of competition and consumer laws so they can improve their compliance.

“The idea for the website arose from our work with the sector over the last few years. We saw the need for a user-friendly guide specifically tailored to the needs of construction businesses and workers to help them understand and comply with the laws that we enforce,” says Commerce Commission competition general manager Kate Morrison.

“We’ve tried to make the language on the website really down-to-earth and practical. We want it to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for busy people. And we’ve put in lots of examples to help make the concepts more relevant.

“The wider construction sector is incredibly important to New Zealand’s economy for a number of reasons. Estimates suggest that we are on the brink of the largest construction boom in New Zealand for 40 years, part of which of course is due to the Canterbury rebuild but also to high levels of activity in Auckland,” says Ms Morrison.

The Commission has been actively working with the sector since 2010 to raise awareness of competition and consumer laws.