A number of people have asked MBIE about the introduction of AS5113 and BS8414 external facade fire spread tests to NZ regulations. To avoid multiple people asking the same question, below is the answer provided by MBIE.
"As advised at the Fire NZ conference and since, in the short term there is no intention to incorporate BS8414 and AS5113 into the compliance documents.
Regulation for fire safety is prepared based on research and scientific assessments (i.e. information and evidence based regulation).
Accordingly, we continue to monitor the international response to the Grenfell Tower Tragedy, plus the findings of the Australian Taskforce.
MBIE have commissioned some research on the topic of façade fire design and will respond accordingly once all evidence is collected."
But this is not to say that BCA’s cannot accept other full scale test methods as an Alternative Solution to NFPA 285:1998 on a case by case basis for cladding systems.
The key to a successful application (in essence an Alternative Solution) is to demonstrate that:
the proposed test Standard is a full scale test and is at least as severe as NFPA 285,
identify that the tested cladding system is appropriately representative of the proposed construction, and
provide evidence of the test by an appropriately accredited testing laboratory.
As you might expect each application will likely depend on its merits, and acceptance for one project does not set a precedence for other projects using the same test and cladding system.
While this may resolve C3 be aware that B2, E2, and H may also need to be addressed.