Aotearoa New Zealand’s courts have an essential role within the wider justice system and court buildings need to respond to current demands and future strategies. RDT Pacific is working with Te Tāhū o te Ture, the Ministry of Justice to improve the resilience of courthouses in Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton.

We are helping the Ministry deliver Business Cases for four major courthouse redevelopment projects at the Wellington District Court, Wellington High Court, Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court, which have been identified with a range of issues including seismic strengthening to bring them up to the appropriate New Building Standard (NBS) rating.

RDT Pacific Director David Prentice says it is a privilege to support a key Crown agency’s investment programme across multiple locations as Project Manager, Engineer to the Contract and Contract Administrator.

“We’re pleased to be contributing to these projects, given our long-term involvement in the justice sector and we have highly experienced teams based in these locations.”

The Hamilton District Court and Wellington High Court projects are moving through their respective design phases with construction recently commenced on the Wellington and Auckland District Court projects.

The Auckland District Court Remediation Project is being delivered for the Ministry by Crown Infrastructure Delivery, on a four-year remediation programme which also includes the replacement of end-of-life services.

A feature of the project is the adoption of the recently modified version of the NZS3910 form of construction contract. RDT Pacific Technical Director, Mike Hanson provided advice to Crown Infrastructure Delivery on adapting the existing 2013 version to the new 2023 variant with Associate Director, Ben Dalton acting as Contract Administrator for the construction phase being undertaken by the Main Contractor, LT McGuinness (for further information please refer to the “Navigating the Changes in NZS 3910:2023” article in this newsletter).

The courts and tribunals across New Zealand’s justice system resolve more than a quarter of a million cases each year and have a significant impact on people’s lives. Supporting the delivery of justice services are 103 primary buildings across 96 sites in 52 towns and cities.

The biggest challenge undertaking work in an operating courthouse David says, is ensuring courts remain functioning throughout construction.

“Our work schedule must respect court proceedings, and everyone involved including the Judiciary, court staff, legal counsel the public and the various other key stakeholders that move through the building each day. This means our contractors are working around court schedules and implementing noise control procedures to avoid disrupting trials and hearings. Security is another major consideration.”

RDT Pacific recently completed a major weathertightness remediation project at North Shore District Court in Auckland and is also currently Project Manager and Engineer to the Contract for the Manukau District Court Capacity Expansion Development project. We have previously delivered projects for the Ministry in Whangārei, Kaikohe, Rotorua, Tauranga and Dunedin.