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Emergency & exit lighting

Emergency lighting is a Specified System under the Building Act. Unlike test and tag, maintaining it is a legal obligation — and the records are what your BWoF stands on.

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Who this is for

Building owners with a compliance schedule and an annual BWoF
Property managers who have inherited a building and no logbook
Facilities managers coordinating several IQPs
Anyone who has had a Form 12A refused or a notice to fix

What is actually included

No line item here is optional or an upsell. This is the job.

Compliance schedule baseline

We start with your actual compliance schedule, because it — not a generic interval off someone’s website — is what governs your building. Older buildings are frequently on a different standard than owners assume.

Fitting-by-fitting register

Every luminaire and exit sign identified and located against a plan. Where the count on site does not match the schedule, you find out at the start rather than at BWoF time.

Function testing

Confirming each fitting switches to battery and illuminates, recorded per fitting rather than as a site-level pass.

Full-duration discharge testing

Run for the duration your building is actually designed to — 30 minutes, 90 minutes or maintained, depending on your risk group. This is the test that finds the dead batteries.

Remediation and re-test

Failed batteries and fittings replaced and re-tested, with the replacement recorded against the fitting.

IQP-ready documentation

Records in the form your IQP needs to sign a Form 12A, kept for the retention period the Building Act requires.

Common questions

Is emergency lighting testing a legal requirement in New Zealand?

Yes. Emergency lighting is Specified System 4 under the Building Act 2004. If it is on your building’s compliance schedule, carrying out the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures is a legal obligation, and your BWoF depends on it.

Is the discharge test always 90 minutes?

No, and this is widely misreported. The required duration comes from your building’s risk group under Building Code clause F6 — 30 minutes for many buildings, 90 minutes for larger or higher-risk ones, and maintained until restored in some cases.

What happens if a test was missed?

An IQP is prohibited from issuing a Form 12A if any procedure on the compliance schedule was missed. The Building Act allows no exemptions. There is a defined process for this and it is better handled early than discovered at BWoF time.