Plasterboard supply crisis: 100 containers of GIB enough for 440 houses on the way as plasterboard constraints 'appear to be easing'

The Minister for Building and Construction says 100 containers of GIB are on the way to Aotearoa - enough for about 440 houses. 

Minister Megan Woods has provided an update on her plasterboard taskforce which she said: "will help address the industry shortfall".  

Woods said in a statement that four alternative plasterboard products can now be used to substitute GIB which include Elephant Board, USG Boral, ProRoc and SaveBOARD.

"Four alternative plasterboard products to GIB - which has been in short supply, are able to be used to meet the requirements of the New Zealand Building Code for bracing qualities."

In Woods' update, she said 12 importers of plasterboard, four of which are new importers, have 100 containers of plasterboard on the way to Aotearoa. 

"One hundred containers holding approximately 220,000sqm of plasterboard, enough for about 440 houses are on the way to New Zealand, arriving in the next few weeks."

The Government's Kāinga Ora developments have opted to use alternative imported plasterboard in its retrofit programme in a bid to ease the pressure.

"This move means the next 12 months of retrofits - about 400 houses worth - will leave more product in the market for others," Woods said. 

An investigation by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) into if regulatory changes are needed found that current legislative and regulatory settings have allowed MBIE, BCAs and the sector to respond to the supply shortage. 

"Taskforce members agreed when we met last week that plasterboard constraints appear to be easing, and some larger developers have been able to get product into the country."

Woods said it will take a couple of months before more plasterboard material is widely available.