As New Zealand brought forward its review of the Earthquake-Prone Buildings (EPB) system, there is increasing need to draw on international best practices to inform more effective seismic risk mitigation. This presentation offers a comparative analysis of seismic retrofit frameworks across jurisdictions including California, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Mexico, and Italy. It explores the regulatory approaches, technical standards, implementation mechanisms, and financial tools employed to manage seismic risk in buildings—both public and private.
By identifying the core features of effective mitigation programs, such as prioritising high-risk structures, tailoring retrofit standards to building typologies, enabling incremental compliance, and embedding strong enforcement and oversight, this research offers insights relevant to New Zealand’s policy and practice. Special attention is given to the adaptability of these measures to New Zealand’s unique building stock, heritage considerations, and institutional context. The aim is to support the development of a more resilient built environment through evidence-based regulatory evolution.
