The New Zealand Government says it will “better target” building regulations in earthquake-prone areas.

Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith says special regulations will apply to buildings whose “location, use and type” pose the greatest risk to life.

“The priority in developing this earthquake-strengthening policy for buildings is public safety and minimising future fatalities,” Dr Smith told a National Party conference.

He says education and emergency services buildings will receive priority in being strengthened to better withstand quakes.

In all other cases, timetables will be varied according to seismic risk.

After the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes the Government imposed a timeframe of five years for identification and assessment and 15 years for completion of work to strengthen buildings.

It will now reduce the number of buildings requiring assessment and introduce new measures to encourage earlier upgrades.

The number of buildings requiring assessment will be cut from about 500,000 to 30,000.

Farm buildings, retaining walls, fences, monuments, wharves, bridges, tunnels and storage tanks will be excluded. The new methodology for identifying earthquake-prone buildings will focus on older buildings.

“The effect of these policy changes is that buildings such as schools, universities and hospitals in high and medium-seismic-risk areas will have to be upgraded more quickly, but buildings in low-risk areas such as Auckland and Dunedin more gradually,” Dr Smith said.

The refined approach will reduce the estimated cost of upgrades from $NZ1.36 billion ($1.26 billion) to $NZ777 million ($719 million).

Legislation introducing the changes is being considered by a parliamentary select committee, which will report to Parliament in July. Its passage is expected in the second half of the year.