Companies who received the RFP through a closed tender process have five weeks to submit their proposal.

Ross McCarthy, GoShift's Strategic and Engagement Manager, says the release of the RFP is a significant milestone in the project.

"We are going to have a pilot with a number of councils early next year and then hope to introduce the service mid next year," he says.

"One of the great advantages of the online service is that it will be used alongside councils' existing systems and provide a much more consistent experience for council customers and staff," says Ross.

"It also means we can start realising some of the greatest benefits of GoShift including the option to move to a standardised quality management system and resource sharing. This will truly change the way building consents are managed."

Ross says all of this is great news for customers as the building consents process will be simpler and faster.