Hi @Christina Carroll
The advice on FENZ website is, IMHO, clear - "and will remain in force provided there are no physical distancing requirements in place where the building is located.".
For further clarification, you may wish to call FENZ on the 0800 number or email them. Both methods are towards the end of the article.

Hi @Christina Carroll. Quote from the FENZ Online Services page re evacuation schemes:

"The requirement to maintain your evacuation scheme by either conducting training or completing a trial evacuation is suspended while New Zealand is at Covid-19 Alert level 4. An amendment to the regulations allowing building owners to defer the completion of training and trail evacuations was passed into regulation earlier in the year. This means that at any time when the Alert level for Covid-19 requires physical distancing, the requirement to complete trail evacuations and deliver training programs is suspended.
Once physical distancing requirements are removed then building owners should resume their normal requirements for maintaining their evacuation scheme."

Hi @Christina Carroll
Below is the email I received from FENZ on Friday 10th Sept.

Hi David

I have just received some confirmation on this. The current guidelines are that while physical distancing requirements are in place (which is part of level 2), you do not have to complete a trial evacuation. You may complete a trial evacuation if you can maintain physical distance and want to do so.

Kind Regards
Fire Information Unit Coordinator

This is the advice I received from FENZ yesterday:

Hi Jonathan,

There is not currently any requirement to hold trial evacuations while the Covid-19 epidemic notice is in place. Unfortunately the reminder emails are still going out automatically, but you can disregard these for now. We are advising that trial evacuations do not take place until at least level 2 (if you are able to carry these out safely without exceeding government guidelines for number of people gathering in one place) or at level 1.

Kind Regards,
Melanie

While checking the MOH notices for something else I noticed that "Epidemic Preparedness (COVID-19) Notice 2020 Renewal Notice (No 3) 2021" was gazzetted on 8th Spetember (came into force 19th September). As I understand it, this would now mean that the pause on statutory evacuation trials is back in place as was in place during the original hold period.
https://www.gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2021-go3885