The recent Canterbury earthquakes have prompted updates on government policy and the introduction of the Earthquake‐prone Buildings Amendment Bill (Jury and Ferner, 2015). Such legislative and policy changes are altering the landscape within which retrofit for earthquake‐prone buildings will be occurring. This project seeks to understand how earthquake prone building policies are influenced, developed and applied at a local authority level, within the context of an evolving legislative and policy environment. We will investigate the interactions that occur in developing policy for earthquake‐prone buildings at a local authority level including the influences of individuals, communities and organisations on policy‐setting. With a better understanding of the interactions that occur we will make recommendations for guidance and resources to support the effective implementation of policy.