Photos show damage of car lift ‘incident’ inside high-end Auckland apartment block

Author: Natasha Gordon,
Publish Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026, 2:28pm

A car, potentially with people inside, was allegedly involved in a vehicle lift incident in a high-end central Auckland apartment building.

A car driven into a vehicle lift was allegedly involved in an “incident” in a high-end central Auckland apartment building but officials are refusing to say what happened.

Photos shared with the Herald show damage surrounding the lift. The plaster wall and parts of the metal rolling door appeared to be ripped and hanging down.

When the Herald visited the site last month, an interior lift door visible from the street was cordoned off.

Auckland Council said it did not have “any role in investigating the incident”. However, officials had requested inspection records relating to the lift and new safety measures had been implemented to prevent a recurrence.

Although details surrounding the incident remain unclear, it is understood to have occurred on May 14 at a Wynyard Central apartment block in Wynyard Quarter.

When the Herald approached a facilities and maintenance manager believed to be connected to the building, he repeatedly refused to provide details and would not comment on what had occurred or if people had been inside the car at the time of the incident.

A car, potentially with people inside, was allegedly involved in a vehicle lift incident in a high-end central Auckland apartment building.

Auckland Council building consents manager Ian McCormick said it was a building owner’s responsibility to ensure that all systems, such as lifts, were regularly inspected and maintained, and that the building was safe for use.

“The council’s role is to receive and hold the building warrant of fitness (BWOF) documentation supplied by the building owners, including 12A forms from independent qualified persons (IQPs) confirming the specified systems on the compliance schedule have been inspected and are working as they should,” McCormick said.

He said that after reviewing council records for the building, it was discovered that the 12A forms relating specifically to a service/car lift had not been provided since it was installed in 2018.

A car, potentially with people inside, was allegedly involved in a vehicle lift incident in a high-end central Auckland apartment building.

McCormick said this was because the BWOF agent acting on behalf of the building requested in 2019 that council amend the classification of this lift from a goods/service lift to a passenger lift.

Subsequently, the council received 12A forms for passenger lifts only.

McCormick said the circumstances of this case were unique.

“It appears the change of classification meant the lift was no longer being accounted for in BWOF documentation. We have not come across this before, and we are still working to understand exactly how it has occurred.

A car, potentially with people inside, was allegedly involved in a vehicle lift incident in a high-end central Auckland apartment building.

“We have been in touch with the building’s facilities manager and lift manufacturer to ensure that the car/service lift has been regularly inspected by IQPs,” he said.

McCormick said the manager and the manufacturer confirmed that the lift had always been regularly maintained and serviced.

They also carried out diagnostic testing following the incident, which did not identify any faults.

McCormick said additional safety measures, such as safety circuits, had been implemented to prevent it from happening again.

The lift passed a full IQP inspection on May 29, and a third party had also investigated and reported no faults or issues.

The car lift had been monitored daily since then, and there had been no further issues, McCormick said.

“We have requested inspection records for the lift, and we are amending the building’s compliance schedule to ensure that 12A forms for this lift specifically are submitted by IQPs going forward.”