The changes could put some providers out of business because of a requirement to retrofit to double the burn time before a fire spreads in each room from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, Mr Hendry said.
This was unnecessary given facilities were routinely fitted with sprinklers.
''What it means is facilities are going to be locked in time because no-one's going to make any changes, otherwise they'll be forced to comply,'' Mr Hendry said.
Mr Hendry is chief executive of Birchleigh Residential Care Centre and Chatsford Lifestyle Community, in Mosgiel. The association commissioned a report on the changes, which came into effect last month.
Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson told the Otago Daily Times the new Protection from Fire clauses clarified an existing law.
''The law hasn't changed, but the new clauses are intended to make it clearer for designers and engineers to understand,'' he said in a statement.
The clauses did not ''necessarily mean'' a full upgrade of a building's fire safety system was required when undertaking an alteration or addition.
He said the main reason for changing fire safety clauses was ''to clarify the basic performance criteria that designers and fire engineers needed to meet to ensure building code compliance''.
''The previous fire safety clauses did not do this clearly enough, which led to delays in the construction and occupation of buildings, increased construction and capital costs for developers, and a longer consenting process,'' Mr Williamson said.
However, New Zealand Aged Care Association chief executive Martin Taylor was not reassured by Mr Williamson's explanation, which he said did not rule out providers having to retrofit buildings.
''As we said in our letter to the minister, we hope our advice is wrong, and we look forward to the Government's assurance that no operator will be made to upgrade an entire building's fire safety system if they undertake a refurbishment,'' Mr Taylor said.
Designers and engineers were telling aged care providers the new clauses would have an impact, Mr Taylor said.
