Licences by trade: LBP, EWRB and PGDB

Some work in New Zealand can only be done, or only be supervised, by a person holding a licence. Those regimes sit outside the Health and Safety at Work Act in their own legislation, with their own boards and their own offences. A Task Analysis does not create competence, but it should record who holds what, because that is the first thing checked when the work is restricted.

Building: Licensed Building Practitioners

The LBP scheme sits under the Building Act 2004 and is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Restricted building work on a home or small-to-medium apartment building must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner with the right licence class.

Restricted building work is the work critical to the integrity of a home: primary structure, external moisture-management systems such as cladding and roofing, and the design of those elements. Licence classes cover design, carpentry, roofing, external plastering, bricklaying and blocklaying, foundations and site works.

Two things catch people out. Supervision is a real permitted route, so an unlicensed person may do restricted building work if an appropriately licensed practitioner supervises it, but the supervision has to be actual and the LBP carries the responsibility. And a record of work has to be provided for restricted building work on completion.

Electrical: the Electrical Workers Registration Board

Electrical work is regulated under the Electricity Act 1992 and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, with registration and licensing run by the Electrical Workers Registration Board. Prescribed electrical work must be done by a person registered and holding a current practising licence in the appropriate class, or by a trainee under supervision.

Classes include electrician, electrical service technician, electrical appliance serviceperson and line mechanic, each with its own scope. Certain work also requires a Certificate of Compliance, and high-risk prescribed electrical work additionally requires an Electrical Safety Certificate.

The common error on a mixed site is assuming any electrician can do any electrical work. The licence class defines the scope, and work on the supply side of the point of supply is a different regime again.

Plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying: the PGDB

These three trades are regulated under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006 and administered by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. Sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying are restricted: they must be done or supervised by a person authorised by the Board, holding a current practising licence.

Authorisation comes in tiers. A certifying tradesperson may work unsupervised and supervise others; a tradesperson works under supervision; an exemption covers specified limited work. Each of the three trades is licensed separately, so a certifying plumber is not thereby a gasfitter.

Gasfitting carries additional certification duties, and a gas safety certificate is required for most gasfitting work.

Other regimes worth knowing

• Asbestos removal. A licence is required for most asbestos removal work under the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016, with Class A and Class B licences covering different material.
• Scaffolding. A Certificate of Competence is required to erect, alter or dismantle scaffolding from which a person could fall five metres or more.
• Cranes and high-risk plant. Certificates of competence apply to various classes of crane operation and other prescribed work.
• Hazardous substances. Certified handler requirements apply to certain substances, with their own certification pathway.

What this means for your paperwork

A licence is a precondition for doing the work, not a control that manages a risk, so it does not replace anything in the Task Analysis. What the document should do is record it:

1. Name the restricted work in the task steps, so it is visible that the regime applies.
2. Record who holds the licence, the class, and the number where there is one.
3. Where the work is supervised rather than done by the licence holder, name the supervisor and say what the supervision is.
4. Note the certificates the work will generate, so they are not remembered at handover.

Holding a licence does not discharge the duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and meeting that duty does not substitute for a licence. They are separate regimes and both apply.

Sources

• Building Act 2004 and the Building (Designation of Building Work Licensing Classes) Order 2010, restricted building work and Licensed Building Practitioner classes
• Electricity Act 1992 and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, prescribed electrical work and registration
• Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006, authorisation and restricted work
• Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016, Class A and Class B removal licences
• Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s36; competence requirements under the General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016

This guide is general information about New Zealand health and safety law as at the review date. It is not legal advice and it does not describe your site. Confirm what applies to you with WorkSafe New Zealand or your adviser.