Search “best plumber North Shore” and you get a map of star ratings, a couple of directories and a Facebook thread. None of that tells you whether the person who turns up is allowed to do the job. This page sets out six checks you can run on any plumber, gasfitter or drainlayer in New Zealand, most of them in a minute or two, and shows how HW Group measures up against each one. Run them on us. Run them on everyone.
The six checks
| Check | How to do it | What good looks like | HW Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Licensed for this work | Search the person’s name on the PGDB public register | A current licence in the right trade, no conditions, no discipline in the last three years | Griffin Hoskin, Licensed Plumber and Licensed Drainlayer |
| 2. Who signs the work off | Ask “who certifies this job?” | A certifying licence holder: either the person doing the work or their named supervisor | Griffin certifies his own plumbing and drainage work |
| 3. Gas paperwork | Ask before booking; expect a Gas Safety Certificate within 20 working days | Certificates handed over and kept with the property file | Gas work is certified by the business’s own licensed gasfitter |
| 4. Price in writing first | Ask for a quote, not an estimate, and how changes are handled | Written scope and price before work starts; changes agreed before they are done | Price agreed in writing before work starts |
| 5. A real, insured business | Search the Companies Register; ask about public liability cover | A registered company with a named director, and current insurance | Hoskin Williams Group Limited, a registered New Zealand company, insured |
| 6. Record and reviews | Read the register record and the last year of Google reviews | A clean record; reviews that mention turning up, explaining and finishing | Google rating 5.0 |
Why does the licence matter more than the logo?
Because in New Zealand the licence is the only thing that authorises the work. The Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006 restricts sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying to people holding a current practising licence from the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB). A van, a uniform or a trade association badge does not authorise anything.
Restricted work covers more than most people expect. In plain terms:
- Plumbing: fixing or removing any sanitary fixture or appliance, any trap, waste, soil, vent or overflow pipe, and any pipe that supplies water to a fixture. Hot water cylinders are in.
- Gasfitting: all of it, from the meter or bottle onwards. Pipework, appliances, flues and commissioning. The only exception is a portable appliance with its own bottle attached, like a barbecue.
- Drainlaying: laying, repairing, altering or renewing a drain, and fitting or removing a gully trap.
What is not restricted is short: replacing taps, tap washers, ball valves and plugs, and connecting a dishwasher or washing machine where no pipework changes. The PGDB publishes the list on its advice for consumers page.
The three trades are three separate licences. A licensed plumber is not licensed for gas unless the register says so.
The Board does prosecute. Doing restricted plumbing or drainlaying without a licence carries a fine of up to ten thousand dollars, gasfitting up to fifty thousand, and posing as licensed up to twenty thousand. Homeowners are exposed too: knowingly paying an unlicensed person to do restricted work is an offence under the same Act. The PGDB’s Ask For Licensed campaign also warns that your insurance may be void if unlicensed work goes wrong.
How do I check a plumber is licensed?
Search their first and last name on the PGDB public register. The Act requires the register to show, for each person: the trade or trades they are registered in, whether they hold a current practising licence in each, the expiry date, any conditions, who supervises them or whom they supervise, and any disciplinary action in the last three years. Look for a current licence in the trade you need.
Two things to know when reading a record:
- Every licence expires on 31 March. Licence holders renew each year, with continuing professional development as a condition. A record showing an expired licence means the person is registered but not currently authorised to do the work.
- Search by the person’s name, not the business. The licence belongs to the person, and the name on the register should match the person at your door. A company is only in the clear if the people who actually do the work are licensed.
You can also ask to see the practising licence itself. The PGDB says licence holders can show it as a card or in the Board’s phone app, and WorkSafe’s advice for gas work is the same: ask to see the current licence ID and check the expiry.
Registration numbers are not the check. The register is searched by name, and the Board does not publish numbers on the public record, so nobody should be quoting one at you as proof.
HW Group: Griffin Hoskin is a Licensed Plumber and Licensed Drainlayer. Search his name on the register. It takes about a minute, and our About page links straight to it.
Which licence class should I look for, and who signs the work off?
The register shows a class against each trade. In the PGDB’s own terms:
| Class | What it means |
|---|---|
| Certifying | The highest level. Qualified, registered, and responsible for their own work and for the work of anyone they supervise |
| Plumber, Gasfitter or Drainlayer | Qualified and registered, and usually works independently, but a nominated certifying tradesperson is responsible for making sure the work is done competently |
| Restricted | Has completed a trade qualification but has not passed the Board’s licensing exam |
| Trainee or exemption holder | Can do the work under supervision. Trainees work within eye and earshot of their supervisor for the first year |
The PGDB’s rule is simple: everyone doing restricted work other than a certifier works under a certifying supervisor. So the practical question for any job is not “what class are you?” but “who certifies this job?” A trainee at the door is fine if a certifying tradesperson supervises and signs off the work. You should be told who that is before the work starts.
HW Group: Griffin certifies his own plumbing and drainage work. The person doing the job is the person who signs it off.
What paperwork should I get for gas work?
If the job involves gas (a hob, a califont, a gas cylinder, a heater, a fire or the pipework to any of them) ask before booking who will certify it. Gas is a separate licence, and the Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations 2010 set out the paperwork you must receive:
- A Gas Safety Certificate after the installation is connected, no later than 20 working days after connection. It confirms the installation is safe to use.
- A Certificate of Compliance for any general or high-risk gasfitting, which in practice means anything beyond a like-for-like appliance swap or routine maintenance. Alterations and additions to existing pipework are high-risk work. The person who issues it must have done or supervised the work and be authorised by the Board to certify gas work of that kind.
You are entitled to a copy. The regulations require the certifier to give the Certificate of Compliance to the person who contracted the work, keep records for seven years, and provide a copy within 10 working days if you ask for one later. WorkSafe’s getting gas work done page has the consumer version. Keep the certificates with your property file: they are the proof a buyer’s building inspector or your insurer will ask for.
HW Group: gas work is certified by the business’s own licensed gasfitter, and you receive the certificates the job requires.
How should the price be agreed?
In writing, before work starts, and as a quote rather than an estimate where the job allows it. Consumer Protection’s guidance draws the line: a quote is an offer to do the job for a specified price and cannot be exceeded unless you agree to extra work or the scope changes; an estimate is not a fixed price. A change in scope is a variation to the contract, and it should be agreed before the work continues, not explained afterwards on the invoice.
Questions worth asking before anyone starts:
- Is this a quote or an estimate?
- What is included, and what could cost extra?
- Is there a call-out or travel charge, and is it stated up front?
- How are parts charged?
- If the scope changes once the wall is open, will you stop and agree the change in writing before continuing?
- Is GST included in the figure?
Consumer Protection also notes there is no legal requirement to pay a deposit, and advises against paying more than a tenth of the total if one is asked for.
Once the work is done, the Consumer Guarantees Act applies: the work must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, be fit for the purpose you asked for, and be finished within a reasonable time. If it falls short, the tradesperson must put it right, and for serious failures you can cancel and seek compensation. A business that tries to contract out of those guarantees commits an offence under the Fair Trading Act.
HW Group: the price is agreed in writing before work starts. If the plan changes, so does the price, before we go on.
Is it a real business, and is it insured?
Search the business on the Companies Register. It is free, and the record shows the company’s status, incorporation date, directors, shareholders and NZBN. The company on the register and the person on the PGDB register are two different checks, and a good business passes both.
Public liability insurance is not compulsory in New Zealand, but business.govt.nz recommends it for every business, and it is the cover that matters to you: it pays for damage the tradesperson’s work causes to your property or a neighbour’s. It does not cover the quality of the work itself; that is what the Consumer Guarantees Act is for. Ask whether the business is insured, and ask for proof if the job is large.
One more line of protection: claiming a licence, an endorsement or a membership you do not hold is misleading conduct under the Fair Trading Act, as well as an offence under the Act.
HW Group: Hoskin Williams Group Limited, a registered New Zealand company based in Birkenhead, and insured.
What do reviews and the record really tell you?
Reviews are useful once the legal checks are done, and most useful when you read them a certain way:
- Read the last twelve months, not the all-time average. Businesses change hands and change staff.
- Look for the boring details: turned up when they said, explained what they found, finished the job, left the place tidy.
- Read the replies. How a business answers a bad review tells you how it handles a problem at your place.
- Weigh the count. A perfect score from a handful of reviews and a near-perfect score from several hundred are different pieces of evidence. Neither is a licence.
Treat “best plumbers in Auckland” lists with care. Many are paid listings. Look for a disclosure line about commercial relationships, check whether the selection method is stated, and run the register check anyway.
The register itself is part of the record. It shows conditions on a licence and any disciplinary action in the last three years, so a clean record is checkable, not just claimed. If something does go wrong, the PGDB accepts complaints about negligent, incompetent or non-compliant work and about unlicensed work, but it cannot award compensation or order repairs. Its advice is to raise the problem with the tradesperson first, which is also the Consumer Guarantees Act route for getting work fixed.
HW Group: a 5.0 Google rating, and a register record you can read for yourself.
Is a trade association membership a licence?
No. Membership of an industry body is voluntary. Some come with a paid-for workmanship guarantee, which can be worth having, and some excellent plumbers belong while many other excellent plumbers do not. Under the Act, the only thing that authorises restricted work is a current PGDB licence, so the register check applies to members and non-members alike. Treat a membership badge as a nice-to-have, and treat the licence as the test.
Does the job need a building consent?
A good plumber tells you before quoting. Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 exempts most repairs and maintenance of sanitary plumbing and drainage, like-for-like replacement of a fixture in the same position, and minor drain alterations such as shifting a gully trap, provided the work is done by a person authorised under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act. Auckland Council’s guidance says the same and adds the cases that do need a consent: adding a fixture where there was not one before, replacing a fixture that needs a larger outlet, a gully trap for a new bathroom or laundry, and any new connection to Watercare’s network.
Hot water cylinders have their own clauses. Repair and like-for-like replacement of an existing water heater is exempt; a change of type or position may not be. Ask, and ask who lodges the consent if one is needed.
North Shore homes: two things to ask about
The housing stock on the Shore runs from 1920s bungalows in Devonport and Birkenhead to the 1970s and 80s subdivisions around Glenfield, Browns Bay and Torbay, and each era brings its own plumbing. Two questions sort the plumbers who work here from the ones passing through:
- “Have you replaced Dux Quest?” Many homes built or replumbed between the late 1970s and late 1980s have Dux Quest polybutylene pipe, which fails at the fittings. A plumber who works on the Shore has replaced plenty of it and can tell you how they find the fittings and what a full repipe involves. Our guide to Dux Quest pipes covers how to check for it.
- “What does a cylinder replacement involve?” A cylinder leaking from the base is one of the most common calls we get. The answer should cover isolating the cylinder, the safe tray, restraint, the tempering and relief valves, and whether a consent applies. Our guide to a cylinder leaking from the bottom explains what to do first.
Run the six checks on us. If we pass, get in touch with your suburb and what is wrong, and you get a time and a price in writing before anything starts.