Whangārei man ordered to pay $4,100 reparation for unauthorised gasfitting

A Whangārei man who led two homeowners to believe “he was the man for the job” completed gasfitting work when he was not authorised to work unsupervised.

The man was sentenced in the Whangārei District Court in August 2024 on two charges of unauthorised gasfitting for work done at two Whangārei properties in 2022.

At the time of offending, he held limited certificates as a trainee plumber and trainee gasfitter and was not authorised to carry out gasfitting work without supervision. He did not require direct presence supervision, however, he still needed his supervisor to assess his work, provide advice and certify his gasfitting. He was not authorised to complete gasfitting without his supervisor’s knowledge or oversight.

In July 2022 the man installed a continuous flow water heater at a rental property in Whangārei. He did not tell the property manager that he was only a trainee or say he was not qualified to carry out the work without supervision. Two months after the installation the property manager received a gas certificate for the property, signed by the man’s supervisor. The supervisor had not attended the property to inspect the work and was unaware any work had been carried out. The property manager was concerned the certificate was fraudulent, as it didn’t have the man’s name on it. When they searched his name on the Board’s public register, it showed he was only a trainee. The property manager then made a complaint to the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.

In October 2022 the man was engaged to complete gasfitting work on a caravan and issue a certificate of compliance and gas safety certificate. The man replaced fittings in the caravan and invoiced the owner for the gasfitting work. A gas certificate was never provided or signed as the man’s supervisor wasn’t aware he was completing work on the caravan.

The man did not respond to the caravan owner when contacted for a gas certificate. The owner believed he was registered and licensed to complete the work, as they had been given his name by a caravan company. After checking the public register and seeing the man held a limited certificate as a trainee gasfitter, the caravan owner made a complaint to the Board.

When deciding the sentence, Judge Rzepecky accepted the offending was premeditated as the man had a vehicle with company branding and signage outside his home with company branding, which led the property manager and caravan owner to believe that he was “the man for the job”. Under the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006, it is an offence for an unregistered or unlicensed person to advertise or reasonably cause another person to believe that the person is registered or licensed to do the work.

His Honour stated that given the man’s limited capacity to pay, he would not impose a fine or costs but would be sentenced to pay full reparation of $3,583 to the homeowner and $517 to the caravan owner.

Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board Chief Executive Aleyna Hall says “He knowingly worked outside the conditions of his trainee authorisation, putting the tenants and caravan owner at risk of negligent gasfitting work.”

Ms Hall comments that five sentencings in the past two months is a stern reminder to those working without authorisations in the industry.

“The Board targets unauthorised people that are working without the necessary skills to do the work which could cause serious harm in our communities and they’re fleecing people with substandard work.”

Ms Hall adds that no matter where you get a recommendation from for a plumber, gasfitter or drainlayer, always check the public register to see if they hold an up-to-date authorisation. “Our practitioners have to relicense every year to maintain a current authorisation. Check the register to see that they’re on there and hold a current licence to do the work.”