The Ministry of Economic Development recently did a public consultation on gas and electrical certification to see if the public and wider industry felt there was any value in certificates.  I am not sure how many people put in a submission but I believe a copy of a draft report has been sent from MED to Hon Hekia Parata who is the Acting Minister of Energy and Resources.  There is a strong possibility that the Minister may scrap the current certification system in an effort to reduce regulation and costs.

For all the things the PGDB do that we don't agree with, I think most gasfitters would not like to see gas certificates go.  One gasfitter I know said this
(and I thought it pretty well represented my views and many others):
"The gas certificate is the difference between someone working in your house legally and some good kiwi bloke deciding that gafitting sounds quite lucrative so I'll slap a sign on the side of the van and go out endangering the general public... I have personally viewed the resulting damage and harm caused by substandard gasfitting.  If the government wishes to allow 'cowboys' to work in old ladies houses then scrapping the gas certififation system will definitely be a step in the right direction.  Being a tradesman I hate paperwork, I hate the fact that I must purchase the certificates from the PGDB and I hate the fact I need to sit down at night and fill them out.  In spite of all that I don't wish to see the back of them."

These certificates protect gasfitters as much as they protect the general public.  The system works pretty well and gives assurance to the general public that the work has been performed by a suitably qualified and licensed person.  If the Minister thinks putting all this information on an invoice (which is one of the suggestions) instead of a gas cert then she is sadly mistaken.


Linkback: https://www.plumbers.nz/gas-certification/71/is-the-gas-certification-scheme-at-risk/654/

hi guys/jax, i don`t know the detail of your posts can you point me to the relevent information? do you know what is proposed to replace certs if they are to go, surely some sort of inspection from somewhere. Jax do you have a gasfitting licence? cheers

Not sure what they propose to replace it with - one suggestion was the information could all be put on an invoice or perhaps voluntarily submitted on line.  Until we see the report from the MED, or the proposal that was sent to the Minister who knows what they have suggested.   They gave no indication at the meetings.

Robbo - can't imagine why any gasfitter would want to do away with gas certs?  We probably issue about 200 certs a year, sometimes more if it is a bad winter.  It gives so much protection to the gasfitter - it outlines exactly what has been done by us and protects us as much as the public.  We certify every piece of gasfitting we do, including 9kg bottles.

Hi Robbo
I'm aware 9kg installs don't HAVE to be certified, and that is the point I was making - we still certify them, that is our company policy - ANY gasfitting has to be certified.  I do not see what benefit it is to me NOT to have these jobs certified. 

I see the point you are making with the Paul Gee case, but in reality it was not the system that caused this problem, but rather fraud by other persons who altered his certificate, a lack of enforcement on said person(s)  and a refusal of anyone to listen to Paul when he said his certs were being added to or changed. 

Imagine if there was no cert system with a similar scenario - Paul would still have had the same charges, but how could he prove he didn't do it?  At least this way he does have a papertrail including the letter to Nick Smith raising the issue. 

What do you think about gas certs Robbo?

Hi Robbo - we have several certifiers - no one is asked to sign off any one else's work.  The money made from certs is used to pay for upskilling in gas.  I agree that employees who are signing off other employees work are being asked to travel down a slippery slope, unless they or their employer have some sort of quality assurance scheme.  At the very least if I was an employee I would not sign off any colleagues work unless I visited and inspected the job and tested the carcass myself.  To take this responsibility for someone else's work is not worth even $40 an hour.  However, I believe if an employer employs a certifying gasfitter, plumber or drainlayer, then there is an expectation that they will be willing to certify their own work.   this is afterall why you would employ them ahead of a licensed person.

hi jax, this was part of his reply:
 In respect of self-certification, you make some good points. Government has agreed to review certification by 31 March 2011. This review will be lead jointly by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Department of Building and Housing. I would encourage you to participate in the review when comments are asked for. It is likely the review will begin towards the middle of 2010. cheers

hi jax, why involve the Board with inspections who did it before self certification? i presume that it was the council. If inspectors were introduced small details that are easily missed by busy tradesmen would be picked up and corrected before a problem arises, it is my opinion that this would protect tradesmen more than self certification and keep the board right out of it,cheers