Key information for practitioners

Certification will be extended to cover all gas and electrical installation work including connection to an energy supply and verification of safety for use.
    All gasfitting and prescribed electrical work on installations must be certified. For example, installation work on gas cylinders at or below 15kgs will now require certification.
    Practitioners will no longer be required to purchase a prescribed CoC from their worker registration board.
    Practitioners will now have the option of designing their own certificates or using a format designed by an industry organisation.
    There will be a flexible format for certificates, e.g., the certificate can be incorporated into an invoice or form, as long as the certificates contain the information specified in the regulations.
    Practitioners will now be able to send certificates by email and store certificates electronically, but they will still have the option of paper-based certification if this suits their business process better.
    Fees for gas or electrical Certificates of Compliance (formerly $25 +GST for gas, $6 +GST for most electrical) will be removed.
    Licensed gasfitters will self-certify that their installation work is compliant and lawful. In some circumstances, they will certify that the work is safe, otherwise this part will be done by a certifying gasfitter.
    Where a gas installation is designed, it will be certified as compliant and safe by the designer.
    Gas and electrical installations classified as high risk will be recorded by gas-fitters and electrical inspectors on a gas and electrical installation work database managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
    The Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board’s (PGDB) online gas certificate database will no longer operate from October 2013.
    Certificate information must now be kept by practitioners for a minimum of seven years for both gas and electrical installations.
    There will be offence provisions in regulations for failure to provide a certificate or for abuse of the process.
   
The fees charged by the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) in relation to examination and licensing will also be updated from 1 July 2013.
     See the EWRB website for further information.

 
What is the same for practitioners?

    Certification and its safety outcomes continue to be the priority. Safety requirements and technical standards for gas and electrical installations are the same.
    Certification by gasfitters and electrical workers is still required.
    Certain information will still be required on certificates pertaining to the compliance and safety of installation work including the identification of the work, the location of the work, and the name of the person certifying the work.
    Practitioners should still show their licence/registration to customers before commencing work.
    Testing and commissioning requirements have not changed and remain a critical step in the process to ensure safety standards, compliant work and safety outcomes are achieved.

http://www.med.govt.nz/energysafety/legislation-policy/reviews-discussion-documents/gas-and-electrical-certification-and-fees-review/update-on-new-gas-and-electricity-regulations-september-2012/key-information-for-practitioners


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