What we look at, in order
Electrical registration
Connecting a heat pump is prescribed electrical work, which only registered and licensed electrical workers can do or supervise. We search each worker who'll connect units on the EWRB's public register and check that their practising licence is current, hasn't been suspended and lists the right classes of registration.
Gas registration, for gas jobs
Installing, altering or repairing a gas appliance is gasfitting work. For any installer taking gas heating jobs, we check each gasfitter's registration and licence class on the PGDB register. The PGDB calls Certifying Gasfitter its highest class, and its register also shows any conditions on a licence and any disciplinary decisions.
Refrigerant credentials
New Zealand has no government licence for refrigerant work. In 2011 the Commerce Commission authorised an industry arrangement on who wholesalers sell refrigerant to: holders of a Refrigerant Licence from the Refrigerant License Trust Board, or of an EPA Approved Handler or Approved Filler test certificate. Which of these we ask to see: refrigerant credential we require.
Insurance
A current public liability certificate, in the business's own name: minimum public liability cover we require.
The business itself
That it's a real, trading New Zealand business: company check.
What they specialise in
Which jobs they do week in, week out, and which they'd rather pass up. Those are the only jobs they'll see. How we confirm it: how specialties are confirmed.
Why the electrical check comes first
It's the part of a heat pump job the law controls most tightly. The EWRB says it exists to promote safety by ensuring electrical workers are competent. A January 2020 release for the board described a heat pump business owner who wasn't licensed to carry out the electrical connection, and the Registrar urged anyone having appliances installed to check the register.
The register lists people, not companies, so a business name on its own tells you very little. We check the individuals, and we'd encourage you to do the same when they turn up.
How often we look again
Licences expire and registrations change, so a check is only as good as its date. How often we re-check: recheck frequency.
If a licence lapses or the insurance runs out, that installer's jobs stop until it's sorted.
What no check can tell you
We don't visit installs or inspect finished work, and nobody's vetting can promise a good job on the day. What protects you is the paperwork: a Certificate of Compliance no later than 20 days after the electrical work, and an Electrical Safety Certificate, which WorkSafe's form says to keep for at least 7 years.
The EWRB also suggests looking at the licence itself on the day: that it hasn't expired, and that the photo matches the person doing the work. Scan the QR code on a digital licence and it takes you straight to their register profile. Our guide to checking registrations walks you through it.
Holding ourselves to the same standard
The Fair Trading Act says a business needs reasonable grounds for the claims it makes about its services, at the time it makes them. That applies to every line on our quote card. So anything on this page that isn't settled is marked that way, not written up as done.
If something on an installer's paperwork doesn't line up with what we've said, please tell us through the complaints page.