The jobs that come up
Fit-outs for shops, offices and hospitality. Lighting upgrades. Extra circuits and outlets as a business grows. Three-phase supply for machinery or a commercial kitchen. EV chargers in the car park. Fault-finding when a circuit keeps tripping and costing you trading time.
Some sites need more than a general electrician. The Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) classes work in medical, hazardous and mining locations as high-risk. From 1 September 2026, Electricians and some other classes need an extra endorsed class, from their next licence renewal, to work in mining operations, medical cardiac protected areas, hazardous areas or on mains parallel generation systems. If your site has any of those, ask about the endorsement up front.
Check the people, not just the company
New Zealand licenses electrical workers as individuals. For each person who'll do or supervise the work, check their registration class and a current practising licence, which has to be renewed every 2 years. Their licence ID carries a photo, the class, a registration number and an expiry date, and the digital version has a QR code linking to the public register.
Some larger organisations hold an EWRB Employer Licence, which lets their own staff do prescribed electrical work under the organisation's safety and quality systems. People on contracts for service can't work under it, so subcontractors each need their own licence.
Apprentices are normal on commercial jobs. Supervision has to come from a licensed worker in the same scope of work, and anyone supervising more than two trainees at once needs an endorsed supervision class.
Certificates and high-risk work on a business site
Every job should end with an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC). New or extended circuits and sub-boards also get a Certificate of Compliance (CoC). High-risk work, such as mains work, solar PV or a higher-capacity switchboard, needs an independent inspection by a licensed electrical inspector, who issues a Record of Inspection.
Records of Inspection are logged on WorkSafe's Electricity and Gas High-risk Database, which you can search by address. WorkSafe says those records aren't the certification itself, only part of what's in it, so keep the real documents on file. Electrical workers must keep certification records for 7 years, which helps if yours go missing.
If the electrical work is part of a consented fit-out, the electrical certificate (an energy work certificate) must go in with the application for the code compliance certificate. Agree early whether your builder or your electrician is handling that.
What the scope should spell out
- Every circuit, outlet and light, drawing by drawing.
- Which parts are general work and which, if any, are high-risk and need an inspector.
- Who deals with the lines company if the supply has to change.
- Working hours, shutdowns and how long the power will be off.
- Who'll be on site: the licensed workers, any apprentices, and who supervises them.
- The certificates you'll receive, and who in your business they go to.
Contracts, disputes and consumer law
The Consumer Guarantees Act covers services bought for personal, domestic or household use. A business job may fall outside it, which makes a clear written scope and contract matter more, not less.
If something goes wrong, start with the electrician or company that did the work. The EWRB can look at the safety and compliance of the work, but it can't make anyone fix it and can't settle payment or contract disputes. The Disputes Tribunal deals with claims up to $60,000, including whether a tradesperson has done work properly.
Your staff, and the licensed part
You can
- Report damaged leads, cracked plugs and anything warm or sparking, and take it out of use.
- Reset a tripped breaker or RCD once, and call an electrician if it trips again.
- Keep switchboards clear and easy to reach.
- Book regular test and tag for portable appliances if your workplace does it.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Fixed wiring, new circuits and switchboard work.
- Repairs to appliances used at work. WorkSafe's appliance-owner code only covers domestic appliances kept mainly for the owner's own use.
- Any electrical work by employers or employees, unless they're registered and hold a current practising licence.
Getting matched
Tell us the job, the kind of premises and your town. We'll match you with one licence-checked electrician who does commercial work of that kind, and they'll go through the scope with you before quoting.
If it were our business
We'd get the scope in writing before anything starts: every circuit, which parts are high-risk, who talks to the lines company, and when the power will be off. Then we'd check the licence of each person who turns up, not just the company name on the van, and file every certificate where the next manager can find it.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.