The Board has recently taken three prosecutions in the District Court for unauthorised work.

Man convicted and ordered to pay $57k for unauthorised sanitary plumbing and drainlaying

A Wellington man was sentenced in the Hutt Valley District Court on 13 March for unlicenced sanitary plumbing and drainlaying at 12 properties between November 2019 and December 2021.

Faamanu Anae was present in court for sentencing. The court heard victim impact statements about how Mr Anae’s conduct had caused stress and impacted their mental health.

Mr Anae was ordered to pay $57,297.06 in reparation to his victims.

Sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying are regulated industries in New Zealand and it is illegal for anyone to do this work unless they are authorised to do so by the Board. The Board’s primary purpose is to protect public health and safety by ensuring competent individuals carry out sanitary plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying work.

The Board’s Chief Executive, Aleyna Hall, expressed dismay at the needless distress this has caused people who thought they were hiring a qualified practitioner. “It is very disappointing that the trust of a community and their safety was taken advantage of by Mr Anae. Sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying work is regulated in New Zealand to ensure public health and safety.”

Man fined over $5k for unauthorised gasfitting work

Between 19 November 2021 and 13 December 2021, X completed restricted gasfitting work and issued gas certificates for two properties in the Auckland region. He was also advertising as a registered and licensed gasfitter on social media. He had previously held an exemption under supervision authorisation for sanitary plumbing and gasfitting but these expired 31 March 2021.

He was charged with two counts of being an unauthorised person who did gasfitting in breach of section 9 of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006, one charge of being an unregistered or unlicensed person who used words or titles in connection with their business intended to cause a person to believe he was registered or licensed and one charge of being an unlicensed or unregistered person who did an act that was intended to cause a person to believe he was registered or licensed.

On 1 March 2023, a hearing was held in the Manukau District Court. After reviewing the evidence provided, the Judge found him guilty on all four charges. The Judge considered the fact that he had been “very elusive” and had not co-operated with the Board to be an aggravating factor.

He was fined $5,300 and ordered to pay $540 costs..

Unauthorised gasfitting and sanitary plumbing lands Christchurch man $3.5k fine

In May 2022, the Board were notified about concerns regarding work carried out by Y two years prior.

On 17 June 2020, he installed a gas water heater at a Christchurch property that he had advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Before installing the water heater, he disconnected and removed two hot water cylinders from the property.

At the time of installing the water heater, he did not hold any authorisations to carry out gasfitting or sanitary plumbing work. He had held trainee gasfitting and plumbing authorisations but these expired on 31 March 2019.

The Board charged him with unauthorised gasfitting and unauthorised sanitary plumbing.

On 14 March 2023, he pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court to both charges. He was fined $3,500 and ordered to pay $260 in costs.