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NZ plumbing compliance software: PGDB licensing + NZ Building Code G1–G13 for plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers
A PGDB-licensed plumber, gasfitter, or drainlayer is accountable to two frameworks simultaneously: PGDB on the practitioner side and the Building Code (G1–G13) on the install side. This post is the 5-minute version of why general trade software falls short, where the audit and Consumer Guarantees Act risk sits now, and how KoruAI keeps the CoC + G12 / G13 test records straight without a Monday admin pile-up.
The pain
The four things NZ plumbing compliance eats in a generic trade tool
Every PGDB-licensed plumber, gasfitter, or drainlayer recognises at least two of these from the last inspection cycle. They aren't dramatic failures — they're the slow stand-up of admin overhead that nobody scheduled time to fix.
CoCs printed in the van between plumber and gasfitter visits
A Certificate of Compliance (CoC) starts on a printed form in the plumber’s glovebox, gets a wet signature from the certifying practitioner, and lands in a folder that may be picked up by a registered gasfitter on the next stop. By the time the BCA asks for the CoC behind install #5612, the only thing left is a one-line note in the dispatch diary. The paper trail exists; the proof the CoC was tested, signed, and tied to the source install doesn’t.
G12 test records vs G13 test records collated into one folder
A single plumbing job can produce a G12 water-supply pressure test, a G12 backflow / cross-connection check, and a G13 foul-water drainage test. The numbers land in three inboxes, two spreadsheets, and a phone-notepad that wasn’t backed up. PGDB and the BCA ask for the G13 record from install #5612 and you scroll for an afternoon — the same failure mode the gasfitting pillar documents as “test records scattered across jobs,” but compounded by the G12 / G13 boundary that most generic record-keeping doesn’t model.
Drainage records filed alongside water-supply records
Drainage records, water-supply records, and sanitary-plumbing records are routinely saved in the same customer folder, then discarded together when the retention purge fires. The plumbing-side retention and the drainlaying-side retention are different in practice and they end up filed under the same folder. When PGDB or the BCA asks for a record that survived its purge window, the folder no longer tells you which-clause-that-record-was-filed-against.
Generalist trade software doesn’t speak PGDB vs EWRB
Adapting an Australian, US, or UK trade management tool to NZ plumbing compliance is a documented failure — it doesn’t know PGDB from EWRB, doesn’t reference the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006 or the Building Code G-clauses, and doesn’t distinguish a CoC (issued by the plumber to the client) from a CCC (issued by the BCA at consent sign-off). The same tool plate-mixes a PGDB-registered plumber with an EWRB-licensed electrician in the same roster — and the regulator-side vocabulary diverges from there.
The regulator split
Two regulators, two hats — PGDB licenses the person, the Building Code governs the install
The line between them shapes which paperwork survives a complaint and which disappears — get it wrong and you “comply” with one and breach the other. The Building Code G-clauses below name the clauses that intersect with PGDB-licensed plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying work.
PGDB — the person
The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board licenses the individual practitioner under the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006 administered by PGDB.
- Who PGDB licenses — registered plumbers, registered gasfitters, and registered drainlayers, all three registered classes under the same Board, each with its own certifying scope and its own supervisory frame.
- What PGDB regulates — registration and practising-licence renewal, the supervision chain that lets trainees and limited-certificate holders work on restricted sanitary plumbing, and the complaints / disciplinary process for individual practitioners (plumber, gasfitter, or drainlayer).
- What PGDB does NOT do — the technical install rules. PGDB licenses the person; the NZ Building Code (G1–G13) governs the install you’re signing off, the CoC you’re issuing, and the test record the BCA will later ask for.
NZ Building Code — the install (G1–G13)
The install itself is governed by the NZ Building Code, administered by MBIE via Building.govt.nz and enforced at consent and inspection by Building Consents Authorities. The G-clauses below are the ones that intersect with PGDB-licensed plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying work.
- G1 Personal hygiene — sanitary fixtures present, functional, and accessible.
- G2 Laundering — clothes-washing facilities within dwellings (plumbing-side scope).
- G3 Food preparation — kitchen sinks, cross-connection risk, and backflow prevention.
- G4 Ventilation — extraction where plumbing fixtures interact (rangehoods, bathroom fans) — plumbing-side interaction point.
- G5 Interior environment — moisture from plumbing-side penetrations into wet areas; cross-link to E2/AS1.
- G6 Airborne and impact sound — pipework acoustic lagging where plumbing penetrations affect habitable rooms.
- G7 Natural light — windows in sanitary spaces (very minor for plumbing, listed for completeness).
- G8 Artificial light — service-space lighting (minor plumbing-side interaction).
- G9 Electricity — equipotential bonding for metal pipework, RCD protection for water-heating circuits; cross-link with the EWRB frame in /blog/nz-electrical-compliance.
- G10 Piped services — point of supply to fixtures, integrity, isolation, and backflow prevention.
- G11 Gas as a fuel — consumer gas piping downstream of the meter (PGDB gasfitting overlap).
- G12 Water supplies — tanks, mains connection, backflow prevention, hot-water delivery; plumbing core, Acceptable Solution G12/AS1.
- G13 Foul water — drainage, venting, gradients, on-site disposal when not reticulated; drainlaying core, Acceptable Solutions G13/AS1, G13/AS2, G13/AS3.
Acceptable Solutions (G13/AS1–G13/AS3 for foul water, G12/AS1 for water supplies, E2/AS1 for moisture-side penetrations) — an Alternative Solution requires a design rationale captured alongside the install evidence.
Licence classes
PGDB’s three registered classes — and what each one signs off
PGDB registers three classes — Registered Plumber, Registered Gasfitter, and Registered Drainlayer — each with its own scope of work and its own supervisory frame. The split between supervising and certifying is the same across all three: a registered (non-certifying) practitioner may work under the supervision of a certifying practitioner in the same class, but only the certifying practitioner signs off the CoC (or the Gas Safety Certificate, for the gasfitter). For the current scope terms and any hour-of-experience or restricted-work thresholds, check PGDB directly.
Registered Plumber — sanitary plumbing, the broadest certifying PGDB scope
- Covers sanitary plumbing work across the residential, commercial, and light-industrial scope the Building Code and PGDB define — the registration class most PGDB-licensed practitioners hold, including the issuance of CoCs for restricted sanitary plumbing work within the certifying scope.
- A Registered Plumber signs off CoCs for sanitary plumbing work within the certifying scope and supervises trainees and registered (non-certifying) practitioners on the same work; the supervision attestation names both the supervising and certifying practitioner.
- The current competence and any restricted-work thresholds are refreshed in PGDB Board notices — read the current Board guidance before relying on a specific number for an audit.
Registered Gasfitter — gasfitting, overlapping with PGDB (and Gas Act 2008)
- Covers gasfitting work that overlaps with the PGDB frame, governed by PGDB on the practitioner side and the Gas Act 2008 + Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations 2010 on the install side — the class that signs off gas safety certificates and ICPs, not CoCs.
- A Registered Gasfitter works alongside a Registered Plumber on the same crew and, in PGDB, sits inside the same Board as the plumber and the drainlayer — covered in depth on /blog/nz-gasfitting-compliance rather than this post.
- PGDB’s supervision / certifying split is the same in this class: a registered (non-certifying) gasfitter works under supervision, only the certifying practitioner signs off the Gas Safety Certificate.
Registered Drainlayer — drainage, on-site disposal, narrowest certifying scope
- Covers drainage work, on-site sewage disposal, and the G13 foul-water-side detail — the narrowest certifying PGDB class, registered separately from the plumber, and the class a BCA most often checks at final inspection.
- A Registered Drainlayer signs off the drainage / G13 record within the certifying scope and supervises registered (non-certifying) drainlayers on the same work; the supervision attestation names both, the BCA expects the retainable record against the source install.
- Whether a given install sits inside the Drainlayer scope alone, or sits across the plumber / drainlayer boundary (a common case on a new-build), follows the PGDB class boundary notices — check with the practising-licence team at PGDB before assuming the Drainlayer scope applies.
What's at stake now
The paperwork risks that move the needle in 2026
Treated at a high level so the framing is durable across legislative rewording — for clause-level specifics, read your PGDB renewal pack and the current Building Code amendment directly. We reference Building.govt.nz only to position BCAs as the install-side regulator on their own — they verify Building Code compliance at consent and inspection, while PGDB governs the individual practitioner (plumber, gasfitter, or drainlayer); both can audit the same install from different angles.
PGDB complaints and disciplinary exposure — across all three registered classes
PGDB complaints follow paperwork failures that look sloppy only after the fact. The risk isn’t the install — it’s the records proving the install was checked, signed, and supervised consistent with the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006 and the registered class you’re held under. Mis-attributed supervision on a plumber / gasfitter / drainlayer boundary job is the failure the complaints process reaches for first.
BCA inspection rejection + CCC refusal when G12 / G13 records are missing
A Building Consents Authority can refuse a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) at final inspection when the G12 water-supply or G13 foul-water test record behind the install is missing or unrecoverable. The install may be correct; the record behind it isn’t, and the BCA can’t green-stamp a CCC without the record that proves the Building Code clause was met. Re-inspection fees and weeks of delay are the visible cost.
Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 exposure when the tradie isn’t PGDB-registered
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, work supplied to a consumer carries an “acceptable quality” guarantee. If the tradie isn’t PGDB-registered, the work may not pass the reasonable-person test on quality, the homeowner / consumer loses the ability to rely on PGDB complaints as a backstop (PGDB has no jurisdiction over unregistered practitioners), and the consumer can claim against the homeowner — who then has no recourse against the unregistered tradie. The CGA exposure doesn’t depend on whether the install looks fine; it depends on whether the work was carried out by a registered practitioner with retainable records behind it.
G12 / G13 rework, weathertightness, and unconsented plumbing discovered at sale
Unconsented plumbing work discovered at sale or refinance lists as “rework needed” and runs into weathertightness clauses when the rework disturbs cladding or external penetrations (E2/AS1 territory). The remediation cost is paid by whoever owns the property on discovery day; retainable G12 / G13 records and a supervision attestation cut the discovery-day cost down to a paperwork lookup rather than a rework negotiation.
From PGDB to adjacent trade boards
Same record-keeping pattern, two adjacent trade cohorts
The record-keeping pattern KoruAI is built around adapts across the NZ trades — works for a PGDB-licensed plumber the same way it works for a PGDB-licensed gasfitter (they sit inside the same Board) and for an EWRB-licensed electrician who signs off the G9 / water-heating-side electrical side. We've published the gasfitter and electrician perspectives alongside this post; the same workflow fits a plumber-led (or drainlayer-led) operation once you swap in your CoC, G12 / G13 test logs, and supervision templates.
The workflow
Capture once, generate the CoC + G12 / G13 test log + supervision note in one pass
The same workflow that drafts a job summary becomes the workflow that drafts a compliance record. The certifying practitioner writes one note — KoruAI drafts against the right Building Code clause (G12 water supplies, G13 foul water, E2/AS1 moisture), the CoC, and your PGDB-registered class; you approve, the record is filed with provenance and retention covered. No re-keying, no reconstructing the bundle the night before a BCA inspection or a PGDB investigation.
Capture the job note in one place
A plumber / gasfitter / drainlayer writes the brief note after the install — same place, every job. Photos of the work, the G12 / G13 test values, any E2/AS1 detail around the penetration, and a paragraph on what was done. Captured once, on the device already in the van.
KoruAI drafts the CoC, the G12 / G13 test log, and the supervision attestation
KoruAI reads the note and drafts the matching compliance record: the Certificate of Compliance, the G12 water-supply / G13 foul-water test log, and the supervision attestation against your PGDB-registered class. Drafted against your templates, mapped to the Building Code clause the install sits under and the PGDB supervising / certifying split.
The certifying practitioner approves the draft
The draft lands in your dashboard with the source job note and the test values attached. The certifying practitioner reads, edits if anything’s off, and approves. One approval per record, not one approval per keystroke — and the approver is the practitioner PGDB or the BCA asks about when the CoC is later contested.
Filed with the test record and source note attached
Every approved CoC, G12 / G13 test log, and supervision attestation is stored with its draft history, the source job note, and the revision timestamps. When PGDB or the BCA asks for the bundle behind install #5612, you produce it in seconds — G12 records filed against G12, G13 records filed against G13, supervision attestations filed against the registered class, the same record an inspector will read.
Why KoruAI
Built for the PGDB + Building Code frame, not adapted from a generic form
NZ-based
A team that has worked with NZ trade businesses understands the PGDB frame, the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006, and the audit posture Building Consents Authorities bring on residential and commercial plumbing work. Built in Christchurch, supported in business hours NZST.
Built for the PGDB + Building Code frame
Maps directly to the working obligations — Certificate of Compliance, G12 / G13 test logs, supervision attestation against your PGDB-registered class, E2/AS1 detail, BCA inspection paperwork, retention. Drafted against your templates, not adapted from a generic trade form.
Reach a real person
You can email the team behind the build at hello@koruaitrades.com. Replies come from a real person, usually the same day. No support-ticket queue, no chatbot intermediary.
Common questions
FAQ for PGDB-licensed plumbers, gasfitters, and drainlayers
Related guides
Continue across the three NZ trades
EWRB frame
NZ Registered Electricians Compliance Guide
EWRB-licensed electricians: how ESC, CoC, and ESR 2010 records hold up under a WorkSafe NZ inquiry — and where the EWRB registration class shapes the certifying signature (the G9 / water-heating-side cross-over with PGDB).
Read guidePGDB frame
NZ PGDB Gasfitting Compliance Guide
PGDB-licensed gasfitters: the GC + gas tightness log + supervision attribution behind install #3471 — and how the Gas Act 2008 frame pairs with PGDB on the practitioner side (the G11 side from the plumber perspective).
Read guidePublic register
PGDB Licence Number Lookup
Cross-check a PGDB plumber / gasfitter / drainlayer licence against the public register before you engage — the same lookup your client or the BCA will run downstream.
Read guideNext step
See how KoruAI stacks up for your plumbing, gasfitting, or drainlaying business
The diagnostic, the 30-day sprint, and the ongoing managed plan all ship the same record-keeping workflow — applied to your PGDB-registered class (plumber, gasfitter, or drainlayer), your Building Code G12 / G13 templates, your CoC / G12 / G13 / supervision shape. Compare KoruAI against the alternatives on the compare page, verify a PGDB licence number against the public register, browse the pricing page when you're ready to scope rollout, or grab the AI-readiness checklist first.