Where the facts come from
- The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) and its public register, for who may do which work.
- New Zealand legislation, read on the official legislation site: the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006, the Building Act 2004 and the Privacy Act 2020 among others.
- WorkSafe New Zealand, for gas certificates.
- Consumer Protection and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, for your rights as a customer and over your details.
- Councils and water providers, for who owns which pipe in each place.
- Manufacturers' own New Zealand pages, for what a brand makes and nothing more.
What we leave out
Prices. No prices for any job, product or call-out. A price depends on the job and the tradie, and we set neither. The only dollar figures on the site are rules, such as a maximum fine in the law.
Rules we couldn't confirm. Some official pages couldn't be read when we checked. Where that leaves a gap, the page tells you who to ask rather than guessing. Who owns which pipe, for example, is only stated where that water provider's own page could be read.
Stories we can't prove. No made-up customers, jobs, reviews or tradies. A job, photo or review goes on recent jobs or reviews only with the homeowner's written permission.
Rules that change
Plumbing rules and water providers in New Zealand do move. Tiaki Wai started operating on 1 July 2026, taking over services that Wellington Water used to manage. PGDB renamed two licence classes on 1 April 2025. Self-certification for plumbing and drainlaying came into force on 30 June 2026.
When a change has a start date, the page gives the full date, so you can tell whether it applies yet. A change that is only planned is called planned, with the date it is due.
Who writes and checks
Every page on PlumbMatch NZ is written and edited by the PlumbMatch team. No tradie, supplier or cylinder brand writes for us or pays for a mention.
We aren't a plumbing business, so a page rests on its sources rather than on our own view of the trade. Before a page is published, each rule, date and number in it is checked against the source listed at its foot, and it goes live only once that check is done.
Independence
No tradie is named, ranked or recommended in our guides.
PlumbMatch isn't affiliated with the hot water cylinder brands it writes about. How a job reaches a tradie is set out in how it works.
Corrections
If a rule changes or a source is updated, we correct the page and move its updated date. Every page cites the law or official page behind it, so you can check it yourself.