Find the information you need for carrying out jobs at different alert levels, and learn how you can keep yourself and everyone around you safe.
The following information is current as of 10AM 15 February 2021.
Please note that while we will regularly update the information on this page, the evolving nature of our nation’s response to COVID-19 means you will always find the most up to date information regarding all matters on the Unite Against COVID-19 website.
Below, you'll find a general overview of the allowances and conditions of all Alert Levels.
Level 1, 2 and 3 | Level 4 | |
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Summary | ||
Summary | All types of jobs | Essential jobs only (what is Essential?) |
Description | ||
Description | Tradespeople can provide any repair, maintenance or construction service if the appropriate health, safety and physical distancing measures are met by both tradespeople and homeowners. | Tradespeople can provide an essential service, required to address immediate health or life safety risks, or to prevent serious environmental harm at home or work. Appropriate health, safety and physical distancing measures must be adhered to by both tradespeople and homeowners. |
Job stages | ||
Job stages | All stages of a job can be undertaken and completed. |
All stages of an essential job can be undertaken and completed. Some stages of a non-essential job can be undertaken, but not all stages can be completed. For example:
|
Examples of jobs | ||
Examples of jobs |
The following situations apply for any repair, maintenance or construction service required or desired. For example:
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The following situations only apply if they are required immediately to address health or life safety risks at home. For example:
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Hardware suppliers | ||
Hardware suppliers |
Level 1 and 2: Can open their premises to trade and public customers. Level 3: Open to trade and public customers via remote ordering online or over the phone. Bunnings, Placemakers, Mitre 10 and other retailers may deliver your supplies, or you may collect them (e.g. a drive-through system). |
Open to trade customers who need supplies in order to provide an essential service. Not open to the public. Bunnings, Placemakers, Mitre 10 and other retailers essential to the supply chain for building and construction are open to trade customers for essential purposes only. |
There are multiple resources available to keep yourself, your employees and your household safe, while continuing to do business.
There are no restrictions or requirements for tradespeople and homeowners at Alert Level 1. Governing bodies encourage proper hygiene, physical distancing and keeping track of who you’ve been in contact with, as a rule of thumb to operate safely.
All businesses operating at Level 2 will have their COVID-19 control plan in place. Level 2 still requires physical distancing, contract tracing and proper hygiene measures. In summary:
Before returning to work, contractors and businesses must read and implement the new health and safety standards and protocols released by CHASNZ (Construction Health and Safety NZ), in conjunction with the joint government and industry Construction Sector Accord.
To develop your control COVID-19 control plan, read the CHASNZ Residential Construction Protocols.
These protocols should be in place in order to work safely at Alert Levels 2 and above. While there is no requirement to register your plan, you must have one in place and brief any employees on the new standards.
Some of the new protocols require tradespeople to keep a one metre distance between workers, record who is working together, limit interaction between groups of workers and maintain high hygiene standards like hand washing with soap and water, sneeze and cough etiquette, and disinfecting surfaces.
Tradespeople will be adhering to stringent new health and safety standards, and as part of this, it requires homeowners to keep a two metre separation from tradespeople in the house (and vice versa).
Record your daily interactions as a form of contact tracing. You can use Builderscrack’s messaging function to essentially record who was on site with you including both employees and people in the household.
You will need to use your discretion on a case-by-case basis. Any person involved in organising or carrying out works on site will need to justify their reasoning.
If a business, or homeowner, chooses to ignore official advice and continues to operate as usual, there will be actions taken to stop this by the New Zealand Government, and enforcement measures may be used.
In which case, you might like to keep a paper trail of communication to demonstrate how your discretion was exercised, and your process for deeming the works were necessary immediately for the household health and safety.
Please remember, the purpose of Alert Level 4 is to stop the virus in its tracks and reduce contact between people. We need as many businesses as possible to strictly adhere to the Government’s advice.
For further guidance, the Building Performance website can help you decide whether a service is essential.
Right now, we’re in unprecedented times, and we’re of the mentality that ‘we will get through this together’. Our team is working on ways to help our tradespeople get back on their feet when the time allows, and how we can best support our homeowners.
If you have any questions that have not been answered by the information and resources on this page, or have any concerns or suggestions, please get in contact with us.