A licensed contractor is an individual who is known by Council to possess the required knowledge, skill and safety awareness to connect to and work on Council's live water supply, wastewater or stormwater networks.
They are licensed via an approval and monitoring process. Companies that employ a licensed contractor are known as approved contractors. However, the license is awarded to the individual, not the company.
List of companies who have Council approved contractors (19kb pdf)
License categories
When engaging an approved contractor, please ensure they possess the appropriate category for the work you want them to undertake. The license categories are:
A – Water live: 20mm, 25mm and 50mm connections to mains up to and including 150mm internal diameter
B – Water general: All size connections to all size mains
C – Water Filling Station Use: Permits the use of a water filling station
D – Drainage: Manhole entry and all connections to live sewer and stormwater systems
Why do I need an approved contractor?
Work on the Tauranga City Council water supply, wastewater and stormwater reticulation network requires council consent, and consent holders are required to engage the service of an approved contractor to carry out consented work. This is to ensure only skilled and experienced contractors are working on infrastructure which provides vital services for Tauranga residents.
What's the difference between an approved contractor and a licensed contractor?
An approved contractor is the company which is contracted to complete the works, and a licensed contractor is an individual who is employed by the company. This can also be referred to as Approved Contractors (AC's) and Licenced Reticulation Employees (LRE's).