News

Fri 17th Jul

For nearly 20 years, SARNZ has administered scaffolding Certificates of Competence (CoCs) on behalf of WorkSafe. WorkSafe now wants its regulatory functions to be clearly separated from industry advocacy and membership interests.

A New Chapter for Scaffolder Certificates of Competence

New Zealand’s scaffolding sector is entering an important new phase. Over the coming months, WorkSafe will begin the transition to bring the scaffolding Certificates of Competence (CoC) function back in house. This marks a significant operational change, but it does not change the central purpose of the regime: making sure people carrying out scaffolding work have the right competence for the work they do, and that safety remains at the centre of the system. 

For many years, SARNZ has administered scaffolding CoCs on WorkSafe’s behalf. That arrangement has helped support the sector through a long period of industry development and change. SARNZ as an industry body represents members, supports training, and promotes safer practice across the profession. As an organisation led by and accountable to industry, SARNZ’s role and perspectives are, at times, distinct from the regulatory responsibilities held by WorkSafe. Clarifying these respective roles will help ensure that both organisations can operate transparently and effectively within their mandates, while continuing to support improved safety outcomes across the sector.

So why is the change happening now? The main reason is that regulatory functions are strongest when they are clearly separate from industry advocacy and commercial or membership interests. As the scaffolding environment becomes more complex, and as WorkSafe continues to strengthen its regulatory systems, bringing the CoC function in house will provide greater independence, consistency and long-term sustainability. It will also help ensure that decisions about certification, complaints and compliance can be managed within a single regulatory decision-making framework. 

This change sits alongside a broader shift in the scaffolding landscape. SARNZ will continue to play an important role in this process, representing industry perspectives. Bringing the CoC function into WorkSafe supports a more robust and practical regime that is better aligned with today’s evolving operating environment, while ensuring clear and complementary roles between the regulator and the industry body.

It also sits alongside WorkSafe’s internal efforts to improve how it delivers its permitting activities such as licensing, certification and registration.

For scaffolders, employers and others in the sector, the most important message is this: the regime is continuing. Certificates of Competence will still be required where the regulations say they are required. The expectation that people doing this work are competent, properly certified and working safely is not changing. What will change is who administers the process, how information is managed, and how the supporting systems such as cards, registers and complaints pathways are delivered. 

WorkSafe plans to take over managing new CoCs and related complaints by the end of this year. The intention is to make the transition as orderly and clear as possible. 

Good communication will be essential. Many people in the sector have dealt with SARNZ on CoC matters for years, so it is natural there will be questions. What happens to existing cards? Where will the register sit? Will processes change? Who should people contact during the handover? These are all reasonable questions, and SARNZ and WorkSafe will continue to work closely over the coming months to ensure there are answers to these questions.

Throughout this process, there is also an opportunity to keep sight of what the sector shares in common. Both WorkSafe and SARNZ want a scaffolding system that supports safe and healthy work. Both want workers and businesses to understand the rules, have confidence in the certification system, and know where to go for help. And both have an interest in making sure any transition is handled in a way that is practical, respectful and focused on the long-term public interest. 

This is, ultimately, a change in administration, but it is also a chance to strengthen the foundations of the regime for the future. If it is managed well, the result should be a clearer separation of roles, a stronger regulatory model, and continued confidence in the competence of New Zealand’s scaffolding workforce. 

Authored by WorkSafe in partnership with SARNZ