How to Hire a Painter in NZ: A Guide

How to Hire a Painter in NZ: A Guide

Painting is not a licensed trade in New Zealand. There is no painter's licence, no public register, and no protected title. That is the honest starting point, and plenty of guides stop there and move on to colour charts.

We think the licensing answer misses the point. On any home built before 1 January 2000, your painter is working with or near asbestos. On any home built before 1980, they may be scraping lead-based paint. Those two facts turn an ordinary repaint into regulated work, and neither will appear in the quote unless you ask.

So this guide is less about picking a colour and more about the two questions that decide whether a paint job is safe, legal, and likely to last. Get those right and the rest is straightforward.

How We Researched This Guide

We worked from WorkSafe's guidance for painters, its information sheet on painting asbestos cement, and the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016. The Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora material on lead-based paint supplied the pre-1980 presumption. The consumer law comes from the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and the Fair Trading Act 1986, both set out in full on legislation.govt.nz.

One thing surprised us. Regulation 26 of the Asbestos Regulations puts the duty to identify asbestos before a home refurbishment on the business doing the work, not the homeowner, with a fine of up to $50,000 for a company that ignores it. That reframes the conversation entirely. You are not asking a favour. You are asking whether they intend to meet a legal duty they already have.

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The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

If you read nothing else, read this.

• Painting is not licensed, so there is no register to check. The substitute checks are insurance, references and a written quote.
• Assume a pre-2000 home contains asbestos and a pre-1980 home contains lead paint, unless testing or records prove otherwise.
• Ask what preparation method they will use. Dry sanding, power sanding and abrasive blasting are the wrong answers on an older home.
• More than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos removal needs a licensed removalist, and all friable removal does.
• The cost sits in the preparation, not the paint. A cheap quote with no prep detail is a quote for a job that will fail.
• Get a written quote that fixes the preparation method, the number of coats, the specific product, and the waste disposal.

What Actually Regulates a Paint Job

The absence of a painter's licence does not mean an unregulated job. It means the regulation sits somewhere less obvious, attached to the materials rather than the trade. Two hazardous substances do the work here, and both are presumed rather than tested for.

Asbestos on pre-2000 homes

Buildings put up before 1 January 2000 are likely to contain asbestos-containing materials, particularly those built, altered or refurbished between 1940 and the mid-1980s. Intact material in good condition is not dangerous. The trouble starts when a painter prepares a surface that contains it.

WorkSafe recommends not using power tools around asbestos, and the Asbestos Regulations restrict it. Angle grinders, sanders, saws, drills, brushes and brooms may only be used on asbestos if the regulatory requirements are met. The approved method for asbestos cement in good condition is low-solvent paint, an airless low-pressure sprayer, brush or roller, and wet wiping — never sanding, wire brushing, harsh scraping or water blasting.

Removal is a separate category. All friable asbestos removal must go to a licensed removalist. So must more than 10 m² of non-friable removal during a project. Class A covers both types; Class B covers non-friable only. WorkSafe publishes a register of current licence holders.

Lead paint on pre-1980 homes

Lead-based paint is almost certain on pre-1945 paintwork and likely on pre-1980 paintwork. Guidance says to assume lead unless records or testing prove otherwise. It can sit beneath layers of newer paint, so a fresh-looking wall proves nothing.

An intact film presents no hazard. The hazard arrives when paint deteriorates, or when it is removed by power sanding, abrasive blasting or open flame burning. Wet scraping and wet sanding are the preferred methods for small areas. Chemical stripping can be used. Heat stripping is not recommended. Young children and the fetus are particularly affected by lead poisoning, often without anyone noticing.

This is not only a health matter. Unsafe removal practices have contaminated soil, exterior dust, wall cavities and interior house dust on New Zealand properties — a problem that outlives the paint job by decades.

What a Painter's Quote Should Actually Say

Most disputes about painting come down to scope, not workmanship. Two quotes for the same money are not comparable if one includes substrate repair and the other just rolls paint over the problem.

A quote is a fixed price for defined work. An estimate is an approximation and can legitimately be exceeded. Ask for a quote, in writing, and confirm whether GST is included — a 15 per cent gap between two quotes is often an accounting difference rather than a price difference.

The line items that matter

The scope should identify what is and is not included: preparation, filling, sealing, replacing rotten timber, the number of coats, the specific paint product, protection of surfaces not being painted, run-off containment, and disposal of the waste. It should also state the timeframe, the payment schedule, and what happens if extra work is found.

Variations are the most common way a job costs more than quoted. Rot behind a weatherboard or a soft patch under a window is not a surprise to an experienced painter — it is a surprise to the homeowner who was not told to expect it. Agree a written variation process in advance, requiring sign-off before extra work proceeds.

One more thing worth knowing. If the painter's advice shifts from "we should repaint this" to "this needs to be replaced", the conversation has changed category. Weathertightness design is Restricted Building Work under the Building Act 2004 and needs a Licensed Building Practitioner in the Design Class. Painting itself needs no consent.

Keep a dated record of everything as the job runs: the signed quote, any variation approvals, and photos of the surfaces before prep begins. If a dispute ever reaches the Disputes Tribunal or a formal complaint, that file does more for you than a verbal recollection ever will.

Questions You Might Have

Is my painter supposed to be licensed?

No. Painting is not a licensed occupation in New Zealand, so there is no register to search. That does not leave you with nothing. Ask for evidence of public liability insurance, two or three recent local jobs you can contact, and a written quote with real detail in it. A painter who carries proper cover will usually offer the certificate before you have to ask twice.

Who pays if the painter finds asbestos?

The duty to identify asbestos before a home refurbishment sits on the business carrying out the work under regulation 26 of the Asbestos Regulations. So the question is not whether you should have known. It is what their process is for establishing whether asbestos is present before they start. If they cannot describe that process, treat it as a warning sign rather than a technicality.

What if they dry-sand my old house?

Stop them. Dry sanding, abrasive blasting and open flame burning disperse lead dust widely and are the methods the guidance specifically warns against. Wet scraping and wet sanding are the preferred approach for small areas, and chemical stripping is also acceptable.

Can I complain if the finish fails?

Yes, and the first step matters. Give the painter the chance to fix it before you arrange anything yourself. If you get the fault repaired elsewhere without going back to them first, you lose the right to recover that cost. Put the request in writing.

How long should a repaint last?

That depends far more on preparation than on the paint brand. A coating applied over a failing substrate can lift within a couple of years, while a properly prepared surface with the manufacturer's specified system will go considerably longer. If a painter cannot describe their preparation, expect the shorter outcome.

What Matters Most

The licensing question is a dead end, and it distracts from the two things that genuinely matter. Your painter is not registered, but on an older home they are handling regulated materials, and the rules around those materials are specific, well documented and enforceable.

So ask about the age of the house before you ask about the price. Ask what preparation method they use, whether they know the 10 m² threshold, and where the waste goes. A painter who answers those comfortably is a painter who has done the work properly before.

Then get it in writing, and give them the chance to fix anything that goes wrong before you call anyone else. That sequence protects you far more than a licence ever would.