What contractor health & safety prequalification means — and how to pass it
If a client has asked you to “get prequalified”, they want independent proof that your health and safety system is real and working before they award you work. In New Zealand that usually means SiteWise, PreQual, or a Totika-aligned assessment. The fastest way to pass — and keep passing — is to run a genuine health and safety system with current, dated evidence.
Contractor prequalification is an independent check of your health and safety systems that clients use to decide whether you are safe to engage before they award you work.
Instead of every client running their own safety vetting, they rely on a recognised prequalification scheme. You complete an evidence-based assessment, qualified assessors review it, and the result is published so principals and main contractors can see it. For many tenders — especially in construction, infrastructure and for councils — a passing prequalification grade is a condition of even being considered.
Principal organisations, main contractors, councils and infrastructure clients ask for it before they let you onto their sites or contracts.
If you are a subcontractor or supplier bidding for work, you will often be told which scheme the client accepts. Increasingly, clients accept the Totika national standard, which is designed so you do not have to repeat the same assessment for every buyer.
SiteWise and PreQual are assessment schemes that grade your safety systems; Totika is the national standard that lets one assessment be recognised across many clients.
| Scheme | Run by | What you get | Typical validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Totika | CHASNZ (Construction Health & Safety NZ), an industry body | A national “meets the standard” prequalification, delivered through approved member schemes and cross-recognised by many clients. Also recognises certifications such as AS/NZS ISO 45001. | Around 1 year (up to 2 years for sole traders / smaller categories) |
| SiteWise | Site Safe New Zealand (not-for-profit) | A percentage score and traffic-light grade (Red / Amber / Green / Gold) published in the SiteWise contractor database. | Annual |
| PreQual | IMPAC | Its own PreQual assessment and a Totika-aligned assessment, completed online and reviewed by qualified assessors. | Around 1–2 years (varies by category) |
Scheme rules and thresholds can change, and clients set their own acceptance levels. Always check the scheme's official guidance for current detail.
You need 75% or more for SiteWise Green, and 90% or more for SiteWise Gold. Below 75% you are graded Amber or Red.
| Grade | Score | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Over 90% | Exceptional, well-evidenced health and safety systems. |
| Green | 75% or above | Quality health and safety systems in place. |
| Amber | 50–74% | Systems need work, or lack the evidence to prove they are working. |
| Red | Under 50% | Systems not in place, or not enough evidence to show they are. |
Source: Site Safe New Zealand. Most clients require at least Green. SiteWise reviews its questionnaire periodically — see the 2026 SiteWise assessment changes.
Run a real, active health and safety system and keep dated evidence of it — assessors grade what you can prove, not just what you have written down.
The most common reason for a low score is missing evidence, not a missing policy. Whichever scheme you use, assessors generally look for current, relevant proof across the same core areas:
Crucially, assessors expect that evidence to be recent — ideally from the last three to six months — because they are checking the system is genuinely operating. That is far easier when you use a single system day to day, rather than rebuilding paperwork the week before each assessment.
Get a system built for New Zealand H&S, with the evidence assessors look for. Book a demo and we'll show you how it works — free 30-day trial included.
SiteWise (run by Site Safe) and PreQual (run by IMPAC) are prequalification schemes that assess and grade your health and safety systems. Totika, developed by CHASNZ, is the national standard that lets a single assessment be cross-recognised by many clients, so you do not have to prequalify separately for each one. SiteWise and PreQual both offer Totika-aligned assessments.
You need a SiteWise score of 75% or above to achieve a Green grade. A score over 90% earns Gold, 50–74% is Amber, and under 50% is Red. Most New Zealand clients require at least SiteWise Green before awarding work.
Most prequalifications are valid for about one to two years, then you reassess. SiteWise is typically renewed annually, while Totika reports are commonly valid for 12 months (and up to 24 months for sole traders or smaller categories). Validity varies by scheme and contractor category.
No. You generally only need the scheme your client accepts. Because Totika cross-recognises approved member schemes, a Totika-aligned assessment is increasingly accepted by multiple clients, which can save you completing several separate prequalifications.
The most common reason for a low prequalification score is missing or out-of-date evidence rather than a missing policy. Assessors grade what you can prove the system is actually doing, so gaps in recent records — site inspections, training, incident reports, corrective actions — pull the score down even when your written documents look fine.
