How Site Safe's contractor prequalification works — and how to reach Green or Gold
SiteWise is an online contractor prequalification system run by Site Safe New Zealand. It grades your health and safety systems as a percentage and publishes a traffic-light result in the SiteWise database. You need 75% or more for Green and 90% or more for Gold. The assessment is repeated each year, and most clients want at least Green before they award you work.
SiteWise is an online prequalification system, powered by Site Safe, that grades a contractor's health and safety capability.
Site Safe New Zealand is a not-for-profit focused on building a culture of safety in the construction and related industries. You complete an evidence-based assessment, qualified health and safety practitioners review it, and your result is published as a percentage score in the SiteWise contractor database. Main contractors and principals who use SiteWise can then see your grade at a glance through a simple traffic-light system, which makes contractor selection and tendering quicker for everyone involved.
You can also store insurance documents against your profile, and SiteWise will alert you when they are about to expire — so clients can see your cover is current.
Principals, main contractors, councils and infrastructure clients often require a SiteWise grade before they let you onto a site or contract.
If you are a subcontractor or supplier bidding for work — particularly in construction, civil and trades — you will frequently be told you need to be SiteWise Green (or sometimes Gold) to be considered. Even where your workmanship is excellent, a passing grade is often a tender prerequisite, because it gives the client independent proof that your safety systems are real.
SiteWise uses a four-level traffic-light system based on your assessment score.
| Grade | Score | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 90% or above | Exceptional, well-evidenced health and safety systems. |
| Green | 75–89% | Quality health and safety systems in place — the level most clients require. |
| Amber | 50–74% | Systems need work, or lack the evidence to prove they are operating. |
| Red | 0–49% | Systems not in place, or not enough evidence to show they are. |
Gold was introduced to recognise contractors scoring above 90%; Green now sits at 75–89%. Source: Site Safe New Zealand. Clients set their own minimum acceptance level.
You register, complete an online assessment, and upload evidence; a qualified assessor reviews it and publishes your score.
The questionnaire covers the core parts of a working health and safety system, and you attach evidence to support each answer. Because it is an evidence-based assessment, the grade reflects what you can actually prove — not just what your documents say. SiteWise reviews its questionnaire from time to time, so it is worth checking the current version before you start. If you have been asked to join, you sign up on the SiteWise register and complete your first assessment.
Registration starts from around $250+GST per year, and your grade is based on an annual assessment.
Pricing is set by SiteWise and can vary, so confirm the current fee when you register. Your result is valid until your next annual assessment, which means you need to keep your evidence current year-round rather than rebuilding it just before each review.
Run a genuine health and safety system and keep current, dated evidence — assessors grade what you can prove.
The most common reason for a low score is missing or out-of-date evidence, not a missing policy. To reach Green or Gold, make sure you can show recent, relevant proof across the areas SiteWise looks at:
Assessors expect that evidence to be recent, because they are checking the system is genuinely operating — which is far easier when you use one system day to day.
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.
You need a SiteWise score of 75% or above for a Green grade. A score of 90% or above earns Gold, 50–74% is Amber, and under 50% is Red. Most New Zealand clients require at least Green before awarding work.
SiteWise Gold is the top grade, reserved for contractors who score 90% or above in their annual assessment. It signals exceptional, well-evidenced health and safety systems, and comes with a certificate and a dated badge you can use on tenders and promotional material.
Registration starts from around $250+GST per year, though pricing is set by SiteWise and can change, so confirm the current fee when you sign up.
SiteWise is assessed annually, so your grade is valid until your next yearly assessment. Keeping your evidence current throughout the year makes each reassessment far easier.
No. SiteWise is a prequalification scheme run by Site Safe, while Totika is the national standard developed by CHASNZ that lets one assessment be recognised across many clients. SiteWise sits within the wider New Zealand prequalification system alongside PreQual and the Totika standard.
