If you have ever stared at a prequalification form and wondered what they are actually asking for, this one is for you.
Contractor prequalification is a process used to check whether a business has the right health and safety systems in place before it is approved to work on a project or site. It is not a one-off audit. It is an ongoing assessment that clients, councils, and principal contractors use to make sure the people they are bringing on site can actually manage the risks involved.
In New Zealand, prequalification has become a standard requirement across construction, trades, civil infrastructure, maintenance, and many other industries. If you want to win work with larger organisations, councils, or government agencies, you will almost certainly need to be prequalified through one of the recognised schemes.
There are several prequalification systems used across the country. The most common ones you will come across are:
Totika is a prequalification standard used widely across infrastructure and utilities projects. It provides a standardised framework so contractors can complete one prequalification process and share it across multiple clients. This reduces duplication and means you are not filling out a different form for every single job. Totika categorises businesses by risk level based on the type of work being done.
SiteWise evaluates your health and safety documentation and assigns a score. Clients use that score to assess how strong your systems are before awarding work. A higher SiteWise score generally opens the door to more projects, particularly in construction and trades. It is one of the more widely used assessments across the private sector.
SHE Prequal is used by a number of councils and local government bodies. It measures your H&S systems against best practice standards, including alignment with ISO 45001. It is common in regions where councils have adopted a shared contractor prequalification scheme.
IMPAC provides contractor prequalification assessments used across a range of sectors including construction, education, and government. It is one of the industry providers recognised by the Ministry of Education for property contractors.
Each scheme has its own process and criteria, but they are all looking for the same core thing: evidence that your business understands its risks and is actually managing them in practice.
This is where a lot of businesses get stuck. The forms can feel overwhelming, and it is easy to assume you need a 200-page manual to get through. You do not. What assessors want to see is that your systems are real, current, and being used. Here is what that typically includes:
The key word across all of this is evidence. Assessors are not looking for perfect documents. They are looking for proof that your systems are actually being used. A beautiful policy that has never been opened is worth less than a simple one that your team knows inside out.
For a lot of small to medium businesses, the person filling out the prequalification form is also the person running jobs, managing staff, and doing the books. There is no dedicated H&S team. No one whose full-time job is keeping records tidy and documents up to date.
The result is that prequalification becomes a last-minute scramble. Businesses know they need to get through it to win work, but the paperwork piles up and things expire without anyone noticing. Insurance lapses. Training certificates go out of date. Incident records are incomplete or missing altogether.
The frustrating part is that most of these businesses are doing the work safely. They just do not have the systems to prove it on paper.
The single biggest thing you can do is get your records organised before you need them. Do not wait until a prequalification form lands on your desk. If your documents are already in order, the assessment becomes a straightforward exercise instead of a stressful one.
Here are a few practical steps:
If you are still managing prequalification with spreadsheets, email chains, and a folder somewhere on someone's desktop, it is going to keep being painful. A platform that tracks your contractors, stores documents, sends renewal alerts, and keeps your registers up to date will save you hours every time a prequalification comes around.
That is exactly what OSHE was built to do. Contractor management is one of the platform's core features. Pre-qualification applications go out automatically, come back into the system, and get assigned to the right person for review. Insurances and certifications are tracked, and the right people get notified before anything lapses.
Need help with a prequalification application? HARM provides hands-on support for Totika, SiteWise, SHE, and other prequalification schemes. We know what assessors are looking for and can help you put your best foot forward. Learn more about HARM consulting, or book a 1:1 with Vanessa.
Prequalification is not going away. If anything, it is becoming more standardised and more expected across New Zealand industries. The businesses that treat it as part of their everyday H&S management rather than a one-off hurdle are the ones that find it easiest.
Get your systems in order, keep your records current, and when the next application comes through, you will be ready.