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New inspection organisations land contracts

NZTA says it has raised the standards and integrity of the industry after five out of seven companies make the cut.
Posted on 01 March, 2021
New inspection organisations land contracts

Five companies have been appointed by Waka Kotahi to complete entry certification for used light vehicles in New Zealand.

The AA, VTNZ, Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ), Drivesure and Canterbury Vehicle Compliance (CVC) have all secured contracts effective from March 1.

The companies have been approved by the NZTA to certify that used light vehicles entering the fleet meet a range of conditions to make sure they are safe and legal for use on our roads.

Once a vehicle meets the requirements for entry, the certifier issues a registration application form and a Warrant of Fitness (WOF) or Certificate of Fitness (COF).

The agency has announced the successful applicants following a “comprehensive application and evaluation process”, which started in late 2019.

The previous appointments were due to expire in mid-2020 but were extended because of the NZTA seeking extra information from new applicants and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sue Hardiman, senior manager of vehicle and driver licensing, says the process has been positive and seven companies had initially sought light entry certification appointment.

“We’ve raised the bar around the application process for both entry certification and border inspection,” she explains.

“We extended existing appointments through to February 28, 2021, to make sure the appointment process served our regulatory objectives of lifting the standards, professionalism and integrity of the industry.

“We also worked with applicants to ensure the successful applicants are part of a robust model. 

“This collaborative approach allowed us to get a full view of the applicants’ operations and give us confidence in the quality of the applicants and their ability to carry out their delegated duties on behalf of Waka Kotahi.”

The AA, VTNZ, VINZ and Drivesure have been appointed for five years, while CVC, which is based in Ashburton, has been appointed for three years.

A new approach to appointments was taken following a review of the conflicts of interest policy for vehicle entry certification in 2019, in which the NZTA committed to a more robust process for audits and reviews of inspection organisations. 

The agency says this is now occurring through a border inspection and entry certification compliance team that was created in 2020.

It adds “good progress” is being made on new appointments for the border inspection sector and it expects to have those in place by July.

To read more about the appointment process, check out the story in the February edition of Autofile.