Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in New Zealand

This guide is the checklist behind a New Zealand government bid: each login, document and certificate, grouped by the point in a procurement when it is asked for, with who can lawfully do it. For how New Zealand government procurement works overall (the Government Procurement Rules, thresholds, Rule 8, evaluation, payment and complaints), see How to bid for government tenders in New Zealand.

Before you bid

Your logins

1. A RealMe login for each person. RealMe is the government’s single sign-on, a username and password with 2-step codes, used by GETS, Procure Connect, the Companies Office and myIR. It isn’t an electronic signature, and it proves nobody’s identity unless the optional verified identity is added.

Who does it: every individual who will work on GETS, whether your staff or an adviser, creates their own. A login belongs to one person and is never shared.
From abroad: people overseas can create a RealMe login. The mobile number field takes only New Zealand or Australian numbers and is optional, so use an authenticator app for the codes. RealMe verified identity needs New Zealand passport, citizenship, birth or immigration records, and GETS doesn’t need it.

2. A GETS supplier user. Registration on the Government Electronic Tenders Service lets a person download full tender documents, ask questions and submit responses for central-government tenders.

Who does it: each person registers with their RealMe login and links to the organisation they represent, by searching the NZBN or company name, or entering the details by hand. Every user confirms they have full power and authority to act for the organisation (GETS terms, clause 3.1(ii)). So either your own staff register, or you give a bid writer written authority and they register their own user for your organisation. Nobody uses your login.
From abroad: allowed; no NZBN is needed.

3. Procure Connect (all-of-government panels only). The platform for mini-tenders under all-of-government panel contracts, such as external legal services and insurance brokering, which agencies must use whatever the value. Only appointed panel suppliers are invited. You log in with RealMe and keep a business profile and panel-specific profiles. Agencies manage access, and an adviser can act only under their own RealMe login if added as a user for your business; you approve who has access.

Your business identity

4. New Zealand Business Number (NZBN). The 13-digit business identifier. Registered New Zealand companies get one automatically, free and permanent, and it can be looked up on the NZBN Register; sole traders, partnerships and trusts in business in New Zealand can apply. It is commonly asked for on supplier forms, but overseas firms don’t need one to bid.

Health and safety pre-qualification

5. Tōtika. The cross-industry New Zealand health and safety pre-qualification standard that councils and construction clients ask contractors for, graded Performing (≥75%) or Developing.

Cost through Avetta: Category S $198 every 2 years and Category 1 $398 every 2 years, both billed annually; Category 2 $899 each year; Category 3 $1299 each year.
Time: resubmissions are reviewed within 5 working days.
Who does it: the evidence can be assembled with you by a health and safety consultant, and your own user submits in the member-scheme portal. Avetta supports several users per account, so an adviser can be added under their own login. The evidence must be genuine, and you confirm what is submitted.
Category: set by staff numbers, contract size (NZ$2.5m and NZ$20m bands) and risk.

6. SiteWise. Site Safe’s contractor health and safety grading database, used by principals, councils and main contractors; GREEN means a score over 75%. It costs from $250 plus GST a year as an annual subscription. You register when asked to join and confirm the assessment submission.

7. ISO 45001, Q-Safe or SafePlus. An accredited occupational health and safety certification, audited by a certification body. Holders of Q-Safe, ISO 45001 or a SafePlus onsite assessment are exempt from Tōtika’s pre-qualification assessment.

Your people

8. Licensed Building Practitioners. Restricted Building Work must be carried out or supervised by an LBP licensed in the relevant class: Design, Site, Carpentry, Roofing, External Plastering, Brick and Blocklaying, or Foundations. Licences belong to individuals, who apply through the LBP portal; you name your LBPs in the bid. Australian-registered practitioners can apply under TTMRA.

9. Chartered Professional Engineers. Engineering and infrastructure tenders ask for named, registered engineers. Your engineers hold CPEng themselves, or a New Zealand-registered engineer is named. Panel review takes 8 to 10 weeks, and overseas engineers need a Washington Accord qualification or equivalent, with mutual-recognition routes available.

10. Amotai registration (optional). A free supplier-diversity listing that verifies Māori and Pasifika owned businesses and connects them with 170+ buyer members. Eligibility depends on ownership, which you declare truthfully. Foreign companies can’t qualify themselves but can subcontract to Amotai suppliers to strengthen a Rule 8 answer.

With your bid

Documents and questions. A GETS user subscribes to the notice, which is possible only while it is open, and downloads all documents and addenda. A bid writer can do this from their own user registered for your organisation. Questions go through “Raise Question Here” before the question deadline.

Pre-conditions. Rule 14 limits pre-conditions to legal, financial, commercial or operational capacity and technical skills or experience, and failing one ends the bid, so each is matched to evidence before you decide to bid.

What goes into the response.

Document	When it’s asked	Who prepares it	What only you do
Response Form declaration (binding) with the Conflict of Interest declaration	Every tender on the Government Model RFx templates	Prepared for you	Your authorised signatory signs both; in a consortium, each member signs its own Conflict of Interest declaration
No-collusion warranty and offer validity	Model RFx terms	Built into the Response Form	Keep the offer open for the Offer Validity Period in Section 1 of the RFP
Rule 8 economic-benefit answers	Above NZ$100,000 (NZ$9m for new construction), at least 10% of the evaluation weighting	Drafted as concrete, measurable commitments: New Zealand subcontractors, local hires, training	Approve the commitments you will be held to in the contract
Relevant experience and referees	Nearly every RFx	Case studies drafted for you	Ask referees’ permission and warn them they may be called
Supplier Code of Conduct (Rule 2.3)	Every tender by a mandated agency	Your policies and certifications mapped to the code	Commit to the code and make subcontractors aware of it
Beneficial ownership and foreign-state control	When the tender asks	Ownership chart compiled from corporate records	Confirm and sign it
National-security answers (Rule 26)	ICT, data, critical-services and sensitive-site contracts	Answers on ownership, control and supply chain	Confirm the facts and sign
Living Wage pricing	Cleaning, catering and security guard services for Public Service departments	Pricing schedules checked against the rate	Commit to pay the rate and flow it down to subcontractors
The price, in NZ$ excluding GST	Every tender	—	Set it yourself

A few details matter. Failing to disclose beneficial ownership, or reporting it falsely, is an exclusion ground under Rule 28, and in a Rule 26 national-security assessment a foreign state holding more than 25% of securities, board control or voting power is a specific flag. A breach of the Supplier Code of Conduct, which covers ethics, labour and human rights, health, safety and security, and the environment, is also an exclusion ground. Overseas experience counts (Rule 14), and agencies can’t require a previous New Zealand government contract. A New Zealand subsidiary of a foreign group doesn’t count as a New Zealand business for Rule 8. For the Living Wage, MBIE projects a contract rate of $29.90 an hour for September 2026 to August 2027, a projection rather than a fixed rate, and the rate rises each year.

Statutory declarations, where a buyer asks. A sworn written statement under the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957, used for example to confirm facts or certify copies. Your officer signs it in person in front of a JP, a solicitor, a notary public, a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the District or High Court, or an MP; e-signatures and video-call witnessing aren’t allowed. The govt.nz guidance doesn’t cover declarations made overseas, so check with the buyer.

Submit and Commit on GETS. Files are attached under “Tender a Response”, each up to the limit the agency sets (at most 50MB), and the response counts only once “Commit” is clicked; an email confirmation follows. Some tenders direct submission to email, an agency portal or Procure Connect instead. The Commit is made by a GETS user who represents your organisation: your own staff user, or a bid writer registered as your organisation’s user under written authority, after your go-ahead. Keep the confirmation email.

If you’re in line for award

Certificate or proof	Issued by	Cost and time	Valid for	What only you do
Certificate of insurance, where Schedule 1 of the contract requires cover	Your insurer or broker	Within 10 Business Days of the request	The contract term plus 3 years	Buy and maintain the policies
Employment-law compliance and Labour Inspectorate disclosure	You, under the Government Model Contract services terms	Free	The contract term	Confirm compliance; disclose any Labour Inspectorate, ERA or Employment Court findings
NZ Police vetting of staff, for work with children, young or vulnerable people or at schools	NZ Police Vetting Service, through authorised agencies	—	—	Request vets as an authorised agency, or give staff consents to the buyer
National Security Clearance, for CONFIDENTIAL and above	The sponsoring agency decides; NZSIS vets	Routine applications one to two months; complex cases longer	Five years, or until the holder leaves your employment	Nominated employees apply personally and attend vetting interviews
Debrief	The buying agency	Accept the offer within 10 Business Days	—	Decide to take it up

Employment law. Services contracts on the Government Model Contract require compliance with the Employment Relations Act 2000, the Minimum Wage Act 1983, the Wages Protection Act 1983, the Holidays Act 2003 and the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, and reporting of any Labour Inspectorate investigations or findings, for workers delivering in New Zealand.

Insurance. The model contracts make you responsible for covering your own risks. Where Schedule 1 requires it, you hold the specified insurance with a reputable insurer, and a foreign insurer’s policy should be confirmed to respond to New Zealand claims.

Security clearances. Only a New Zealand government agency can sponsor a clearance, such as NZDF for its contractors, and each employee completes the questionnaire personally. Candidates normally must be New Zealand citizens or Residence class visa holders with a checkable background: 5 years for CONFIDENTIAL, 10 for SECRET and TOP SECRET, 15 for TOP SECRET SPECIAL.

Before the contract and the first invoice

NZDF Defence Industry Security Programme (DISP). Personnel, Facility and ICT accreditation for companies handling protectively marked NZDF material. It starts only after a signed NZDF contract: you nominate a Facility Security Officer, sign a Security Agreement, have a security manual approved and submit staff clearance forms. A company under foreign ownership, control or influence to an extent contrary to New Zealand’s national interests can’t take part.

Overseas company registration (Companies Act 1993). A company incorporated abroad registers on the Overseas Register within 10 working days of starting to carry on business in New Zealand, typically after winning a contract it performs there.

Cost: $130 plus GST to register; $10 plus GST to reserve the name online.
Valid: until removed, with annual returns.
What goes in: a name matching the home-country name, a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation, the certified constitution (with a certified English translation if needed), director details, a New Zealand principal place of business, a New Zealand person authorised to accept service, and a balance date. Australian companies don’t supply the certificate of incorporation or director details, because ASIC provides them.
Who does it: a lawyer or accountant files from their own Companies Office online account as an “authorised person”, after a director approves the request by email, verifies with director ID details or signs a letter of authorisation. You supply the certified corporate documents.

IRD number for an offshore business. Needed before GST registration and to be paid and taxed correctly as a supplier to New Zealand agencies. Apply online in myIR, which needs a business myIR account, or on paper form IR744 with certified copies of the entity documents. Online applications are answered by email; posted ones take up to 20 working days. The offshore application is for entities incorporated outside New Zealand, or incorporated there and at least 25% offshore owned or controlled. A tax agent can manage the account once linked under your signed authority to act; you provide the certified documents and director ID asked for.

GST registration. Compulsory for a taxable activity with turnover of at least $60,000 in the last or next 12 months, and voluntary below it. It is free and processed within 10 working days, and your GST number is your IRD number. A linked tax agent can register you in myIR under your authority to act. Non-resident businesses have separate GST rules, such as the non-resident GST business claimant route, so take tax advice on whether supplying a New Zealand agency makes you a standard registrant.

Certified English translations. The Overseas Register needs a certified English translation of a foreign constitution, and tenders are answered in English. The Department of Internal Affairs’ Translation Service or a professional translator prepares and certifies it from clean copies you provide; govt.nz lists DIA translation at $95 each.

Notarisation and apostilles (New Zealand documents used abroad). When a New Zealand document, such as a company certificate or power of attorney, is needed in another country, for example by a consortium partner overseas, a New Zealand notary public notarises it and the Department of Internal Affairs’ Authentication Unit adds the apostille or authentication: $37 per apostille certificate, $74 for Category A authentication, $223 for Category B, and $120 extra for the urgent service. It takes 15 working days, or 5 urgent. You sign before the notary. A foreign company’s own documents for use in New Zealand are certified or apostilled in its home country instead.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
RealMe login	Each person, for themselves	Your staff create their own; never share one
GETS user	Your staff, or a bid writer registering their own user for your organisation	Give the written authority
Procure Connect	An adviser under their own login, if added as a user	Approve who has access
NZBN	Looked up for you	—
Tōtika, SiteWise and ISO 45001	A health and safety consultant assembles evidence; assessors and certification bodies grade or certify	Supply genuine evidence; confirm submissions; undergo the audit
LBP and CPEng personnel	The practitioners themselves	Employ or engage licensed practitioners
Amotai	Application supported	Declare ownership truthfully
Documents, addenda and questions	A bid writer, as your organisation’s GETS user	—
Response Form, Rule 8 answers, experience, Code of Conduct material	Drafted for you	Sign the declarations; approve the commitments; get referees’ permission
Beneficial ownership and national-security answers	Compiled for you	Confirm and sign
Statutory declaration	Witnessed by a JP, solicitor, notary, court registrar or MP	Your officer signs in person
Submit and Commit	A bid writer as your organisation’s GETS user, after your go-ahead, or your own staff	Authorise the final submission
Insurance	Your broker	Buy and maintain the policies
Employment-law compliance	—	Confirm compliance; disclose findings
Police vetting, clearances and DISP	A sponsoring agency; NZSIS; NZDF	Request vets or give consents; employees apply personally; appoint the FSO and sign the Security Agreement
Overseas company registration	A lawyer or accountant as authorised person	A director approves the authority request; supply certified documents
IRD number and GST	A tax agent linked under your authority to act	Sign the authority to act
Translation	DIA Translation Service or a professional translator	Provide clean copies
Notarisation and apostille	A New Zealand notary public; DIA Authentication Unit	Sign before the notary

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Tax agent (often a chartered accountant)	Inland Revenue (intermediary or tax agent status); the accountant’s membership body, if any	Apply for or manage your IRD number and GST registration once linked as your tax agent; advise whether GST registration is compulsory or voluntary; prepare the financial-capacity evidence a tender asks for; file GST returns for a foreign company that registers after award
Lawyer (barrister and/or solicitor with a practising certificate)	New Zealand Law Society (Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006; Conduct and Client Care Rules)	Witness statutory declarations as a solicitor; review tender terms, Government Model Contract terms, consortium, joint-venture and subcontract agreements; advise on overseas-company registration and the person authorised to accept service; act as your New Zealand address for service if appointed
Notary public	New Zealand Society of Notaries (directory)	Notarise New Zealand documents for use overseas before a DIA apostille; witness statutory declarations; certify copies of corporate documents for overseas authorities
Justice of the Peace	Ministry of Justice; directory at justiceofthepeace.org.nz	Witness statutory declarations in person
Translator	Department of Internal Affairs Translation Service (government provider); private translators aren’t regulated by statute	Translate a foreign company’s constitution and certificate of incorporation into English for the Overseas Register; translate tender evidence into English
Tōtika assessor or SiteWise assessor	The Tōtika pre-qualification standard; Site Safe New Zealand for SiteWise	Assess and grade your health and safety system; issue the certificate or score that councils and main contractors ask for
Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng)	Engineering New Zealand as Registration Authority under the Chartered Professional Engineers New Zealand Act 2002 (CPEng Rules 2026)	Be the named, registered engineers a tender asks for; sign off engineering design and evidence of technical capacity
Licensed Building Practitioner	LBP scheme (MBIE)	Carry out or supervise Restricted Building Work within their licence class
Bid writer or tender consultant	Unregulated	Read the RFx, track GETS notices and questions, and draft the response form, Rule 8 answers and pricing schedule; register as a GETS user for your organisation with your written authority

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a New Zealand office or company to bid: agencies must count your overseas business activities and can’t require the prime contractor to be based in New Zealand. Who may bid from abroad, and how Rule 8 affects you, is explained in How to bid for government tenders in New Zealand. For the paperwork:

People overseas can create RealMe logins, using an authenticator app for the codes; the verified identity, which needs New Zealand records, isn’t needed for GETS. Enter your company details by hand on GETS; no NZBN is needed. Your overseas experience counts. Rule 8 questions must be answerable by international bidders, and Amotai suppliers can be your subcontractors even though you can’t register yourself. A foreign state owning or controlling more than 25% of your company, or having a legal right of direction, is a key national-security factor. After award, if you carry on business in New Zealand, register on the Overseas Register within 10 working days, with certified English translations of non-English documents; Australian companies supply less. Apply for an IRD number through the offshore application and take tax advice on GST. Get your own corporate documents certified or apostilled at home. Employment-law terms apply to workers delivering in New Zealand, and a foreign insurer’s policy must respond to New Zealand claims. Security clearance candidates are normally New Zealand citizens or residents, and DISP is closed to companies under foreign ownership, control or influence contrary to New Zealand’s national interests.

Pitfalls

Never share or ask for a RealMe login or 2-step code. The GETS terms forbid letting third parties use a registration and soliciting someone else’s login (clause 3.2).
Put the authority in writing before anyone registers as a GETS user for your organisation (clause 3.1(ii)).
Click Commit, then keep the email. An uncommitted response isn’t submitted.
Sign your own declarations. The Response Form and Conflict of Interest declarations are signed by your authorised signatory, never by an adviser.
You warrant there was no collusion. The model RFx terms require a warranty that your bid wasn’t prepared in collusion with a competitor.
Offer no inducements or personal benefits to buyer staff; it is an exclusion ground.
Answer Rule 8 properly. It carries at least 10% above threshold, and a New Zealand subsidiary of a foreign group isn’t a New Zealand business.
Expect little below threshold if you’re not from New Zealand or Australia. Smaller contracts are expected to go to capable New Zealand businesses.
Price in NZ$ excluding GST unless the RFx says otherwise.
Witness statutory declarations in person, and get documents for an apostille notarised by a New Zealand notary, not a JP or solicitor.
Price the Living Wage for cleaning, catering and security guard services to Public Service departments.
Pass obligations down. The Supplier Code of Conduct and payment terms no less favourable go to your subcontractors.

Doing it with askTender

In New Zealand, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on GETS and works under their own login; askTender confirms this with the portal before your first bid. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: giving the written authority, signing the Response Form and Conflict of Interest declarations, approving the Rule 8 commitments, making any statutory declaration, authorising the Commit and signing the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the response, the economic-benefit answers and the disclosures, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a tax agent, a lawyer, a notary or a translator, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Can someone else use GETS for my company?

Yes, under their own login. Each GETS user registers individually with their own RealMe login and confirms they have full power and authority to act for the organisation (clause 3.1(ii) of the GETS terms). With your written authority, a bid writer registers their own user linked to your organisation. Nobody may use your login or ask for it: the terms forbid letting third parties use a registration.

Do I need an NZBN to bid on a New Zealand government tender?

No. GETS can search by NZBN and fill in your company details, but an overseas company simply enters its details manually. Registered New Zealand companies are given their 13-digit NZBN automatically, free, and it is permanent.

What does an overseas company have to register after winning?

If it starts carrying on business in New Zealand, it registers on the Overseas Register within 10 working days, for $130 plus GST (reserving the name online costs $10 plus GST). A lawyer or accountant can file from their own Companies Office account once a director approves them as an authorised person. It will usually also need an IRD number, and should take tax advice on GST.

Who can witness a statutory declaration in New Zealand?

A Justice of the Peace, a solicitor, a notary public, a Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the District or High Court, or an MP, under the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957. Your officer signs in person in front of the witness; e-signatures and video-call witnessing aren’t allowed.

How much does Tōtika pre-qualification cost?

Through Avetta, Category S costs $198 and Category 1 $398 every 2 years (billed annually), Category 2 $899 and Category 3 $1299 each year. Your category depends on staff numbers, contract size (NZ$2.5m and NZ$20m bands) and risk. Holders of Q-Safe, ISO 45001 or a SafePlus onsite assessment are exempt from the assessment.

How much does a New Zealand apostille cost?

The Department of Internal Affairs charges $37 per apostille certificate, $74 for Category A authentication and $223 for Category B, with $120 added for the urgent service. It takes 15 working days, or 5 urgent. The document must first be notarised by a New Zealand notary public, not certified by a JP or solicitor.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.