New contractor law is now in force. Most agreements written before February 2026 may not comply - leaving your business exposed to back pay, KiwiSaver, and personal grievance claims.
Misclassified contractors can cost NZ businesses tens of thousands of dollars. The Gateway Test is all-or-nothing - if even one of the five criteria isn't met, your contractor could be legally classified as an employee. Upload your agreement and know exactly where you stand before it becomes a problem.
Protection, not guesswork. In under 60 seconds.
No legal jargon - plain language you can act on immediately.
Misclassified contractors can cost NZ businesses tens of thousands of dollars in back pay, KiwiSaver, and personal grievances. Know your position before a problem starts.
Upload your contractor agreement and find out exactly where you stand — before it becomes a problem.
The Gateway Test is now law. One non-compliant clause can expose you to back pay, KiwiSaver, and personal grievance claims.
Upload a contractor agreement (PDF or DOCX) to receive a structured compliance report against the Specified Contractor Gateway Test under section 6(7) of the Employment Relations Act 2000, as amended.
New Zealand's Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 introduced the Specified Contractor Gateway Test - a five-criteria checklist under section 6(7) of the Employment Relations Act 2000. If all five criteria are satisfied, a worker is conclusively classified as an independent contractor. If even one criterion is not met, the traditional "real nature of the relationship" test applies - and the worker may be entitled to challenge their status before the Employment Relations Authority.
This tool analyses your existing contractor agreements against each of the five criteria and tells you exactly where your contracts are strong, where they have gaps, and what specific wording changes are needed to achieve compliance.
Think of it as a quick health check for your contracts - helping you understand how much work they need before you engage an employment lawyer to finalise any changes.
To qualify as a specified contractor under New Zealand law, all five of the following criteria must be present in the contractor arrangement:
There is a written agreement that expressly identifies the person as an independent contractor. A verbal arrangement or a contract that is silent on classification will not satisfy this criterion.
The contractor is not restricted from performing work for other parties - including competitors - except during the time they are actively performing work for the principal. Broad restraint of trade or exclusivity clauses may cause this criterion to fail.
Either the principal does not prescribe specific workdays, minimum hours, or minimum engagement periods - or the contractor has the right to subcontract the work to another person (subject to reasonable vetting). This criterion reflects genuine independence in how and when the work is performed.
The principal cannot terminate the arrangement solely because the contractor declines work that is additional to what was originally agreed. The contractor must be free to say no to extra work without penalty.
The contractor had a genuine and reasonable opportunity to seek independent legal advice before entering into the arrangement. The contract should reflect this - for example, by acknowledging that the contractor was given the opportunity to take advice.
The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 represents the most significant change to New Zealand employment law in years. For businesses that engage independent contractors, it creates both an opportunity and a risk.
The opportunity: if your contractor agreements clearly satisfy all five Gateway criteria, your arrangements have much stronger legal protection. Workers covered by the Gateway Test cannot challenge their contractor status before the Employment Relations Authority or the Employment Court.
The risk: if your existing contracts were written before this legislation and do not address all five criteria, you may be exposed. A contractor who fails even one criterion retains the right to bring a personal grievance claim, seek holiday pay, KiwiSaver contributions, and minimum wage arrears - and to argue they are, in substance, an employee.
Businesses most affected include those in construction, IT, consulting, creative services, transport, and professional services - any sector where independent contractors are a regular part of the workforce.
Before recommending contract changes or engaging a lawyer, smart advisors use GatewayTest to get an instant baseline. It gives you and your client a clear, plain-English picture of exactly where the risk lies - so you can advise with confidence, not guesswork.