How we work, and how we get paid
NZ Swimming Pools is a pool cost and compliance guide. We do not build pools, we do not inspect barriers, and we do not sell leads. Two things can pay us: a referral fee from a builder if you ask us to introduce you and you go ahead with them, and one day a margin on pool-care products if we ever stock any. Neither costs you anything extra, and both are disclosed on the page where they apply.
The referral fee
- You fill in the referral form and tick a separate, unticked box consenting to us sharing your details.
- If we have a partner builder in your region, we email you and them to introduce you, within 2 working days. One builder, not three.
- They quote you directly. Nothing is signed through us and we take no part in the contract.
- If you go ahead, the builder pays us a referral fee under a written agreement — negotiated at 2–3% of the signed contract value, or a flat fee — after your deposit clears.
- Your price does not change because of it. We never invoice you.
No referral agreement is signed in any region. That means a request sent today is held for 90 days and not passed to anyone, and we ask you again before it ever is. We would rather put that on the page than collect enquiries on a promise.
What we check before signing a builder
- The company on the NZ Business Number register: legal name, number, status.
- The licensed building practitioner register, for anyone doing or supervising restricted building work.
- Public liability and contract works insurance.
- Any membership they claim, against the body that would list them.
- A written referral agreement covering the fee, how your details are handled, and what they may do with them.
We do not use the word vetted on this site, because we have no published vetting standard, and we publish no ratings, reviews or rankings, because we have no way of making them real.
The shop
There is nothing for sale on this site. If we ever stock pool-care products it will be through a contracted supplier at a retail margin, the pages will name the supplier, and the margin is how we earn on it. Chlorine and pool acid are excluded outright: they are dangerous goods for courier transport. Pool care.
What we refuse to be
- A “get three quotes” lead seller. Your details go to one builder, once, with your consent, or nowhere.
- A builder in disguise. We say on the home page that we do not build pools.
- A source of compliance sign-off. The checker is a self-check. Only a council or an IQP can certify a barrier.
- A chemical upsell. No dose tables, no scare copy, and no products until there is a real supplier behind them.
GST
NZ Swimming Poolsis not registered for GST at launch and will register once referral fees and sales approach Inland Revenue's NZ$60,000 threshold. Prices published on this site are other companies' figures, quoted with the GST status their source states.
How to hold us to it
Everything above is checkable. If you think a figure on this site is wrong, a rule is misquoted or a disclosure is missing, tell us and we will fix it and say so. Our editorial policy lists what we deliberately left out and why.
Questions
Do you build pools?
No. A pool build is a $75,000 job with licensed trades behind it and a structural warranty attached. We are a guide with two tools and a referral, and pretending otherwise would be the first lie on the site.
Are you an inspector?
No. Only a council or an independently qualified pool inspector on MBIE's register can decide whether a barrier complies. Our checker says 'likely to pass' and never 'compliant', on purpose.
How much is the referral fee?
It is negotiated with each builder in a written agreement, in the range of 2–3% of the signed contract value or a flat fee, payable after the customer's deposit clears. Nothing is added to your price and you are never invoiced by us.
Do you sell my details?
No. Details go to one builder, once, and only if you tick the separate consent box. They are never sold, never sent to several builders, and never passed on at all if that box is unticked.
Do you take money for placement or reviews?
There is nothing to buy placement in. This site has no directory, no rankings, no reviews and no ratings, because we have no way of making any of those real.