A quiet failure of trust surfaced when a gas griddle slid off its bench inside a food cart being towed down the road. What lay behind that fall was a man who had been told, warned and penalised before, yet who kept doing restricted gas and plumbing work without any authority to do it. This week a court sentenced Kevin Stanley Harris to a $14,000 fine, a reminder that the rules protecting people in their homes and workplaces depend on whether the people doing the work have earned the right to do it.
Unlicensed tradesman Kevin Stanley Harris fined $14,000 over unsafe food cart gas work
A gas griddle fell from a bench inside a food cart during towing, exposing customers and workers to gas pipe risk from unlicensed work, and an Auckland homeowner received an unsafe gas installation and certificate.
A griddle fell from a bench and exposed the unlicensed gas work
Mark
What actually exposed this? It seems an odd way for a case to start.
Mimi
A gas griddle fell off a bench inside a food cart while the trailer was being towed. That brought the unlicensed work to light.
Mark
And the home job was separate?
Mimi
Yes, an Auckland home, where he installed a gas water heater, LPG bottles and pipework, then handed over a Gas Safety Certificate signed as a "certifier".
Luke
Worth noting the certificate is the detail that stings. He had no authority to issue it, so the homeowner held a document that meant nothing.
Mark
Why was the fine so high?
Mimi
The board says $1000 of it is an uplift for previous similar offending, warnings and prosecutions. He was fined $5300 in 2023 and $13,200 in December 2025.
Luke
But the maximum for each unauthorised gasfitting or plumbing charge is $10,000, so the total isn't a single cap. The board calls it relatively high, and that's its characterisation.
Mark
Do we know why he kept working?
Luke
No. He didn't attend sentencing or engage with the investigation, so his side isn't in the reporting.
Mimi
What is clear is that his exemptions expired in March 2021 and he was never registered.
Mark
And the practical takeaway?
Mimi
Check the board's public register before hiring anyone for gas, plumbing or drainlaying work.
O Pulso
- A gas griddle tumbled from its bench mid-tow, turning a routine journey into a hazard for anyone near the cart.
- Harris kept gasfitting and plumbing after his exemptions lapsed in 2021, ignoring a 2022 warning and two earlier fines.
- An Auckland homeowner was handed a gas installation and a Gas Safety Certificate signed by someone with no power to certify it.
- The board has pushed the fine higher for repeat offending while urging the public to check its register before hiring anyone.
- Harris skipped the sentencing and the board's investigation, leaving the case closed on paper but the risk still open in homes.
A quiet failure of trust surfaced when a gas griddle slid off its bench inside a food cart being towed down the road. What lay behind that fall was a man who had been told, warned and penalised before, yet who kept doing restricted gas and plumbing work without any authority to do it. This week a court sentenced Kevin Stanley Harris to a $14,000 fine, a reminder that the rules protecting people in their homes and workplaces depend on whether the people doing the work have earned the right to do it.
It began with an ordinary moment that went wrong. A gas griddle dropped off its bench inside a food cart while the trailer was being towed, and the fall exposed the unauthorised work that had been done inside it. The case that followed has now ended in a court sentence: Kevin Stanley Harris was fined $14,000 on four charges covering unlicensed gasfitting and sanitary plumbing carried out in March and April last year.
The charges cover two jobs, the food cart and a separate job at an Auckland home. At the home, Harris installed a gas water heater, LPG bottles and pipework, then gave the homeowner a Gas Safety Certificate he had signed as a "certifier", though he had no authority to issue one. He was also ordered to pay more than $1700 in reparation to the clients, plus legal costs.
Harris had once held exemptions allowing supervised gasfitting and plumbing, but they expired in March 2021 and he was never registered and licensed. He was warned in 2022, fined $5300 in 2023 and fined again in December 2025, and the board added $1000 to this sentence because of his history. He did not appear at sentencing or engage with the investigation.
Board chief executive Aleyna Hall called the case particularly concerning and said people need to be able to trust that anyone doing gas work in their home or business is trained, competent and authorised. The board is asking homeowners and businesses to check its public register before hiring anyone for plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying.
The work of an unlicensed tradesman came to light when a gas griddle dropped off its bench inside a food cart while the trailer was being towed. That fall exposed what Kevin Stanley Harris had done inside the cart, and it led to a court sentence this week that put a $14,000 fine on him.
Harris was sentenced on four charges covering unauthorised gasfitting and sanitary plumbing carried out in March and April last year. Two were for unauthorised gasfitting. One was for unauthorised sanitary plumbing. The fourth was for doing something intended to make people believe he was a registered and licensed gasfitter.
The charges relate to two jobs: the food cart, and a separate job at an Auckland home. At the home, Harris carried out unauthorised plumbing and gasfitting, including installing a gas water heater, LPG bottles and pipework. He then gave the homeowner a Gas Safety Certificate that he had signed himself as a "certifier", though he had no authority to issue one.
The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board said the fine includes a $1000 increase because of Harris's previous similar offending, and the earlier warnings and prosecutions. Unauthorised gasfitting carries a maximum fine of $10,000, as does unauthorised sanitary plumbing. Harris was also ordered to pay more than $1700 in reparation to the clients, plus legal costs.
Board chief executive Aleyna Hall said Harris once held exemptions that let him do gasfitting and plumbing under supervision. Both expired in March 2021. He has never been registered and licensed as a gasfitter or plumber, and since the exemptions lapsed he has had no authority to do either kind of restricted work. He was warned in 2022 to stop, and did not. He was fined $5300 in March 2023 and $13,200 in December 2025 for similar offences.
Harris did not appear at the sentencing this week, and he also did not engage with the board's investigation into the latest offending. He appears to have little public presence online beyond records of a former company. Companies Office records show Kevin S Harris Plumbing was registered in January 2006 and removed from the register in February 2014.
Hall said the board welcomed the relatively high fine and called the case particularly concerning. "This is not the first time Mr Harris has come before the courts for this type of offending," she said, noting he had been prosecuted and sentenced before yet kept working as a gasfitter. She said the case shows why gasfitting is restricted work, and that people need to be able to trust that whoever does gasfitting in their home or business is properly trained, competent and authorised.
The board is encouraging homeowners and businesses to check its public register before hiring anyone for plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying work.
Citações Notáveis
This is not the first time Mr Harris has come before the courts for this type of offending.— Aleyna Hall, chief executive, Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board
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