Wet Hire Agreement Checklist For Machinery Owners

Do you really need a wet hire agreement before you send your machine and operator to a commercial job? Yes - if you own machinery and provide an operator with it, a written agreement is one of the simplest ways to protect your income, your equipment and your team.

Wet hire jobs can move quickly. A builder calls, a site needs a digger tomorrow, and everyone wants to get started. The problem is that the biggest issues usually show up after the machine arrives: the site isn't ready, another trade causes delays, the operator is asked to do unsafe work, or damage happens and no one agrees who pays.

A clear wet hire contract helps you deal with those moments calmly. It sets out who is responsible for what, what happens if the job changes, and how you get paid.

What Is A Wet Hire Agreement In NZ?

A wet hire agreement is a contract for hiring out equipment together with an operator, usually for commercial work.

For example, you might provide:

• an excavator and operator for site works
• a crane and crane operator for lifting work
• a truck and driver for cartage
• a loader and operator for civil or landscaping work
• specialist plant and a trained technician

The key point is that you aren't just handing over the machine. You're also supplying the person who operates it, which means your agreement needs to cover both equipment hire terms and operator responsibilities.

A wet hire agreement in NZ will usually sit somewhere between a machinery hire agreement and a service agreement. It should cover the machine, the operator, the job scope, site conditions, health and safety, rates, cancellations, delays, damage and breakdowns.

If your customer is also in trade, your terms can usually deal with business-to-business issues more directly than a consumer contract. For example, you may be able to contract out of parts of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and sections of the Fair Trading Act 1986 where both parties are in trade and the law allows it. The wording needs to be handled carefully, because unfair or misleading terms can create problems.

How Is Wet Hire Different From Dry Hire?

Wet hire is different from dry hire because you provide the operator as well as the equipment.

In a dry hire agreement, the customer takes the equipment and operates it themselves, or provides their own operator. That means the contract usually focuses on things like who may use the equipment, return condition, insurance, servicing and loss or damage while the item is in the customer's possession.

In wet hire, your operator stays involved. That changes the risk profile.

Your wet hire contract should answer questions like:

• does your operator take instructions from you, the customer, or both?
• who decides whether the work is safe to continue?
• what happens if the site isn't ready when your operator arrives?
• can the customer ask your operator to perform extra tasks?
• who pays if the machine is damaged because of ground conditions, poor access or another contractor?

Say Maia owns a small earthmoving business in Waikato. She sends a 5-tonne excavator and her operator to a subdivision job. The customer asks the operator to dig near unmarked services and says, "just take it slowly". In a dry hire, the customer might be operating the machine and carrying more of that risk. In wet hire, Maia needs clear terms saying her operator can stop work if underground services haven't been located or the work is unsafe.

That one clause can make a big difference on a live site.

Who Is Responsible For The Operator And Site Safety?

You're usually responsible for your operator as their employer or contracting business, but the customer and other site parties may also have health and safety duties.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, multiple PCBUs can owe duties at the same time. A PCBU is a person conducting a business or undertaking. In practice, that can include you, your customer, the principal contractor, subcontractors and any site management business. Individual site managers may have worker or officer duties, but they aren't automatically PCBUs just because of their role.

Your wet hire agreement shouldn't pretend you can contract out of health and safety law. You can, however, make the practical responsibilities clear.

What Your Agreement Should Say

• Your operator's authority: your operator can stop work if they reasonably consider the task, site or instructions unsafe.
• Site information: the customer must provide accurate information about ground conditions, underground services, access, traffic management, exclusion zones and hazards.
• Inductions and permits: the customer must arrange site induction, required permits and any site-specific safety processes before work starts.
• Instructions: the customer can give job instructions, but can't direct your operator to work outside their competency, agreed scope or safe operating limits.
• Other contractors: the customer must coordinate other trades and site users so your operator can work safely.

If you engage your operator as a contractor rather than an employee, classification also matters. The Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 changes, including the contractor gateway test, may affect whether a worker is treated as an employee or contractor in some situations. Labels aren't enough on their own, so get tailored advice if your operators aren't on employment agreements.

What Happens If There Are Delays, Breakdowns Or Damage?

Your agreement should say exactly what happens when delays, breakdowns or damage stop the job, because these are the moments that most often affect your profit.

Start with delays. A wet hire job might be delayed because the site is locked, the customer hasn't arranged access, another trade is in the way, traffic management is missing, or the weather makes work unsafe. Your terms should say when standby time is charged and when the customer can cancel without paying.

For example, your agreement might say customer-caused standby is charged at the hourly rate after the first 30 minutes, and bookings cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice attract a minimum charge. The exact numbers should match how your business prices work.

A Simple Worked Example

Ben hires out a loader with an operator at $180 per hour, with an 8-hour minimum and a $300 transport charge. His customer books 7am to 3pm. When Ben's operator arrives, the site gate is locked for 2 hours and the induction takes another hour because the site manager isn't ready.

If Ben's terms say customer-caused standby is billable and the 8-hour minimum applies, his invoice is $1,440 for the day plus the $300 transport charge, plus GST if he is GST registered. Without those terms, the customer may argue they only need to pay for the 5 hours of actual machine work.

For breakdowns, your commercial equipment hire terms should separate normal equipment failure from damage caused by the customer, site conditions or misuse. If the machine breaks down through ordinary wear and tear, you might limit the customer's charges for downtime. If the machine is damaged because the customer gave wrong information about access, ground conditions or services, the customer should be responsible for repair costs and lost hire time where your terms allow it.

Keep records as you go: photos, timesheets, operator notes, site instructions, hazard reports and messages. They make invoicing much easier.

Wet Hire Agreement Checklist: What Should You Include?

A wet hire agreement should include the commercial deal, the operator rules, the site safety responsibilities and the payment mechanics.

Templates can be a useful starting point, but hire and rental agreements work best when they're tailored to the machines you own, the jobs you accept and the way your operators work. A lawyer should tailor the agreement before you use it with customers.

Here is a practical fill-in outline you can use when briefing your adviser or building your first draft:

1. Parties: write your business name, NZBN if you have one, and the customer's legal name.
2. Equipment: identify the machine, attachments, capacity limits, age or condition notes, and any excluded uses.
3. Operator: state whether you supply the operator, what qualifications or licences apply, and who supervises their day-to-day work.
4. Job Scope: describe the work, location, dates, hours, access points and assumptions about the site.
5. Rates And Minimum Charges: set out hourly, daily, overtime, travel, mobilisation, demobilisation, fuel, cleaning and minimum booking charges.
6. Standby, Delays And Cancellations: explain when waiting time is charged, how much notice is needed to cancel, and what happens if the site isn't ready.
7. Health And Safety: allocate site information, inductions, permits, traffic control, exclusion zones and the operator's right to stop unsafe work.
8. Damage, Loss And Breakdown: say who pays for repairs, lost hire time, excesses, replacement parts and downtime in different scenarios.
9. Customer Obligations: require clear access, accurate site information, safe working conditions and cooperation with your operator.
10. Insurance: list the insurance you hold and any insurance the customer must maintain for the site or project.
11. Payment Terms: set invoice timing, due dates, GST, late payment consequences and any deposit or credit account process.
12. Liability Limits: include sensible limits and exclusions, especially for indirect loss, where the law allows.
13. Ownership And No Transfer: make clear that the customer gets a right to use the equipment for the job only, not ownership.
14. Business-To-Business Terms: deal with any permitted Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act exclusions for trade customers.
15. Ending The Job: explain when you can suspend or end work for non-payment, unsafe conditions or serious breach.

If you use purchase orders, quotes or job sheets, make sure they line up with your main terms. Conflicting documents can make it harder to rely on the clause you thought protected you.

What Payment Terms Should I Use For Wet Hire Jobs?

Your payment terms should be specific enough that the customer can work out the likely cost before the machine arrives.

Wet hire pricing often has more moving parts than simple equipment hire. Your agreement should say whether you charge for:

• hourly, half-day, day or week rates
• minimum hire periods
• operator hours and overtime
• travel time, transport, mobilisation and demobilisation
• fuel, AdBlue, cleaning, consumables and attachments
• standby time and weather delays
• weekend, public holiday or after-hours work
• site-specific requirements, such as inductions or permits

Under the Holidays Act 2003, if your own employee works on a public holiday, extra pay and alternative holiday rules may apply. You should price public holiday work so you aren't absorbing those employment costs by mistake.

For commercial customers, many machinery owners use 7-day, 14-day or 20th-of-the-month following invoice terms. The right option depends on your cash flow, job size and customer risk. If a job is large, remote or with a new customer, you might ask for a deposit, prepayment of transport, or approval of a credit application before the booking is confirmed.

Your wet hire contract should also say what happens if an invoice isn't paid. For example, you may want the right to suspend further work, withdraw the equipment, charge reasonable recovery costs where lawful, or require payment before accepting more bookings. Keep this practical and fair. Heavy-handed clauses can damage customer relationships and may not work the way you expect.

Key Takeaways

• A wet hire agreement covers both the equipment and the operator, so it needs more than standard dry hire terms.
• Your contract should clearly deal with site safety, operator authority, customer instructions and the right to stop unsafe work.
• Delays, standby time, cancellations, breakdowns and damage should be priced and allocated before the job starts.
• Payment terms should cover minimum charges, transport, overtime, GST, deposits and what happens if invoices aren't paid.
• If you use contractors as operators, check your arrangements carefully, especially with the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 contractor gateway test.
• A tailored wet hire contract can help you take on commercial jobs with much more confidence.

If you'd like help with your wet hire agreements, machinery hire terms, operator arrangements or business-to-business customer contracts, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.