Sentencing — carrying out restricted building work unsupervised while not a licensed building practitioner — Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment v Whitfield [2018] NZDC 19629 — Building Act 2004. The defendant appeared for sentence on two charges of carrying out restricted building work unsupervised while not a licensed building practitioner. The Court considered that he had deliberately created a situation of deception and subterfuge with the intention of obtaining building contracts to which he was not entitled. The offending had undermined the sense of trust on which the building industry operates, and therefore the Court needed to pass a sentence that would deter this type of offending. Specific aggravating features were the high level of premeditation and the defendant's failure to comply with procedural requirements, which had significantly delayed the proceedings. However, acknowledging that the defendant had become at the time of sentencing a licensed building practitioner and taking into account that the defendant's workmanship at the building sites had not caused significant problems, the Court set a modest start point for fine of $5000 for each charge. With discounts for previous good character, the final fine on each charge was $4000 plus costs of $130. Judgment date: 17 June 2020.