Box 1 of 6 Licence
Licensed or registered: the two levels of plumber in Victoria
Victoria gives each class of plumbing work two levels of accreditation: registration and licence. A registered plumber may lawfully do the work in their classes; a licensed plumber may also do design work, supervise apprentices and registered plumbers, and issue compliance certificates.
General information about Victoria’s rules, not legal advice. The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) is the place to check what a particular job needs.
Registration and licence, side by side
| For each class held | Registration | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| Carry out the plumbing work | Yes, to the relevant standards and Regulations | Yes |
| Design work | Not listed | Yes |
| Supervise apprentices and other plumbers | No | Yes, plumbers registered in the classes the licence covers |
| Issue compliance certificates | No | Yes, for their own work and for work by a registered plumber or apprentice they supervised |
| Granted for | Up to three years | Up to 12 months |
| Insurance | Not listed | Must hold and keep the required insurance |
The BPC expects a licensed plumber to bring more knowledge and experience than a registered one. When a registered plumber does work that needs a compliance certificate, the certificate comes from the licensed plumber supervising them, within five days of the work being finished. Only licensed plumbers can issue one at all, so a registered plumber either works under a licensed plumber’s supervision or keeps to work that needs no certificate.
Accreditation belongs to a person
Plumbing accreditation in Victoria is granted only to individuals; the BPC does not register or license plumbing companies. Each registered or licensed plumber is issued a BPC practitioner ID card, and the back of it lists the classes they hold. The card goes with them whenever they do plumbing work, and they must show it when asked.
The person on the card has been identified: to apply for a registration or licence, a plumber verifies their identity with two identity documents, at least one with their photograph.
Classes describe the work, not the rank
A registration or a licence is held class by class. The BPC sorts the classes into main, specialised and restricted ones.
Main classes
Someone registered or licensed in a main class may lawfully carry out the work within it, and one person may be registered in several. The BPC’s main classes are drainage, gasfitting, mechanical services, roofing (stormwater), sanitary, irrigation (non-agricultural) and water supply, with fire protection, refrigerated air-conditioning and Type B gasfitting listed in groups of their own.
Specialised classes
A specialised class authorises advanced, or “specialised”, plumbing work. Each one has a parent main class, and a plumber must hold the parent before applying for the specialised class. The BPC lists backflow prevention, thermostatic mixing valves, Type A appliance conversion, Type A appliance servicing and Type B gasfitting advanced.
Restricted classes
A restricted class covers only part of its parent main class, and a plumber may hold more than one if eligible. Among the BPC’s examples: mechanical services restricted to single head split systems, to duct fixing, or to solid fuel heaters, and refrigerated air-conditioning restricted to split system heat pump water heaters.
Three classes a household might meet
Backflow prevention
Under the Plumbing Regulations 2018, backflow prevention work means repairing, altering, maintaining, testing or commissioning a backflow prevention device that can be tested and is of a type listed in AS/NZS 3500.1. The BPC describes it as protecting a property’s drinking water from contamination caused by backflow, and a plumber must already be registered or licensed in water supply work to take it on.
Thermostatic mixing valves
The Regulations define this class as the repair, alteration, maintenance and testing of a thermostatic mixing valve.
Servicing a gas appliance
Energy Safe Victoria says that for routine servicing and carbon monoxide checks, a gasfitter’s licence “needs to show the ‘gas servicing Type-A’” accreditation.
For a householder, the classes are the part to read. The BPC’s advice is to check that a plumber is registered or licensed for the work you need, and the back of the ID card, or the BPC’s public register, shows which classes they hold. The guide to checking a plumber walks through the register.
Supervision has a narrow meaning
The BPC explains that the Act allows only two forms of supervision. In the first, the licensed plumber is present, directing the work, which is done on their behalf. In the second, the work is done on their behalf while the licensed plumber sets the method and inspects it, to be sure it is done safely and competently, weighing the nature of the job, its risks and the worker’s experience.
A licensed plumber must not let or direct anyone to do work for them in a class that person holds no registration or licence for. The compliance certificate guide covers what supervision means for the certificate.
The other boxes
When you engage a plumber, the BPC’s advice is to make sure they are registered or licensed in the class the work belongs to.