Regulated plumbing work
There are three categories of regulated plumbing and drainage work, all of which must be performed by a QBCC licensed plumber or drainer. These categories are:
- permit work – requiring a prior permit from local government (Form 1)
- notifiable work – to be reported to the QBCC on completion (Form 4/4a)
- minor work – can be undertaken without prior approvals or registering the work.
Categories of regulated plumbing work
Permit work must be assessed and inspected by local government. Before starting a job, you need to get a permit for plumbing, drainage and on-site sewerage work to the relevant local council by submitting a
The local government will:
- assess the application, the hydraulic plans, specifications and any other supporting documentation
- inspect the work once it is complete to ensure that it complies with the approval and the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018.
Examples of permit work include:
- construction of a new building or structure
- any drainage work for a building or structure served by a combined drain
- work that involves a dual reticulated water supply provided by a water service provider
- work that involves an performance solution under any of these codes: National Construction Code (NCC), Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA), Queensland Plumbing and Wastewater Code (QPWC) or the Queensland Development Code (QDC), as may be applicable.
Public sector entities
If you are a public sector entity, you should ensure that the permit work (design and its inspections) is independently assessed by a qualified and experienced person and a permit issued by an authorised person. Alternatively apply to local government for plumbing, drainage and on-site sewerage work using a:
Notifiable work is a category of regulated plumbing and drainage work that allows a plumber or drainer to perform the work without a local government permit or mandatory inspections. Notifiable work must be registered with the QBCC. Local governments access the notifiable work register for their program of audit inspections to monitor compliance of this work.
Notifiable work includes most work performed in existing buildings. Read more about what is notifiable work and use tools to identify which plumbing work falls into this category.
Learn more about notifiable work.
Minor work must be performed by a QBCC licensee but doesn't need to be approved by the local government or reported to QBCC.
Minor work includes:
- unblocking sanitary plumbing or sanitary drainage
- repairing a broken or damaged pipe
- maintaining or repairing an apparatus
- maintaining, repairing, replacing or removing a fitting or fixture
- maintaining or repairing a greywater use facility or an on-site sewage facility, other than repairing or maintaining an irrigation system for the disposal of effluent from the facility
- installing a greywater diversion device
- sealing a supply pipe downstream from the water meter for a class 1 or 10 building or structure
- installing, removing or replacing an automatic switching device for a rainwater tank.
