What paperwork should a plumbing contractor give me, and by when?

New South Wales runs two documents and one drawing. A notice of work sets out the plumbing and drainage work to be done and who is doing it; the certificate of compliance confirms the finished work meets the Act, the regulation, the Plumbing Code of Australia and the deemed-to-satisfy requirements, and names the responsible plumber or drainer. Building Commission NSW Emergency work and minor jobs, replacing a hot water system or tapware among them, need no notice of work; where no inspection is required, the certificate need not be sent to the regulator either.

The days are local, not statewide. Building Commission NSW is the plumbing regulator, but it delegates the inspection function to local councils and county councils, and each plumbing regulator sets the inspection rules for its area. Building Commission NSW On the Central Coast, the council's own count runs: a notice of work at least 2 days before the plumber starts, the certificate of compliance and the drainage diagram both within 2 days of finishing, copies to the council, the owner and the plumber. Central Coast Council

Victoria's document is the compliance certificate. It certifies that the work meets the plumbing regulations and the relevant standards, and only a licensed plumber may issue one. It goes to the customer, and a copy is lodged with the commission. Building and Plumbing Commission

The trigger is value: work costing $750 or more, the cost of the product included, needs the certificate, and so does gas appliance work, gas piping, below-ground sanitary drainage and cooling towers. Building and Plumbing Commission The certificate also carries the insurance: it confirms the work is covered for 6 years. Building and Plumbing Commission If the plumber finishes the job without one, a complaint can be lodged about the missing certificate alone.

Queensland splits work into notifiable and the rest. Notifiable work, bathroom renovations and water heater installations among it, brings a Form 4: the relevant person lodges it with the QBCC within 10 business days of the work finishing, with the fee, and gives you a copy. Queensland Building and Construction Commission Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 A copy of the notice and an explanatory statement follow, to the occupier or to whoever asked for the work, within 20 business days.

The person who lodges it is the relevant person the Act names: the contractor where one supervises or directs the work, otherwise one of the licensees doing so, or the licensee who carries the work out. The clock matters: failing to register the Form 4 within 10 business days of finishing notifiable work is one of the offences the QBCC asks to be reported. Queensland Building and Construction Commission Permit work, separately, may not be used until an inspection certificate or final inspection certificate says it is compliant and fit for use. Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018

Western Australia's certificate of compliance follows major plumbing work: new fixtures, new drainage, or a replacement water heater. The licensed plumbing contractor hands it over within 5 working days of the work finishing. Building and Energy

The certificate is not just a receipt: it is the guarantee, running six years, that the work was done to the plumbing standards. A drainage plumbing diagram, showing how the drains lie, can be bought for a fee from the state's diagram service, and homeowners, contractors and others use it to read a property's layout.

South Australia's document is the electronic certificate of compliance, an eCoC, and by law a tradesperson must issue one after plumbing, gas or electrical work on your property. The tradesperson and any contractor involved in the job both sign it off. Office of the Technical Regulator The certificates confirm that the tradesperson is correctly licensed; the plumbing eCoC goes to you and to the Office of the Technical Regulator within 7 days of the work finishing. Office of the Technical Regulator

Not everything draws one. Changing tap washers, clearing a blocked sanitary drain of no more than 50 mm, replacing or repairing domestic tapware, and installing stormwater systems are outside the certificate. Office of the Technical Regulator If in-ground sanitary drainage is altered or installed, an as-constructed drainage plan follows the eCoC to you and the regulator, in the same 7 days.

Tasmania works by risk. Work that is not low or medium risk needs a plumbing permit from the council permit authority before it starts; the work itself is a licensed plumber's. Building Standards Tasmania Building Standards Tasmania

A like-for-like hot water replacement, same spot, on drinking water, needs no permit. A new system in a new location, connected to an existing service, needs a licensed plumber, who notifies the Permit Authority after the work is completed; one in a new location with a new service needs a plumbing permit from the Permit Authority before work begins.

Outside minor works, the ACT notifies at three points: before work begins, when the work is ready for inspection, and when it is completed. ACT Government The start of work notice is submitted, with its fee, before the work begins. Minor works (replacement and repairs up to $1000) are different: the plan approval system does not apply to them, they must still be carried out by a licensed plumber and drainer, and only a hydraulic certificate of compliance is required.

At the end of any job other than minor works, two documents gate the final inspection: the notification of completion is lodged when or before a final inspection is booked, and certified final drainage and plumbing plans are registered with Access Canberra before that booking. A plumbing plan certifier certifies drainage plans, to ensure they are drafted in accordance with the legislation and Australian standards. ACT Government Gasfitting work carries its own certificates, and unsafe appliances and defect tags are notified to Access Canberra.

The Northern Territory's documents follow the certifying class. An NT-licensed certifying plumber or drainer certifies the work, and, for certain plumbing or drainage work that needs no building permit, the notice of completion and certificate of compliance go to the Director of Building Control in no more than 7 days. Northern Territory Government

Gas leaves a second trail. The gasfitter who installs, modifies or repairs a fuel gas system fixes a compliance plate near the control valve, issues the certificate to the owner, and sends a copy to NT WorkSafe within 7 days and to the gas supplier where the premises is on a gas main. NT WorkSafe