Brisbane details that change an install
Gas runs here, but check your street
Brisbane is part of South East Queensland's natural gas distribution network, fed by the 438 km Roma to Brisbane Pipeline. Confirm your street is connected before you plan around a gas unit.
Never minor work
Brisbane City Council's minor work list excludes installing a water heater or a temperature control device. Depending on the job, a new install is notifiable work or needs a Council plumbing permit.
A quarter of homes are apartments
Flats and apartments made up 25.6% of occupied homes in Brisbane City Council's area at the 2021 Census. In a unit, where a system can physically go often decides its type, so have the plumber look before you choose.
New homes and extensions
Building new? For new dwellings, Queensland counts hot water in the National Construction Code's Whole of Home energy budget. Your builder, designer and plumber will settle the system as part of the design, so raise heat pump or solar early rather than at handover.
An extension or granny flat may need its own unit or a longer pipe run. Either way, the plumber should tell you which category the work falls in and who lodges the paperwork.
The licences and paperwork
Council treats any plumbing outside its unregulated, minor and notifiable lists as permit work, which needs a Council plumbing permit and a licensed plumber. Notifiable work is lodged with the QBCC on a Form 4 instead.
A heat pump or solar system must be installed by a hot water installer holding the QBCC's solar and heat pump endorsement. A gas unit needs a full Queensland gas work licence; when it's done, the fitter issues you a gas system compliance certificate through the RSHQ Portal, with a copy to the network operator if your gas comes from the network.
Every new system also needs a temperature control device, so bathroom taps run no hotter than 50°C while the tank stores water at 60°C or more.
What the installer will work through
Look at the site
Where the unit sits, how far hot water has to travel, where the relief valve drains, and whether power or gas is close.
Confirm the category
Notifiable or permit work, and for gas, a licence that covers installation rather than servicing only.
Fit and set it up
The unit, pipework, temperature control device and connections, then a test run at the right storage temperature.
Hand over the paperwork
The compliance certificate for gas, confirmation of any notifiable or permit lodgement, STC forms if used, and the warranty.
Questions for the installer
- Is this notifiable work or permit work with Brisbane City Council?
- Who lodges the forms, and when will I see a copy?
- Where will the relief valve and any condensate drain to?
- For gas: will you issue the compliance certificate through the RSHQ Portal?
- For a heat pump or solar: can I see your QBCC endorsement?
What we would do
Settle the location before the brand. A system in the wrong place costs you in pipe runs, waiting time at the tap and, for a heat pump, airflow. Ask the plumber to walk the site, name the work category and the licence holder, and put the temperature control device and any STC discount in writing. For gas, check the fitter's licence covers installation on the RSHQ Portal.