What shapes a replacement in Brisbane
It isn't minor work
Brisbane City Council's list of minor plumbing work leaves out installing, replacing or removing a water heater, and a temperature control device too. Ask the plumber whether your replacement is notifiable work and when you'll get your copy from the QBCC.
Scale builds up here
Urban Utilities' 2024-25 figures put the Brisbane and Ipswich supply at a mean hardness of 120 mg/L, and it says hard water can scale up hot water systems. A new system is a good moment to ask what servicing it needs.
Cooler on the south side
Archerfield Airport, on Brisbane's south side, averages a July minimum of 7.8°C, nearly three degrees cooler than the Bureau's Brisbane station. If you're weighing a heat pump, ask how it performs on a winter morning.
Like for like, or something different
Queensland's hot water page puts no limit on swapping gas for gas or electric for electric, and nothing makes you change type. Victoria's 2027 gas rule doesn't reach Brisbane.
What changes is who can do the work. A heat pump or solar system needs an installer with the QBCC's solar and heat pump endorsement. A gas unit needs a full Queensland gas work licence: a servicing-only licence doesn't cover fitting a new or replacement device. And whichever you pick, the replacement must have a temperature control device, so hot water reaches the bathroom taps no hotter than 50°C.
Going electric? Heat pumps under 425 L and solar water heaters under 700 L can earn federal STCs if the model is on the register. We haven't found a current Queensland Government program on top of that; see Queensland rebates.
Who can fit what in Queensland
| Licence the installer needs | Paperwork to ask about | |
|---|---|---|
| Gas storage or continuous flow | A full gas work licence. An interim licence holder's install must be checked and signed off by a full licence holder. | A gas system compliance certificate, issued to you through the RSHQ Portal. Since July 2025 most installs no longer get a physical plate. |
| Heat pump or solar | A QBCC-licensed hot water installer holding the solar and heat pump endorsement. | STC paperwork if you're taking the discount, plus confirmation of whether the job is notifiable. |
| Electric storage | A plumber licensed by the QBCC. | Confirmation of whether the job is notifiable, and the date your copy should arrive. |
Planning the swap
Confirm it's finished
Water from the tank's body usually means the end; a dripping valve or dead element often doesn't. Our Brisbane repairs page covers the fixable faults.
Pick the type before the day it dies
Compare a like-for-like quote with at least one alternative, each showing the valve and any STC discount.
Check the licence
Look up a plumber on the QBCC registers through myQBCC, or a gas fitter on the RSHQ Portal, which needs no account.
Keep the paper
File the compliance certificate or notifiable work copy with the warranty card. You'll want them when you sell or claim.
Questions before you say yes
- Is the old system truly beyond repair, and why?
- Will the new unit need different pipework, power or gas supply where it sits?
- Which temperature control device is included?
- Is this replacement notifiable work, and who registers it?
- Is the STC discount already taken off this figure?
What we would do
If your system is showing its age, choose its replacement now, while you still have hot water to shower in. Get two quotes for different types, each listing the temperature control device, the licence holder doing the work and any STC discount. Check that licence yourself on the QBCC registers or the RSHQ Portal, and keep every certificate the job produces.