If you can smell gas
Get out of the house, then dial 000 for NSW Fire and Rescue. Where it can be done safely, close the gas at the meter or the cylinder, switch off appliances (electrical ones too) and pilot lights, open the doors and windows, and put out any naked flame. Once that's done, call a licensed gasfitter and your gas supplier.
Mains gas or bottled LPG
| Mains gas (Jemena) | Bottled gas | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your installation starts | At the meter control valve. Jemena maintains the service line to your boundary and the meter. | At the cylinder's connection point. |
| Swapping the supply | Not applicable. | Changing over cylinders isn't gasfitting work under NSW's definition. |
| How the job is signed off | The gasfitter tests the installation and lodges a certificate of compliance with Building Commission NSW within 5 business days. | The gasfitter inspects the cylinders, regulators and appliances, tests the whole installation, fixes a compliance plate to it and gives the owner a certificate of inspection. |
| Records | Ask for your copy of the certificate. | The gasfitter keeps a copy of the certificate of inspection for 5 years. |
Gas on the Central Coast
Jemena's network reaches the Coast
Jemena distributes natural gas to the Central Coast, as well as Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Its responsibility runs to your boundary; the service pipe inside it is yours to keep safe.
Two reasons to check before digging
Jemena asks owners to contact Before You Dig Australia before underground or landscaping work, and Central Coast Council asks to be consulted before anyone digs over or beside its water and sewer pipes.
Gas hot water swaps
Replacing a gas water heater involves a gasfitter for the gas side, and NSW requires a temperature control device on any replacement heater. Our Central Coast hot water page has the rest.
What counts as gasfitting in NSW
NSW defines gasfitting broadly: installing, altering, extending or repairing a gas installation or its flue, and connecting or disconnecting a gas appliance, container or regulator. The exception is equipment designed to be readily detachable. Any of it needs a licence under the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017.
Before booking, search the NSW Public Register and confirm gasfitting is one of the licence's categories. Since 1 March 2026, gas certificates are lodged online through Building Commission NSW's eCert portal, so ask when yours went in.
Removing gas altogether
A gasfitter can disconnect and cap an appliance on your own pipework. The meter and service are another matter: only Jemena and its authorised contractors disconnect or abolish them, arranged through your retailer. See gas disconnection.
Questions for a Central Coast gas fitter
- Is this installation on mains gas or bottled gas, and which certificate will I get?
- Is gasfitting listed on your licence on the Public Register?
- For LPG, will you attach a compliance plate to the installation?
- If an appliance is coming out, will you cap the line and certify it?
What we would do
Know which kind of gas you have before you book, because it changes the paperwork. On mains gas, expect a certificate of compliance lodged within 5 business days; on bottled gas, expect a compliance plate on the installation and a certificate of inspection in your hand. Choose a licensed gas fitter who does your kind of job, check the gasfitting category on the Public Register first, and keep whichever certificate you get with the appliance manual.