Smell gas now?
Get everyone out, don't use switches near the smell, and ring the emergency number on your gas bill or cylinder supplier's paperwork from outside. Then call a gas fitter.
Who licenses gas work in Queensland
Gas licences come from Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ), on top of any QBCC licence. The QBCC says anyone supervising or doing gasfitting must also hold a gasfitting occupational licence issued by the Chief Gas Examiner and RSHQ.
Not every licence or authorisation covers every type of gas work. You can search current holders on the RSHQ Portal without creating an account, and see what their licence allows. Ask for the number before you book, and check it matches the job.
Gas work on the Gold Coast
Gas hot water is still allowed
Queensland's hot water page sets no rule forcing gas systems out, so a Gold Coast home can replace gas with gas. Any new or replacement system still needs a temperature control device.
Bottle or meter
Gas reaches a home either piped through a meter or from LP gas cylinders. Before adding an appliance, the gas fitter must check the supply can handle it: cylinder storage and vaporisation rate, meter capacity and pipe sizing.
Plenty of units and townhouses
At the 2021 Census, 21.7% of occupied homes in the Gold Coast council area were flats or apartments and 20.6% townhouses or semis. In a shared building, check with the body corporate before gas work touches common pipes.
The paperwork you should get
When a gas fitter finishes installing or altering a gas system, they must give the owner a gas system compliance certificate straight away. It's issued through the RSHQ Portal, and a copy goes to the gas network operator within 5 days.
Don't expect a metal plate on the meter box. Since July 2025 most installations no longer need a physical compliance plate; caravans are the exception.
If the fitter finds something unsafe on your system, they must give you a defect notice. Keep it, and ask what has to be fixed and how urgently.
Jobs that need a licensed gas fitter
- Installing or moving a gas cooktop or oven
- Fitting a gas bayonet for a heater or barbecue
- Replacing a gas hot water system
- Converting an appliance between natural gas and LPG
- Capping off gas when you disconnect an appliance
- A gas safety check on an older system
Questions for a Gold Coast gas fitter
- What's your gas work licence number, and does it cover this kind of work?
- Is my supply big enough for the new appliance, or does the pipe need upsizing?
- Will I get the gas system compliance certificate on the day you finish?
- If you find a fault elsewhere on the system, will you give me a defect notice?
What we would do
Check the gas licence on the RSHQ Portal before the fitter arrives, not after. Ask them to confirm the supply can carry the new appliance, since that check is part of their job before anything is connected. When the job is done, make sure the compliance certificate reaches you that day, and file it with the house papers. A licensed gas fitter who does your kind of job regularly will expect all three questions.