Checks before you book
Match the plumber to the job
A burst hot water tank, a blocked sewer and a gas cooktop are different trades within plumbing. Ask whether they do your kind of job often, and whether their licence covers it. In Victoria, for example, plumbers are registered or licensed for each class of work separately, so check the class matches your job.
Look the licence up yourself
Ask for the licence number and check it on your state's register. In NSW, a contractor licence is needed for "all specialist work regardless of its cost", and plumbing, drainage and gasfitting all count. Our guide to checking a plumber's licence covers each state.
Look for the number in their ads
Several states make plumbers show it. NSW says the licensee's name and licence number "must appear in all advertising". Queensland licensees must state their licensee number. In WA, the number must appear in any advertisement, and on quotes, invoices and receipts too.
Find out who will turn up
The name on the ad, the licence, the quote and the invoice should all match. Ask for the name of the plumber who'll do the work, and whose licence covers it.
Get the price in writing
A written, itemised quote protects you both. Our guide to reading a plumbing quote shows what belongs in one.
Ask about the paperwork
Many jobs need a compliance certificate or a record lodged with the regulator. Ask before the job starts, not after the van has gone. See our compliance certificates guide.
Red flags regulators have already acted on
- A quick look, then "it's urgent" and a big deposit. In May 2025, Consumer Affairs Victoria warned about a company whose representatives would inspect briefly, call the job complex and urgent, and ask for a deposit of usually 50%. Then they'd leave, promising a plumber would come. Refunds were slow or refused.
- Pressure to say yes on the spot. In June 2026, NSW permanently banned two plumbing businesses and their directors. The findings included misrepresenting urgency, pressuring consumers, excessive quotes and gross overcharging.
- A friendly first name that hides who's coming. In August 2025, NSW suspended a company trading as "Dan's Plumbing AUS", "BOB'S PLUMBING NSW" and other names. In April 2026, NSW said people who answered "Dan's Plumbing" search ads had been serviced by two other companies.
- Lots of look-alike websites. The company in the Victorian warning had its ABN linked to more than 200 websites, many almost identical, that ranked prominently in plumbing searches.
- A history that doesn't add up. In 2019, the ACT Supreme Court fined a Canberra plumbing company that advertised under nine business names "presented as unrelated" and claimed 25 or 30 years of operation. It had started in 2015 at the earliest.
- Offers that sound too generous. A NSW website whose licence was cancelled in February 2026 advertised no call-out fee and service at no charge if the work wasn't done the same day. The regulator called those offers false.
- A "plumber" that isn't one. NSW found that same website's "true nature" was to "collect and sell consumer data to other contractors for a fee." If your details go to several businesses, you can end up dealing with someone you never chose.
- No written quote or itemised invoice. Failing to give either was among the NSW findings in 2026.
Questions to ask on the first call
- What's your licence number, and whose name is it in?
- Will you do the job yourself? If not, who will?
- How often do you do this kind of job?
- Will I get a written, itemised quote before you start?
- How much deposit do you need, and what does it pay for?
- Will I get a compliance certificate when it's done?
Reviews help, but they aren't proof
Read reviews for detail about real jobs: what went wrong, how it was fixed, whether the price matched the quote. Check that the business name in the reviews matches the name on the licence. Fake reviews are a known problem: a 2026 petition to the Victorian Parliament complained about scam locksmith sites with "fake addresses and fake reviews".
Where PlumbMatch fits
We're a referral service, not a plumbing business, and we never do the work. We match your job with local plumbers who specialise in it and whose licences we've checked. Only the one who takes the job gets your phone number and email, and we never sell your details. You can, and should, still run every check on this page yourself. How it works explains how the match is made.
What we would do
Give yourself a few minutes before you say yes, even on an urgent job. Turn off the water or the power so it's safe, then check the licence and ask who's coming. A good plumber won't mind the questions. Every business on the red flag list above relied on people deciding in a rush, and a short pause is the simplest protection you have. When you're ready, choose the plumber who does your kind of job and answers plainly.