Checking a Queensland plumber
Two QBCC registers matter: the QBCC licensee register and the occupational plumber and drainer register. Both are searched through myQBCC, and the QBCC page listing them is in our sources.
For plumbing, the QBCC issues contractor and nominee supervisor licences. It also says a contractor who performs plumbing work needs an occupational licence, so look up the business and the person who'll actually do the job.
What a QBCC licensee's ad must say
A licensee's advertising must carry the name they're licensed under, say they're licensed under the QBCC Act, and give their licensee number. The QBCC treats websites, social media pages and online directories as ads too.
A licensee who leaves that out faces up to 35 penalty units. Back in October 2020, the QBCC said unlicensed plumbers were posing as licensed in social media ads. It said it had built a program to scrape those ads.
Jobs the QBCC says you may do yourself
You can
- Replace a shower head or a domestic water filter cartridge.
- Replace the jumper valve or washer in a tap.
- Inside a toilet cistern, repair or replace the drop valve washer, float valve washer or suction cup rubber.
- Replace caps on ground-level inspection openings of a sanitary drain, and clean or maintain a ground-level grate over a trap.
- Irrigation work downstream of a tap, isolating valve or backflow device.
- Incidental unskilled tasks, like digging or backfilling a trench.
Leave to a licensed plumber
- Anything outside the QBCC's list of unregulated work.
- Fitting a heat pump or solar hot water system. The installer needs a QBCC endorsement for solar and heat pumps.
- Changing a hot water thermostat setting, which Queensland Health says a licensed electrician should do.
This list comes from the QBCC's DIY plumbing guide, last published in 2021. Unregulated work needs no licence, no QBCC or council approval and no report, but it must still meet the minimum standards in the legislation and codes.
Notifiable work
Some Queensland plumbing is notifiable work. The licensee or supervising contractor registers it with the QBCC on Form 4 or 4A within 10 business days of invoicing you. A copy should reach you within 20 business days of it being registered.
Hot water in Queensland
All new and replacement hot water systems in Queensland must have a temperature control device. The water has to be heated to at least 60°C to stop bacteria like Legionella growing, and the state's guidance puts the maximum at the tap at 50°C.
For rebates and discounts, see our Queensland hot water page and STCs explained.
Queensland cities
From Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast up to Townsville and Cairns, each Queensland city has its own page below. Tell us what's wrong and we'll match it with one QBCC-licensed plumber who specialises in that work.