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If you run plumbing work in both Queensland and Victoria, the two systems are not variations on a theme. They are structured differently at the most basic level.
First, a name change worth knowing: Victoria's plumbing regulator is now the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC), which has taken over from the Victorian Building Authority. Plenty of documentation, job ads and advice still say VBA.
Queensland licences the business. Victoria does not.
In Queensland, the QBCC issues occupational licences to individuals doing the work and contractor licences to businesses contracting for it. You need both.
In Victoria, the BPC registers and licences individuals only. It does not register or licence plumbing companies at all.
An employer who has built their compliance model in Queensland and assumes it carries south will look for a Victorian business licence that does not exist. One coming the other way will assume individual credentials are sufficient in Queensland and be wrong.
This is Victoria's version of the tiering, and it sits entirely on the individual.
Where compliance certificates are required, a registered plumber's work must be certified by a supervising licensed plumber within five days.
The practical consequence. Picture a Melbourne mechanical services company that has hired well - six registered plumbers, all competent, all working lawfully. Nobody on the team is licensed. Every job requiring a compliance certificate now depends on someone outside the business, on a five-day clock. That is a staffing decision nobody consciously made.
If you are hiring in Victoria, know whether you are buying a registered plumber or a licensed one, and make sure you have at least one of the latter.
Seven main classes: drainage, gasfitting, mechanical service, roofing stormwater, sanitary, irrigation (non-agricultural), and water supply.
Then specialised classes requiring a parent main class first - backflow prevention, thermostatic mixing valve, Type A appliance conversion and servicing. Then restricted classes covering portions of a main class - mechanical services variants for split systems and duct fixing, roofing stormwater for Class 10A buildings, refrigerated air-conditioning for split system heat pump water heaters. Plus fire protection and refrigerated air-conditioning as classes in their own right, and Type B gasfitting.
Note what that means for HVAC work in Victoria: mechanical service and refrigerated air-conditioning are plumbing classes. HVAC-adjacent work there can require a plumbing credential in addition to any refrigerant handling licence the equipment needs.
Occupational plumber and/or drainer licences, restricted variants including water plumber and on-site sewage facility drainer, contractor and supervisor licences covering plumbing and drainage combined, drainage standalone, and drainage on-site sewage. Endorsements sit on top for existing licensees. Gasfitting is its own category.
HJ Recruitment places permanent plumbing, HVAC and refrigeration, electrical, fire and solar tradespeople with Australian employers.
Sources- Building and Plumbing Commission - Which registration or licence do I need- Building and Plumbing Commission - Plumber classes and categories- QBCC - Plumbing and drainage licences
