Plumbing and Drainage Act 2011

The Act organises regulation around a small set of foundational concepts that determine scope, duty-bearers and regulatory interventions.

• Plumbing and drainage work, and plumbing installations. The Act applies to on-site plumbing and drainage work, defined in detail at s 4. The definition covers construction of or work on plumbing installations that connect, directly or indirectly, to a network utility operator’s water supply system (s 4(1)(a)), certain water supply systems associated with residential building work (s 4(1)(b)), sanitary plumbing systems (s 4(1)(c)), sanitary drainage systems upstream from connection points to sewers, reuse systems or on-site wastewater treatment (s 4(1)(d)), and other work declared by regulation (s 4(1)(e)). A plumbing installation is an installation that conveys or controls the conveyance of water but excludes anything beyond the outlet from a fixture, fitting or pressurised line (s 4(2)). The Act excludes various specified work from its application, subject to the regulations, such as stormwater pipes, fire suppression systems, network operator infrastructure and certain owner/occupier minor repairs (s 4(5)(a)-(e)).

• Responsible person. The statutory definition of responsible person ties regulatory responsibility to licensed contractors or supervisor certificate holders under the Home Building Act 1989: where work is carried out by a licence/certificate holder, that holder is the responsible person; where work is carried out under the immediate or general supervision of such a holder, the holder is the responsible person (s 5). The responsible person concept is central: duties to pre‑notify, to ensure code compliance, to provide certificates and plans, and to comply with directions are framed as obligations of the responsible person (ss 7, 9, 13, 15-16, 14).

• Code compliance and authorised fittings. The Act makes code compliance a statutory touchstone. The responsible person must ensure work complies with the Plumbing Code of Australia and any standards prescribed by regulation (s 7). Compliance under s 7 is explicitly labelled as “code compliant”. The plumbing regulator controls which fittings may be used by published order in the Gazette (s 20), and s 8 makes the use of authorised fittings a separate statutory obligation.

• Pre-notification and inspection. The Act establishes mandatory pre-notification in most cases: the responsible person must give a notice of work in an approved form to the plumbing regulator and ensure that work matches the notice (s 9). Special timing applies where the work involves a proposed performance solution, requiring notification no later than 20 business days before the work (s 9(3)(a)). The regulator may inspect works to monitor compliance (s 12) and the responsible person must notify when the work will be ready for inspection (s 13), pay any inspection fee required by regulation (s 13(2)), and make the work accessible during an inspection period agreed or reasonably specified by the regulator (s 13(3)-(5)).

• Certificates and plans. On completion, the responsible person must supply a certificate of compliance to the plumbing regulator and to the person for whom the work is carried out (s 15). Where the work includes sanitary drainage systems, a plan must be supplied to the owner and the regulator (s 16). The Act defines a certificate of compliance as an approved-form statement that the work is code compliant (s 15(3)).

• Inspection and enforcement architecture. The plumbing regulator has monitoring and public-health safeguarding functions (s 19). The regulator may appoint inspectors and enforcement officers (ss 22-23); inspectors require occupier consent to enter (s 26) while enforcement officers have notice-based entry powers subject to additional safeguards for residences and search warrants (ss 29-31, 35). Enforcement officers may require assistance, answers to questions and exercise warrant powers; inspectors’ inspection powers are broadly framed but contingent on consent (ss 27, 34). The regulator may issue directions to remedy defective or non-compliant work, including disconnecting supplies and ordering replacement of fittings, with time-limited authority and appeal rights to the Land and Environment Court (ss 14, 39).

• Delegation and local delivery. The regulator may delegate functions and subdelegate to councils or contractors (s 21). Regulations may allow delegated bodies to set fees and provide a methodology or maximums (s 52(3)). This enables local councils or joint organisations to exercise regulator functions, with the Act providing for delegation of plan-supply obligations (s 16(3)).

• Information flows and protections. The plumbing regulator may disclose information obtained under the Act to local councils, network utility operators and the Ministry of Health where necessary for functions (s 47(1)), and those bodies may reciprocate (s 47(2)). The section explicitly permits disclosure notwithstanding other laws including privacy legislation (s 47(3)). Authorised persons receive limited statutory immunity for acts done in good faith (s 48).

These core concepts determine who decides (the plumbing regulator and its delegates), who pays (owners/occupiers, responsible persons and possibly councils where regulations permit fees,see s 12(3), s 13(2), s 38 and s 52), and the behavioural change the statute expects: licensed-responsible persons must adopt pre-notification, maintain code compliance and facilitate inspection and certification, and regulators must exercise inspection, direction and enforcement functions to protect public health and ensure compliance.

The Act identifies several overlapping categories of affected actors and assigns duties and powers to each.

• Responsible persons (s 5). These are primarily holders of endorsed contractor licences or supervisor certificates under the Home Building Act 1989. Where work is carried out under the immediate or general supervision of such licence/certificate holders, the licence/certificate holder remains the responsible person (s 5). Responsible persons bear the principal operational obligations: ensuring code compliance (s 7), using authorised fittings (s 8), pre-notifying work (s 9), supplying certificates of compliance (s 15) and plans (s 16), notifying defective installations discovered during work (s 11), and making works available for inspection (s 13).

• Tradespersons and supervised workers. The Act permits tradesperson certificate holders to do work under general supervision (s 6(1)(c)). They remain subject to the supervision requirements and the responsibilities of the supervising responsible person. The Act restricts who may carry out plumbing and drainage work: it must be done either by a licence/certificate holder, under immediate supervision of such a holder, or by a tradesperson under general supervision (s 6(1)).

• Owners and occupiers. Owners and occupiers are affected in multiple ways. They may receive notices of defective installations discovered during work on their land (s 11(1)). Owners or their agents are recipients of plans of sanitary drainage systems on completion (s 16(1)(a)). Owners and occupiers can also be liable for recovery of reasonable costs for entry and inspection, if work required by the plumbing regulator follows an inspection (s 38). Owners and occupiers who control a plumbing installation or sanitary drainage system must take all reasonable steps to prevent threats to public health or safety (s 17).

• Network utility operators and water authorities. The Act defines network utility operators to include Hunter Water, Sydney Water, registered operators under the Water Industry Competition Act and local councils exercising water or sewerage functions (s 3). These entities are relevant in scope definitions (s 4) and may receive information from the plumbing regulator where necessary for their functions (s 47(1)(b)). The Act also revises older statutory requirements that referred to fittings approved by network utility operators, replacing those references with the new authorised fitting regime (Schedule 1, cl 3(2)).

• Local councils, joint organisations and county councils. They may be delegates of the plumbing regulator (s 21) and may be authorised to receive plans or act under delegated functions (s 16(3)). The regulations can confer fee-setting powers on delegated councils or joint organisations and prescribe methodology and maximum fees (s 52(3)). Councils are therefore likely to be frontline delivery agents in locations where functions are delegated.

• Plumbing regulator and authorised persons. The plumbing regulator (the Secretary of the administering department) performs monitoring and public-health safeguarding functions (s 19). The regulator appoints inspectors and enforcement officers (ss 22-23) and issues identification cards that set out powers and kinds of premises to which those powers extend (s 24). Authorised persons exercise entry, inspection and enforcement powers (Parts 4 and 5) and are protected from personal liability for acts or omissions done in good faith under the Act (s 48).

• Persons who contract for works other than the owner. A person who contracts another to carry out plumbing and drainage work but is not the owner must, after receiving a certificate of compliance, give a copy to the owner or the owner’s agent within the period prescribed by regulation (s 15(2)). This imposes an information-transmission obligation on commercial parties that are not premises owners.

• Manufacturers and suppliers of fittings. The plumbing regulator controls authorised fittings by Gazette order (s 20). Responsible persons must ensure fittings used are authorised (s 8). These provisions affect manufacturers’ and suppliers’ access to the NSW market for specified fittings, subject to the regulator’s orders and the regulatory process.

Who pays and who decides. The Act contemplates payment of inspection fees (s 12(3), s 13(2)), recovery of inspection-entry costs where remedial work is required (s 38) and potential local fee-setting by delegated councils under the regulations (s 52(3)). Decision-making authority is concentrated in the plumbing regulator, which may issue directions (s 14), publish fittings directions (s 20), appoint authorised persons (ss 22-23), delegate functions (s 21) and disclose information under s 47. Appeals from certain regulator directions lie to the Land and Environment Court (s 39).

The Act’s staged commencement and transitional provisions detail differential application across utility areas and protect certain pre-existing works and fittings (Schedule 1, cl 2-6). Those provisions affect early and transitional duties for owners, contractors and regulators in areas formerly under different regimes.

The Act sets out a set of mandatory duties for responsible persons, owners/occupiers and duties on the plumbing regulator, plus procedural rights such as appeals and protections.

Primary duties on responsible persons

• Licensing/supervision requirement. People must not carry out any plumbing and drainage work unless they hold an endorsed contractor licence or supervisor certificate under the Home Building Act 1989 that authorises that kind of work, do the work under immediate supervision of such a licence/certificate holder, or hold a tradesperson certificate and perform the work under general supervision (s 6(1)). Maximum penalty is 100 penalty units.

• Code compliance. The responsible person must ensure the work complies with the Plumbing Code of Australia and any standards prescribed by regulation (s 7). Work done in accordance with s 7 is “code compliant”. Failure attracts a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units.

• Use of authorised fittings. The responsible person must ensure any fitting used is an authorised fitting as defined by the regulator’s orders (s 8). Maximum penalty 100 penalty units.

• Pre-notification. Responsible persons must give the plumbing regulator a notice of work in an approved form specifying the work and responsible person before carrying out the work, except for specified circumstances (s 9). Notices have timing rules: work involving a proposed performance solution must be notified no later than 20 business days before the work (s 9(3)(a)); in other cases notice must be given before the work is carried out and before any notice under s 13 is given (s 9(3)(b)). Maximum penalty 100 penalty units. If work materially differs from the notified work, a further notice must be given (s 9(4) and note).

• Inspection readiness. The responsible person must notify the plumbing regulator when the work will be ready for inspection before or within a period prescribed by regulation after completing the work (s 13(1)). Any fee required for the inspection under the regulations must be paid for the notice to be “duly given” (s 13(2)). The responsible person must ensure accessibility for inspection in an inspection period agreed or specified by the regulator and be present or have an agreed representative who is qualified to carry out the work without supervision (s 13(3)-(5)).

• Certificates of compliance and plan supply. After completion the responsible person must give a certificate of compliance to the regulator (on completion where a physical inspection has occurred, or within the period prescribed in other cases) and must give a copy to the person for whom the work was carried out (s 15(1)). For sanitary drainage work the responsible person must supply a plan in approved form to the owner and to the plumbing regulator (s 16(1)). Requirements carry maximum penalties of 100 penalty units.

• Notification of defective installations. The responsible person who discovers a defective installation or system in the course of carrying out work must give the owner or occupier written notice within the period prescribed by regulation (s 11(1)). If the defect poses an imminent threat to public health or safety, the responsible person must give the plumbing regulator written notice within the period prescribed (s 11(2)). Maximum penalty 100 units.

Regulator duties and powers

• Monitoring and public-health duty. The plumbing regulator must monitor compliance and ensure plumbing and drainage work does not threaten public health or safety, and exercise any other functions conferred by the Act (s 19).

• Inspection and direction powers. The regulator may inspect works and documents (s 12) and, where non-compliance or a risk is found, may issue directions to repair, make code compliant work, replace unauthorised fittings, disconnect water or sewer connections, or require uncovering of work for inspection (s 14). Directions must be complied with unless the recipient has a reasonable excuse, and directions are enforceable with penalties specified (s 14(2)-(3)). Directions cease if the work is the subject of a Home Building Act order (s 14(4)) and have a time limit of two years after completion (s 14(5)).

• Authorisation of fittings. The regulator may give directions by Gazette order specifying fittings that may or may not be used in plumbing and drainage work (s 20). Only fittings consistent with such a direction are authorised (s 20(3)).

• Delegation. The regulator may delegate functions to local councils, joint organisations, county councils or other competent persons (s 21). Subdelegation by councils to general managers or contractors is permitted (s 21(2)).

Rights, remedies and procedural rules

• Appeal. A person may appeal to the Land and Environment Court against a direction of the plumbing regulator under s 14 (s 39).

• Injunctions. The Land and Environment Court may grant injunctions where plumbing and drainage work constitutes or would constitute serious risks to public health, safety or the public (s 40). The Minister or regulator may apply for such injunctions (s 40(1)-(3)). The Court need not require an undertaking as to damages or costs when the Minister or regulator is the applicant (s 40(7)).

• Penalty notices and prosecutions. Enforcement officers may issue penalty notices for prescribed offences (s 41). The Fines Act applies to penalty notices (s 41(3)). Prosecutions are by summary process in the Local Court or the Land and Environment Court in summary jurisdiction (s 42). Time limits for commencing proceedings are three years from the commission of the offence (s 42(3)).

• Evidentiary and procedural provisions. The Act provides for evidentiary certificates signed by the plumbing regulator to be prima facie evidence of matters such as appointments, notices and directions (s 50). Service of notices and directions has detailed permitted methods including email to addresses specified for service (s 51).

Other key duties

• Owners and occupiers must take all reasonable steps to ensure installations do not threaten public health or safety (s 17).

• Persons must not provide false or misleading documents required by the Act (s 45). The plumbing regulator and authorised persons have limited immunity for acts done in good faith (s 48).

Continuing obligations and offences

• A continuing-offence rule applies where a person contravenes a requirement to do or cease to do something; the contravention continues until compliance and daily penalties may apply (s 42A). Directions continue in effect until complied with even where their specified time has passed (s 49).

Collectively, the provisions allocate duties principally to responsible persons and owners/occupiers, give the plumbing regulator a suite of powers to inspect and direct remedial work, equip enforcement officers with entry and warrant powers, and create procedural rights including appeals and injunction relief.

The Act combines administrative enforcement mechanisms, civil remedies and criminal penalties to secure compliance, with a gradation between incentive/administrative tools and punitive sanctions.

Monetary penalties and penalty notices

• Penalty quantum. The Act specifies maximum monetary penalties for many offences, frequently capped at 100 penalty units for individuals and 200 penalty units for corporations in particular provisions (see ss 6(1), 7, 8, 9(1), 10(3)-(4), 11(1)-(2), 13(1), 14(2)-(3), 15(1)-(2), 16(1)-(2), 17(1), 28(1), 36(1), 37(7)). The regulations may prescribe offences punishable by penalties not exceeding 20 penalty units (s 52(4)). The Act does not state the monetary value of a penalty unit; penalties are expressed in penalty-unit terms by the statute.

• Penalty notices. Enforcement officers may issue penalty notices for offences prescribed by regulation as penalty notice offences (s 41). The Fines Act 1996 applies to penalty notices (s 41(3)) and the amount payable under a penalty notice is the amount prescribed for the alleged offence by the regulations, subject to the maximum court penalty (s 41(4)). The Act preserves other enforcement options (s 41(5)).

Criminal enforcement and proceedings

• Summary proceedings. Proceedings for offences under the Act are to be dealt with summarily in the Local Court or by the Land and Environment Court in summary jurisdiction (s 42(1)). Proceedings for offences under the regulations are to be dealt with summarily in the Local Court (s 42(2)). Prosecutions must be commenced within three years of the commission of the offence (s 42(3)).

• Continuing offences and daily penalties. The Act treats breaches of statutory requirements as continuing offences where a person contravenes a requirement to do or cease to do something; the contravention continues until complied with and may attract liability for each day it continues (s 42A).

Administrative directions and remedial orders

• Directions by regulator. The plumbing regulator may issue a written direction to the responsible person to repair work done otherwise than in a proper and skilful manner, to make work code compliant, to repair defective fittings, to replace unauthorised fittings, to disconnect water supplies or sanitary systems if there is a risk to public health, or to uncover work for inspection among other powers (s 14(1)(a)-(j)). The recipient must comply within the period specified unless they have a reasonable excuse; non-compliance attracts a maximum penalty and continuing daily penalties (s 14(2)). A direction ceases to have effect where the work is subject to an order under the Home Building Act (s 14(4)) and is of no effect if issued more than two years after the work was completed (s 14(5)).

• Cost recovery. If inspection leads the regulator to require work, the regulator may recover reasonable costs of entry and inspection from the owner or occupier or the responsible person for the work (s 38).

Enforcement powers: entry, inspection, warrants and forcible entry

• Inspectors. Inspectors are appointed by the regulator and are authorised persons (s 22). Inspectors must obtain the occupier’s consent to enter premises (s 26). With consent, they may inspect premises and related articles, open ground or remove flooring as necessary to ascertain condition, take measurements, surveys and samples, and bring equipment or people onto the premises (s 27). Obstructing an inspector without reasonable excuse is an offence with penalties (s 28).

• Enforcement officers. Enforcement officers are appointed by the regulator and are authorised persons (s 23). They have broader entry powers: they may enter non-residential premises at reasonable daytime hours or hours business is usually carried on (s 29). They cannot enter residential parts except with consent or under a search warrant (s 30). Notice of entry is required in writing unless specified exceptions apply, such as consent or urgent entry where the regulator has authorised no-notice entry (s 31). Enforcement officers can inspect, require opening or pulling down of work when they suspect contraventions, take measurements and samples, require reasonable help and require persons to answer questions and furnish information (s 34). Obstruction of enforcement officers or failure to comply with their requirements without reasonable excuse is an offence with penalties (s 36).

• Search warrants. Enforcement officers may apply to an authorised warrants officer for a search warrant where there are reasonable grounds to believe the Act or regulations have been contravened on premises (s 35(1)-(2)). A warrant authorises the named enforcement officer to enter and search for evidence (s 35(2)). The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002, Division 4 of Part 5, applies to such search warrants (s 35(3)). Police may accompany enforcement officers executing warrants and assist them (s 35(4)).

• Use of force. Reasonable force may be used to gain entry to non-residential premises only where the plumbing regulator has authorised the use of force in writing for that particular entry and has specified the circumstances which must exist before force may be used (s 32). Use of force authority must be in writing and specify the circumstances (s 32(2)).

Procedural protections and remedies

• Appeal rights. Directions under s 14 may be appealed to the Land and Environment Court (s 39).

• Injunction powers. The Land and Environment Court may grant injunctions in relation to works that pose or would pose a serious risk to public health or safety, at the Minister’s or regulator’s or another person’s application (s 40). The Court may also grant injunctions by consent and may grant interim injunctions pending determination (s 40(2)-(3)). The Act provides that the Court must not require the Minister or regulator to give an undertaking as to damages or costs as a condition of granting an interim injunction when that body is the applicant (s 40(7)).

Evidentiary and service provisions

• Prima facie evidence. A certificate purporting to be signed by the plumbing regulator certifying appointments, notices, directions or that an appointment was in force is prima facie evidence of those matters (s 50).

• Service of notices. The Act prescribes multiple permissible methods for serving notices and directions, including personal service, leaving at residence or place of business, posting to the last known address, email to an address specified for service and other methods authorised by regulation (s 51(1)). The Act allows other legally permissible service methods to continue to operate (s 51(2)).

Collectively, the enforcement framework couples administrative remedial directions and cost recovery with criminal summary penalties and civil injunction relief, and provides for delegated local enforcement, penalty notices and a set of procedural protections for regulated parties.

The Act is explicitly designed to operate alongside a set of federal and state instruments and to modify meaning in certain contexts.

Primary legislative links

• Home Building Act 1989. The licensing and supervision model in this Act is anchored to the Home Building Act 1989. The responsible person definition in s 5 depends on endorsed contractor licences and supervisor certificates under the Home Building Act. Section 6 requires that plumbing and drainage work be performed by persons authorised under the Home Building Act (s 6(1)). Schedule 1, cl 6 preserves work carried out under a permit issued under the Local Government Act 1993 or any other Act before commencement of s 9 as pre-notified in certain circumstances.

• Plumbing Code of Australia. The Act makes compliance with the Plumbing Code of Australia a statutory requirement (s 7). The statutory term “code compliant” is defined by compliance with s 7 and the Code. Section 3 also adopts the term performance solution from the Plumbing Code of Australia.

• Water and sewer statutes. The Act defines network utility operator to include Hunter Water Corporation, Sydney Water Corporation and other water authorities and registered operators under the Water Industry Competition Act 2006 and local government water functions (s 3). Section 4 uses network utility operators to mark out the scope of plumbing and drainage work that is captured by the Act, such as installations that connect to a network utility operator’s water supply system (s 4(1)(a), (d)).

• Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002. Search warrants issued under s 35 are governed by Division 4 of Part 5 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (s 35(3)), and authorised warrants officers are those within the meaning of that Act (s 35(5)). The Act also cross-references procedural protections for search warrants and policing support (s 35(4)).

• Fair Trading Act 1987. Inspectors and enforcement officers may include investigators under the Fair Trading Act (ss 22(2)(d), 23(2)(c)).

• Local Government Act 1993. The definitions of county council and joint organisation and delegation to local councils interact with local government statutory functions (s 3). Schedule 1 cl 6 references permits issued under the Local Government Act 1993 for transitional treatment.

Information sharing and privacy

• Privacy and other laws. Section 47 authorises information sharing between the plumbing regulator, local councils, network utility operators and the Ministry of Health for necessary purposes and states that such disclosure may occur despite any prohibition or compliance requirement in any Act or law, including the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (s 47(3)). This creates an express statutory gateway for information exchange that would otherwise be constrained by privacy law.

Regulatory instrument interaction

• Regulations. The Governor may make regulations for any matter required or permitted to be prescribed by the Act (s 52(1)). The regulations may make provision in relation to fees (s 52(2)(a)), requirements for carrying out plumbing and drainage work (s 52(2)(b)), delegation fee-setting and methodology where functions have been delegated (s 52(3)), and may create offences punishable by a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units (s 52(4)). Regulations are thus the principal means of operationalising inspection fees, timing of prescribed periods, exemptions and staged commencement in utility areas (Schedule 1, cl 2).

Transitional and saving interaction

• Staged commencement and savings. Schedule 1, cl 2 allows the regulations to prescribe different start dates for provisions in different utility areas, and to exclude certain areas from staged commencement where specified provisions apply from the date of commencement (Schedule 1, cl 2(4)). Schedule 1, cl 3 reinterprets requirements in relevant laws to map older standards and fitting-approval regimes into the Act’s code‑compliant and authorised fittings regime upon commencement of ss 7 and 8. Schedule 1, cl 5 preserves certain pre-commencement work as code compliant or fittings as authorised where they complied with prior codes or were lawfully used at the time (Schedule 1, cl 5(1)-(2)).

Appeals and court interaction

• Land and Environment Court. Appeals against directions under s 14 are heard by the Land and Environment Court (s 39). The Land and Environment Court also has injunction powers under s 40 and may exercise those powers in situations where serious risk to public health or safety is shown.

Evidentiary and procedural overlaps

• Fines Act and service rules. Penalty notices are governed by the Fines Act 1996 (s 41(3)) and service of notices follows the Act’s service provisions which complement any other statutory or court rules (s 51(2)).

Overall, the Act positions itself as a sector-specific statute that borrows licensing and professional-regulation architecture from the Home Building Act, adopts technical standards produced by the national building regulatory instrument (the Plumbing Code of Australia), interfaces with water-sector statutes for scope and delegation, and relies on regulations for operational detail including fees, timing and exemptions. It provides statutory gateways for information sharing and aligns enforcement and search-warrant procedures with broader law-enforcement legislation.

The text includes editorial annotations noting amendments to specific sections across a sequence of years. The Act as provided carries amendment annotations at various provisions; these are the amendments recorded in the source text.

• s 3 (Definitions) carries amendment annotations: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [1]; 2017 No 22, Sch 4.34 [1] [2]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [1]; 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [1] [2]; 2021 No 26, Sch 2.11; 2022 No 59, Sch 3.53; 2024 No 53, Sch 3.7. These annotations indicate amendments to definitions across several legislative instruments between 2013 and 2024.

• s 4 includes amendment annotations: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [2]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [2].

• s 9: Am 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [3].

• s 12: Am 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [4].

• s 14: Am 2013 No 95, Sch 4.29; 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [5]-[8].

• s 15: Am 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [9].

• s 16: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [3] [4]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [3] [4]; 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [10] [11].

• s 21: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [5]-[7]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [5]-[7].

• s 22: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [8]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [8].

• s 23: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [9]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [9].

• s 24: s 24 present without amendment note in the provided text.

• s 41: Substituted 2017 No 22, Sch 3.56.

• s 42A: Inserted 2018 No 43, Sch 2.2 [12].

• s 47: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [10]-[12]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [10] [11].

• s 48: Am 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [13]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [12].

• s 51: Amended 2017 No 25, Sch 1.24 [1] [2].

• s 52: Amended 2013 No 47, Sch 1.20 [14]; 2017 No 65, Sch 2.23 [13] [14].

• Various other sections include amendment notes in the body (for example s 3 and s 16 have earlier annotations).

Schedule notes

• Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 are marked as repealed in the source: "Schedules 2, 3 (Repealed)" with references to earlier repeals (sch 2: Rep 1987 No 15, sec 30C; sch 3: Rep 1987 No 15, sec 30C).

Transitional provisions

• Schedule 1 includes staged commencement, transitional treatment for pre-existing works, conversion of older code references to “code compliant” upon commencement of s 7, preservation of fittings lawfully used before s 8 commencement (Schedule 1, cls 2-6). Schedule 1, cl 2 allows regulations to prescribe different start dates for different utility areas.

The source text does not supply the instruments or exact content of those amending statutes or the full legislative history beyond the inline annotations. The annotations identify the years and schedules where amendments were made in other Acts; the text does not provide the full amending language. Where the Act refers to being amended, the notes indicate which sections were amended and the amending Acts and schedule references.

The source text supplied does not record or cite any decided cases or litigation history. The only court references in the Act concern statutory procedural rights and jurisdictions:

• Appeals from directions of the plumbing regulator are to the Land and Environment Court (s 39).

• The Land and Environment Court may grant injunctions in respect of serious risks to public health or safety, and the Act prescribes certain evidentiary and undertaking rules in those proceedings (s 40).

• Search warrants issued under s 35 are governed by the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002, and police may accompany enforcement officers executing such warrants (s 35(3)-(4)).

Beyond these procedural and jurisdictional cross-references, the provided Act text contains no case citations, statutory case law references or examples of litigation outcomes. Any analysis of how courts have interpreted directions, the regulator’s powers, or continuing-offence provisions would require reference to external case law not contained in this source.

The Act contains several technical and practical traps that can lead to liability or operational disruption if not anticipated and managed.

Pre-notification timing and scope

• Performance-solution threshold. When the work involves a proposed performance solution as defined in the Plumbing Code of Australia, the notice-of-work timing is substantially longer: no later than 20 business days before the work is carried out (s 9(3)(a)). Responsible persons must identify whether the work is a proposed performance solution and plan timeline accordingly.

• Strict correspondence requirement. Work done must correspond to the specifications in the notice of work; “corresponds” is limited to work that is the same as or not materially different from the notified work and performed by or under the supervision of the responsible person named in the notice (s 9(4)). Any material deviation or change of responsible person requires a further notice before carrying out the changed work (s 9(4) and note). Failure to re-notify risks contravention exposure and later direction under s 14.

Inspection readiness and fees

• Fee pre-condition for inspection notice. A notice under s 13 is only “duly given” if any fee required by the regulations for the inspection has been paid (s 13(2)). Because regulation-making is the mechanism to set inspection fees (s 12(3), s 52(2)(a)), a failure to pay a prescribed fee renders a notice defective and can trigger later directions and penalties.

• Inspection period obligations. The plumbing regulator may specify the inspection period (s 13(3)-(4)). The responsible person must ensure the works are accessible and must be present or provide an agreed representative qualified to carry out the work without supervision (s 13(5)). Practical risk: failing to secure the worker’s attendance or a qualified representative can expose the responsible person to penalties under s 13(5).

Emergency work and retrospective notice

• Emergency exceptions but retrospective notice. Emergency work is exempt from pre-notification (s 10(1)-(2)) but requires notice to the plumbing regulator within a period prescribed by regulation after the work is carried out (s 10(3)). The failure to comply within the prescribed period carries a maximum penalty (s 10(3)). Responsible persons should not rely on emergency status as an absolute defence to notification obligations.

Certificates and plans: timing and recipients

• Certificate timeline. Where a physical inspection has been conducted, a certificate of compliance must be given on completion; in other cases it must be given within a period prescribed by regulation (s 15(1)(a)). The responsible person must also give a copy to the person for whom the work was carried out within a regulated period (s 15(1)(b)). The regulations will determine the precise deadlines; non-compliance draws penalties.

• Plan supply and delegation. Plans of sanitary drainage systems must be supplied to the owner and the plumbing regulator on completion or within a period prescribed by regulation (s 16(1), (4A)). The regulator may delegate its functions, and plan supply to the regulator may be satisfied by supplying plans to a local council or county council if the plumbing regulator has delegated functions under this section (s 16(3)). If responsibilities have been delegated, the responsible person must check the delegate and supply route to avoid missing a statutory recipient.

Authorised fittings regime

• Shift from network operator approvals. Schedule 1, cl 3(2) directs that where other laws required fittings approved by a network utility operator, those references are to be read as requiring use of authorised fittings under this Act after the commencement of s 8. Responsible persons and suppliers must track the regulator’s Gazette directions under s 20 to know which fittings are authorised; using an unauthorised fitting is a standalone offence (s 8).

Regulator directions and limits

• Wide remedial powers. The regulator may require repair, replacement, disconnection, uncovering of work and re-notification (s 14(1)(a)-(j)). The regulator’s directions can require the responsible person to disconnect water supplies or to disconnect a sanitary plumbing/drainage system from a sewer where there is a reasonable-ground risk to public health (s 14(1)(e)-(f)). Such directions can have immediate operational consequences and impose substantial remedial costs.

• Time limits and defences. A direction ceases to have effect if the work becomes subject to a Home Building Act order (s 14(4)) and is of no effect if issued more than two years after completion (s 14(5)). There is a specific defence for failing to comply with an uncovering direction where the responsible person establishes they took all reasonable steps to ensure uncovering occurred (s 14(10)). Parties must be prepared to document steps taken.

Entry, consent and residential protections

• Inspectors require consent. Inspectors may enter premises only with occupier consent (s 26). Enforcement officers have notice-based entry but cannot enter residential parts except with consent or under a warrant (ss 29-30). Parties should be aware of the distinction between inspectors and enforcement officers when planning inspections and understanding lawful entry constraints.

• Notice requirements and urgent entry. The regulator must give written notice before an enforcement officer enters (s 31(1)-(2)) unless specified exceptions apply, such as consent, inspection already notified under Division 3 of Part 2, authorised urgent no‑notice entry, or a search warrant (s 31(3)). Urgent entries must be promptly notified to the regulator by the enforcement officer (s 33), and the regulator must notify appropriate persons or authorities (s 33(2)). Failure to comply with notice provisions or to follow urgent-entry protocols may raise procedural disputes.

Information sharing and privacy exceptions

• Statutory privacy gateway. Section 47 allows information exchange despite prohibitions or requirements in any Act or law, including privacy legislation (s 47(3)). Where the plumbing regulator or delegates provide or receive information, privacy controls under other statutes may not block the disclosure. Responsible persons and owners should be aware that the regulator may share regulated information with councils, network utility operators and the Ministry of Health where necessary (s 47(1)).

Continuing obligations

• Continuing offences and directions. Contraventions of requirements that are expressed as continuing obligations attract daily liability until complied with (s 42A). Directions continue in effect until complied with (s 49). In practice this can convert a single breach into a persistent exposure to penalties until remedial work is completed and compliance is formalised.

Delegation and fee-setting risks

• Delegation and local fee variability. The plumbing regulator may delegate functions to local councils and joint organisations and the regulations allow delegated bodies to set fees and methodologies, including maximums (s 21(1), s 52(3)). This creates potential variation in fee regimes across local areas. Responsible persons working in multiple local government areas must monitor local fee regimes and any fee-setting methodologies adopted by delegates.

Evidentiary and service pitfalls

• Certificate prima facie. A certificate purporting to be signed by the plumbing regulator is prima facie evidence of matters such as appointments, notices and directions (s 50). Parties must engage promptly with certificates issued under s 50 because such certificates carry evidentiary weight unless rebutted.

• Service by email. Service methods include email to an address specified by the person for service of notices (s 51(1)(a)(v), (b)(iv)). Parties should ensure they have nominated an appropriate email address for service and manage their inboxes for regulatory communications.

Taken together, these provisions place procedural and substantive compliance burdens on responsible persons, require accurate and timely documentation, make pre-notification and inspection logistics a central compliance task, and create local variability through delegation and regulation.

Below is a practical, statute‑driven compliance checklist mapped to the Act’s provisions. The checklist is procedural and factual; users should consult the Act and the regulations for timings, fees and approved forms.

1. Verify the responsible person and licensing status (s 5; s 6)

   • Confirm whether the work will be carried out by an endorsed contractor licence holder or supervisor certificate holder under the Home Building Act 1989; if the work is to be carried out under supervision, confirm the immediate or general supervision arrangements meet the Home Building Act definitions (s 5; s 6(1)(a)-(c)).
   • If the work will be performed by a tradesperson certificate holder under general supervision, ensure a supervising licence/certificate holder is in place.

2. Determine whether the work falls within the Act’s scope (s 4)

   • Use s 4 to confirm that the proposed activity is within the statutory definition (connections to network utility operator water supply systems, sanitary plumbing systems, sanitary drainage upstream of connection points, residential building work tied to other water systems, or any work declared by regulation).
   • Check if the work is excluded under s 4(5) or classified as exempt owner/occupier work.

3. Identify applicable standards and fittings (s 7; s 20; s 8)

   • Ensure the proposed design and execution will comply with the Plumbing Code of Australia and any standards prescribed in regulation (s 7).
   • Check the plumbing regulator’s Gazette directions on authorised fittings (s 20). Only use fittings that do not contravene the regulator’s direction; otherwise you must replace the fitting (s 14(1)(d)).

4. Pre-notification obligations (s 9)

   • Prepare the notice of work in the approved form specifying the work and responsible person (s 9(2)).
   • Where a proposed performance solution is involved, submit the notice no later than 20 business days before the work begins (s 9(3)(a)). For other work, give the notice before carrying out the work and before any notice under s 13 (s 9(3)(b)).
   • If the work materially changes or the responsible person changes, give a further notice before carrying out the changed work (s 9(4)).

5. Manage emergency work procedures (s 10)

   • If work is emergency work as listed in s 10(2), pre-notification is not required, but ensure a notice of the emergency work is given to the plumbing regulator in an approved form within the period prescribed by regulation after carrying out the work (s 10(3)).
   • Ensure reasonable steps are taken to avoid threatening the health and safety of occupiers when carrying out emergency work (s 10(4)).

6. Arrange inspections and pay fees (ss 12-13)

   • When the work is nearing completion, notify the plumbing regulator when the work will be ready for inspection before or within the regulatory period after completion (s 13(1)). Ensure any inspection fee required by regulation is paid so the notice is duly given (s 13(2)).
   • Be prepared to agree an inspection period with the regulator or accept a reasonable period specified by the regulator (s 13(3)-(4)). Ensure the work is accessible and that the responsible person is present or provides an agreed qualified representative (s 13(5)).

7. Comply with regulator directions and remediate defective work (s 14)

   • If the plumbing regulator issues a written direction, comply within the period specified unless there is a reasonable excuse (s 14(2)).
   • If directed to uncover work for inspection, document steps taken to comply; this can be a statutory defence if full compliance was obstructed despite reasonable steps (s 14(10)).
   • Note directions become ineffective if issued more than two years after completion (s 14(5)) or when the Home Building Act order covers the work (s 14(4)).

8. Issue certificates and supply plans on completion (ss 15-16)

   • On completion and after inspection as applicable, give the plumbing regulator a certificate of compliance in the approved form and give a copy to the person for whom the work was carried out within the regulation-prescribed period (s 15(1)(a)-(b)). Ensure the certificate certifies code compliance (s 15(3)).
   • Where sanitary drainage system work is involved, supply the owner (or owner’s agent) and the plumbing regulator with a plan in approved form on completion or within the period prescribed by regulation (s 16(1), (4A)). If the regulator has delegated functions to the local council or joint organisation, supply to the delegate as directed (s 16(3)).

9. Notify owner/occupier and regulator of defective installations discovered during work (s 11)

   • If you or your supervising worker discover a defective installation, give written notice to the owner and occupier within the regulatory period (s 11(1)).
   • If the defect poses an imminent threat to public health or safety, notify the plumbing regulator in writing within the regulatory period (s 11(2)).

10. Preserve documentation, plan for information sharing and privacy (s 47; s 46)

• Maintain records of notices of work, inspection notices, certificates of compliance, plans and communications with the regulator and any delegate. Sections 47 and 46 govern disclosure and protection of information; be aware that the regulator may share information with local councils, network operators and the Ministry of Health where necessary and that disclosure may override other statutory privacy prohibitions (s 47(3)).

11. Prepare for entry, inspections and assistance requests (ss 24, 26-28, 29-36)

• Ensure authorised personnel carry identification cards and that inspectors/enforcement officers can produce them on request (s 24(1)-(3)).
• For inspections by inspectors, obtain occup