Plumbing compliance certificates in Victoria: a guide for Sale homeowners

A plumbing compliance certificate is the licensed plumber’s written statement that the work meets Victoria’s plumbing standards. It is required when the total value of the work goes over a set dollar threshold, and for some gas and drainage work at any value. The plumber must give it to you and lodge it with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) within five days of finishing.

What is a compliance certificate and where does the requirement come from?

The requirement sits in Part 12A of the Building Act 1993. The BPC, which became Victoria’s building and plumbing regulator on 1 July 2025 and took over the role of the Victorian Building Authority, runs the certificate scheme. Its compliance certificate page, last updated 9 July 2026, sets out the rules summarised here.

For a homeowner the certificate does three jobs. It is a record of what was installed and by whom. It ties the work to the plumber’s licence, so the regulator can follow up a defect. And the BPC notes that a plumber who issues a certificate for work they did not do or supervise commits an offence, which could leave both plumber and customer outside the mandatory plumbing insurance.

When is a certificate required?

There are two triggers.

By value. A certificate is needed when the total value of the plumbing work goes over the threshold on the BPC page. The total counts materials, appliances, labour and GST, and it includes items supplied by someone else, such as a hot water unit you bought yourself. That stops a job being split into a cheap labour invoice and a separate parts purchase to dodge the paperwork.

By type, at any value. These always need a certificate, however small the bill:

Work	Typical home example
Installing, relocating or replacing a Type A gas appliance	New gas cooktop, gas heater or gas water heater
Converting a gas appliance to another gas	Changing an appliance from natural gas to LPG
Installing, modifying or relocating consumer gas piping	Running a new gas line to an outdoor heater
Constructing, installing or altering a below-ground sanitary drain or its gullies	Replacing a root-damaged sewer pipe, moving an overflow relief gully
Work on a cooling tower system	Commercial sites rather than houses

For gasfitting, a separate certificate is needed for each separately metered property where the work was done. Complex gas installations and Type B appliances fall outside this scheme and are overseen by Energy Safe Victoria.

Who can issue the certificate?

Only a licensed plumber. Victoria has two levels of practitioner:

• Licensed plumbers can do the work, supervise others and issue certificates in their licensed classes.
• Registered plumbers must either work under a licensed plumber’s supervision or limit themselves to work that needs no certificate.

A licensed plumber can certify work they did, work done under their supervision by a registered plumber or apprentice, or work they engaged another licensed plumber to do. They can also finish and certify a job another licensed plumber started, but only after inspecting or testing the earlier work. Supervision has a strict meaning in the Act: the work is done in their presence and at their direction, or they set the method and inspect it.

Before you agree to a quote, look the plumber up on the BPC practitioner register. It shows whether the licence is current, which classes of work it covers and any conditions. The about page has a short walk-through.

What is the five day rule?

The licensed plumber must:

1. issue the certificate to the customer within five days of completing the work, or within five days of the contract ending if the job stops early, and
2. lodge the same certificate with the BPC within five days of completion.

If the work is not finished, a certificate is still required for the part that was done. It must say the work is incomplete, why, and how far it got. That protects you if you have to bring in a second plumber to finish.

What should be on the certificate?

When yours arrives, check it shows:

• the eleven-digit consent number and confirmation that an as-laid plan was lodged with the water corporation, where those apply
• details of the appliances and fixtures installed, with any notes on the extent of the work
• a note of any work left incomplete.

Keep it with your house documents. Buyers’ conveyancers, insurers and the council may ask for it later.

Why does a septic system approval in Wellington Shire wait on the certificate?

On an unsewered block, the council controls the last step. Wellington Shire’s onsite wastewater page says a compliance certificate lodged by the plumber must be given to the council before it issues an approval to use a new or altered system. The page still names the Victorian Building Authority as the place to lodge, but that function now belongs to the BPC. Until the certificate is in, a new tank or treatment unit cannot be signed off. The septic systems page covers the rest of the council process.

Which common Sale jobs usually need one?

Job	Certificate likely?	Why
Replacing a hot water system	Yes	Above the value threshold in most cases, and any gas unit needs one regardless
Connecting a new gas cooker or heater	Yes	Type A gas appliance at any value
Digging up and replacing a broken sewer line	Yes	Below-ground sanitary drain at any value
Clearing a blocked drain with a machine	Usually no	Clearing alone does not build or alter the drain, and it is often under the threshold
Replacing a tap washer	No	Small repair below the threshold
Fitting a new toilet suite	Depends	Only if the total goes over the threshold

The blocked drains page explains when a drain job turns from clearing into repair, and the gas fitting page covers appliance connections. Price ranges for these jobs, including whether the certificate is likely to be part of the figure, are on the Sale plumbing costs page.

What happens when two plumbers work on one job?

Some bigger jobs involve more than one plumbing business. A renovation might have one plumber rough in the drainage and another fit off the fixtures months later, or a septic replacement might be started by one business and finished by another. The BPC rules cover this. A licensed plumber who completes work started by someone else can certify it only after inspecting or testing what was already done, carrying out or supervising the remaining work, and stating on the certificate that the whole job complies. If the first plumber left, ask them for a certificate for their incomplete stage so the second plumber has a clear starting point. Without that, the second business may want to retest or uncover earlier work before it will sign anything, which adds time and cost.

A related point for owners: a licensed plumber must not let anyone work on their behalf in a class of plumbing that person is not licensed or registered for, and must not let defective work or non-compliant materials go in under their name. If you see a different person turn up than the one who quoted, it is reasonable to ask who is supervising and whose licence the certificate will carry.

What if a plumber says you do not need one?

Ask them to show you why on the BPC page. If the job is over the threshold or on the at-any-value list, a licensed plumber has no choice. Refusing to issue one, or offering a discount to skip it, is a reason to stop and check the licence. Plumbers reached through this site run independent businesses and are responsible for their own paperwork, and the certificate should be part of every quote where it applies. If you need a job done properly with the certificate included, describe the job in a plumbing enquiry.

Next step

Tell the provider exactly what is being installed or altered, the rough value of any parts you are supplying yourself, whether the property is on sewer or a septic system, and whether you need the certificate for a sale, an insurer or a council approval. Then request a certified plumbing job quote and a licensed local plumber will confirm what paperwork comes with it.

Send a job enquiry