Electrical, gas and plumbing certificates of compliance provide evidence that:
- the electrician, gas fitter or plumber who has completed work on your property is appropriately licensed
- the work completed has been tested and is proven to be safe
- the work complies with necessary regulations and rules, and the applicable Australian Standards
- the contractor has officially informed you of any existing safety problems with your installation
- you have met part of your legal obligation to own a compliant, safe and safely operable installation, and have a permanent legal record for the job.
To be valid, the certificate of compliance must be signed by both the licensed tradesperson and any contractor involved in the work.
When should you get a certificate of compliance?
Your licensed tradesperson must give you an electrical, gas or plumbing certificate of compliance within thirty days of finishing the electrical or gas job, or within seven days of finishing the plumbing job.
If a certificate of compliance isn’t completed for electrical, gas or plumbing work done at your property, your insurance company may not accept your claim if a related incident subsequently causes a fire or damage.
If your tradesperson won’t give you a certificate of compliance or is refusing to give you a certificate of compliance until you pay for the work, contact the Office of the Technical Regulator.
Find out when to use licensed tradespeople and what you can safely do yourself.
Electrical
Electricians must give you an electrical certificate of compliance for all electrical work done on your property other than for minor maintenance work, such as replacing lamps.
Electricians may also give you a certificate of compliance for doing electrical tests and checks on an electrical installation, even if they don’t do any other work.
Gas
Gas fitters must give you a gas certificate of compliance for:
- installing a new gas pipe work
- extending or repairing existing gas pipe work
- installing new appliances, eg heaters, hot water units, stove tops
- replacing an appliance
- converting an appliance to use an alternative gas, ie from LPG to natural gas or vice versa, providing the appliance is certified for such a conversion.
They don’t need to give you a certificate of compliance for normal maintenance or repairs on an existing appliance. The service report or invoice they give you should provide a detailed explanation of what work has been done.
Plumbing
Plumbers must give you a plumbing certificate of compliance for:
- connecting or disconnecting pipework and fixtures from the mains water supply or sewer
- any work on sanitary plumbing/drainage
- installing or replacing a water heater
- installing an alternative water service
- installing, altering, disconnecting or removing a backflow prevention device.
They don't need to give you a certificate of compliance for changing tap washers, clearing blocked drains, installing or repairing domestic tapware, or installing stormwater systems.
Electronic certificates of compliance
Electricians, gas fitters and plumbers are transitioning from the current paper-based process for electrical, gas and plumbing certificates of compliance to electronic certificates of compliance. This means you will be able to receive certificates of compliance from your licensed tradesperson by email.
If you don't have access to email, ask your tradesperson to print a copy of your certificate of compliance for you.
Further information
More details can be found by visiting the Office of the Technical Regulator's website
