Who can do roof plumbing work

The NSW Government’s page on the work opens with one line: “You must have a licence or certificate to do roof plumbing work.” It calls roof plumbing trade work, and defines it broadly: installing, fixing, renovating, altering, repairing or maintaining guttering, downpipes, roof flashing or roof coverings, on any building or structure.

It leaves out work on coverings made of non-metallic tiles and slates, glass, concrete, timber and timber products, thatching, and malthoid, bituminous or similar membrane. It includes putting in skylights and ventilators, and applying protective coatings that don’t involve structural changes to the roof.

A contractor licence is needed for residential building or trade work, including roof plumbing, valued at more than $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST, as at October 2026. The page says unlicensed work can bring a fine of $22,000 for an individual or $110,000 for a company under the Home Building Act 1989. The licence types for this work are an individual contractor licence (or endorsed contractor licence), a company or partnership contractor licence, and a qualified supervisor certificate.

NSW keeps this separate from plumbing: its definition of plumbing covers water plumbing, sewerage and sanitary work, and “does not include draining work or roof plumbing.”

Victoria’s regulator is the Building and Plumbing Commission, the trading name of the Victorian Building Authority. It lists roofing stormwater as one of the main classes of plumbing work. Each class has two levels, registration and licence, and they are granted only to individuals: the Commission does not register or license plumbing companies.

Part 4 of the Plumbing Regulations 2018 defines roofing stormwater work. It covers building, installing, replacing, repairing, altering, maintaining, testing or commissioning a roof covering, roof flashing, or any part of the roof drainage that collects or disposes of stormwater, and it also covers joining stormwater piping to an on-site retention tank or a stormwater drain below ground.

It does not include cleaning, painting or preparation work, other than connecting, disconnecting or altering an item; work on roof coverings of non-metallic tiles, timber, concrete, glass, bitumen or slate; work on a membrane; or work on a freestanding Class 10a building of 10 m² or less, unless it needs connecting to a below-ground drain or retention tank.

Only licensed plumbers can issue a compliance certificate, which certifies that work complies with the plumbing standards. Registered plumbers must work under a licensed plumber’s supervision, or limit themselves to work that doesn’t need a certificate. As at October 2026, a certificate must be issued where the total value of the work, including materials, appliances, labour and GST, exceeds $750, and given to the customer within five days of the work being completed.

The QBCC, Queensland’s building regulator, has a licence class called metal fascias and gutters. Its scope covers making and installing metal fascias and gutters and the rainwater goods that go with them; to fabricate and install external flashings and the soffits, fascias and gutters that go with them; and incidental work of another class. It is offered at three levels: contractor, nominee supervisor and site supervisor.

It sits in a longer list of trade licences that also includes roof and wall cladding, and roof tiling.

As at October 2026, the QBCC sets the same figure for two rules: building work worth more than $3,300 must be done by a licensed tradesperson, and work above that value legally requires a contract.