Plumbing work on-the-job by pre-apprentices undertaking a Certificate II in Plumbing qualification
In April 2021 the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Building and Energy Division (Building and Energy) published advice regarding an anomaly in the Plumbers Licensing and Plumbing Standards Regulations 2000 (Plumbing Regulations). The anomaly was that the Plumbing Regulations did not authorise students (commonly referred to as pre-apprentices) who are undertaking a Certificate II in Plumbing qualification, to carry out plumbing work on-the-job, even though such work is considered an essential part of their training.
To address the anomaly, and to authorise pre-apprentices to be able to carry out plumbing work on-the-job under certain conditions, Building and Energy has amended the Plumbing Regulations, through the Plumbers Licensing and Plumbing Standards Amendment Regulations (No. 3) 2021 (Amendment Regulations). The authorisation for a pre-apprentice to carry out plumbing work, only applies to work that is part of the work placement component of the Certificate II in Plumbing course. Further, such work must be performed under the supervision of a licensed plumbing contractor, or the holder of a tradesperson’s licence working under the general direction and control of a licensed plumbing contractor.
The Amendment Regulations were gazetted on 18 June 2021 and pre-apprentices may now carry out plumbing work on-the-job, as part of the work placement component of the Certificate II in Plumbing course. The previous advice provided in April 2021 no longer applies.
