Occupational Licensing (Plumbing Work) Regulations 2010

Occupational Licensing (Plumbing Work) Regulations 2010

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 .

PETER G. UNDERWOOD

Governor

By His Excellency's Command,

D. J. O'BYRNE

Minister for Workplace Relations

PART 1 - Preliminary

1.   Short title

These regulations may be cited as the Occupational Licensing (Plumbing Work) Regulations 2010 .

2.   Commencement

These regulations take effect on 15 December 2010.

3.   Interpretation

(1)  In these regulations –

Act means the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 ;

associated plumbing work means any of the following in respect of plumbing work:

(a) designing, placing, constructing, altering or maintaining a plumbing installation;

(b) inspecting, reporting or advising on plumbing work;

(c) applying for, or receiving any certificate, notice, order, decision or determination under the Act;

(d) [Regulation 3 Subregulation (1) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] applying for, or receiving any permit, certificate, notice, order, decision, determination, authorisation or accreditation under the Building Act 2016 ;

(e) [Regulation 3 Subregulation (1) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] taking any action under the Act or the Building Act 2016 ;

commencement day means the day on which these regulations take effect;

motor vehicle has the same meaning as in the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 ;

plumber practitioner means a person who –

(a) is a practitioner that is licensed to undertake a scope of one or more classes of plumbing work; and

(b) complies with the relevant provisions of the plumbing work determination in relation to –

(i) a plumber practitioner; and

(ii) the class or classes of plumbing work;

plumber practitioner (certifier) means a person who –

(a) is a practitioner that is licensed to undertake a scope of one or more classes of plumbing work as a certifier; and

(b) complies with the relevant provisions of the plumbing work determination in relation to –

(i) a plumber practitioner (certifier); and

(ii) the class or classes of plumbing work;

plumber practitioner (certifier) licence means a licence issued, under section 37(1)(a) of the Act, in respect of plumbing work to be undertaken by a plumber practitioner (certifier);

plumber practitioner (certifier restricted) means a person who –

(a) is a practitioner that is licensed to undertake a restricted scope of one or more classes of plumbing work as a certifier; and

(b) complies with the relevant provisions of the plumbing work determination in relation to –

(i) a plumber practitioner (certifier restricted); and

(ii) the class or classes of plumbing work;

plumber practitioner (certifier restricted) licence means a licence issued, under section 37(1)(a) of the Act, in respect of plumbing work to be undertaken by a plumber practitioner (certifier restricted);

plumber practitioner licence means a licence issued, under section 37(1)(a) of the Act, in respect of plumbing work to be undertaken by a plumber practitioner;

plumber practitioner (provisional) means a person who –

(a) is a practitioner that is licensed for a period of not more than 12 months to undertake a scope of one or more classes of plumbing work; and

(b) complies with the relevant provisions of the plumbing work determination in relation to –

(i) a plumber practitioner (provisional); and

(ii) the class or classes of plumbing work;

plumber practitioner (provisional) licence means a licence issued, under section 37(1)(a) of the Act for a period of not more than 12 months, in respect of plumbing work to be undertaken by a plumber practitioner (provisional);

plumber practitioner (provisional restricted) means a person who –

(a) is a practitioner that is licensed for a period of not more than 12 months to undertake a restricted scope of one or more classes of plumbing work; and

(b) complies with the relevant provisions of the plumbing work determination in relation to –

(i) a plumber practitioner (provisional restricted); and

(ii) the class or classes of plumbing work;

plumber practitioner (provisional restricted) licence means a licence issued, under section 37(1)(a) of the Act for a period of not more than 12 months, in respect of a restricted scope of plumbing work to be undertaken by a plumber practitioner (provisional restricted);

plumber practitioner (restricted) means a person who –

(a) is a practitioner that is licensed to undertake a restricted scope of plumbing work of one or more classes; and

(b) meets the eligibility requirements, and complies with the conditions, determined in the plumbing work determination for performing that restricted scope of plumbing work;

plumber practitioner (restricted) licence means a licence issued, under section 37(1)(a) of the Act, in respect of a restricted scope of plumbing work to be undertaken by a plumber practitioner (restricted);

plumbing contractor means a contractor that holds a plumbing contractor licence;

plumbing contractor licence means a licence issued, under section 34(1)(a) of the Act, in respect of a scope of plumbing work of one or more classes;

plumbing installation means –

(a) a system of water supply; or

(b) a system of sewage or sullage drainage or disposal; or

(c) a system of stormwater drainage, roof drainage or trade waste drainage; or

(d) an on-site waste water management system;

plumbing work means –

(a) work within Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the Act; and

(b) prescribed work within regulation 4(1) ; and

(c) work within regulation 4(2) that is performed by a person who holds a licence under the Act;

plumbing work determination means the determination made under section 30 of the Act, as amended from time to time, in respect of –

(a) plumbing work; and

(b) the classes of plumbing work; and

(c) any details relating to the classes of plumbing work;

record includes –

(a) a document; and

(b) a record made by electronic, electromagnetic, photographic or optical process;

scope of plumbing work means a scope of plumbing work as determined in the plumbing work determination;

specified fee means a fee specified in Schedule 1 .

(2)  Unless the contrary intention appears, an expression used in these regulations that is defined in the plumbing work determination made under the Act has the same meaning in these regulations as in that determination.

4.   Prescribed work

(1)  For the definition of prescribed work in section 3(1) of the Act, the following work is determined to be prescribed work, unless exempted under section 99(1)(b) of the Act:

(a) work carried out on, or as part of, the design, construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, servicing, testing, commissioning, decommissioning or removal of any part of the following plumbing installations or systems:

(i) sanitary;

(ii) water;

(iii) drainage;

(iv) roof (stormwater);

(v) mechanical services;

(vi) refrigerated air conditioning;

(b) [Regulation 4 Subregulation (1) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] plumbing work carried out in or on an unregistrable relocatable building within the meaning of the Building Act 2016 .

(2)  Despite subregulation (1) , the following work is not prescribed work:

(a) any work carried out in relation to a supply or discharge reticulation system or a treatment plant or any equipment, appliance, fixture or system associated with that system or plant (other than any equipment, appliance, fixture or system used mainly for administrative, domestic, fire protection or ablution purposes), owned by, or exclusively vested in –

(i) the holder of a water licence or a sewerage licence under the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008 ; or

(ii) a council when the work is for stormwater drainage system purposes;

(b) the opening or closing of inspection opening caps and covers in sewage, stormwater and waste pipes;

(c) the connection, for water use, of hoses to taps for the purpose of –

(i) appliances such as dishwashers and clothes-washing machines; or

(ii) activities that use water, including cleaning or watering a garden;

(d) the connection of domestic irrigation systems or devices to hose taps for the purpose of watering a garden or irrigation if –

(i) there is no fertiliser or herbicide injection system associated with the irrigation system; and

(ii) an appropriate backflow prevention device has been installed by a licensed plumber;

(e) [Regulation 4 Subregulation (2) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] design work, where the design work is carried out by an designer within the meaning of the Building Act 2016 working within his or her area of competence;

(f) the removal of all or part of a plumbing installation or system which has been isolated or decommissioned by an appropriately licensed plumber;

(g) the installation of a stove, heater or any similar appliance that burns oil or solid fuel but does not include the flashing of flues penetrating roof coverings, or devices used for the heating of water;

(h) welding undertaken in the manufacture, alteration or repair of a pressure vessel by a person who holds a certificate, in accordance with AS1796, that is relevant to the work being undertaken, or an equivalent certificate acceptable to the Administrator;

(i) the removal of sludge and composting matter from an on-site waste water management system.

5.   Plumbing work performed gratuitously

(1)  A person must not perform plumbing work gratuitously if the person is –

(a) a plumber practitioner; or

(b) a plumber practitioner (restricted); or

(c) a plumber practitioner (provisional); or

(d) a plumber practitioner (provisional restricted).

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 75 penalty units.

(2)  A person who intends to perform plumbing work gratuitously must notify the Administrator in an approved form before commencing the plumbing work being performed gratuitously.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 75 penalty units.

(3)  In these regulations, a reference to a plumbing contractor is taken to be a reference to a plumber practitioner (certifier), or a plumber practitioner (certifier restricted), performing plumbing work gratuitously and without a plumbing contractor.

(4)  For the avoidance of doubt, these regulations apply to work performed gratuitously as if the work were not being performed gratuitously.

PART 2 - Regulation of Plumbing Work

Division 1 - Records

6.   Records of plumbing work

(1)  A licence holder must keep records, in an approved form, of all plumbing work, and associated plumbing work, undertaken by the licence holder for at least 10 years after the work is completed.

Penalty:  In the case of –

(a) a body corporate, a fine not exceeding 125 penalty units; or

(b) an individual, a fine not exceeding 65 penalty units.

(2)  For the purposes of this regulation, plumbing work is completed –

(a) [Regulation 6 Subregulation (2) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] in respect of plumbing work that is covered by a plumbing permit issued under the Building Act 2016 , the earliest of the following days:

(i) the day a certificate of completion (plumbing work) is issued in accordance with that Act in respect of the plumbing work;

(ii) the day that the contract to perform the plumbing work is terminated; or

(b) in respect of plumbing work that does not require a plumbing permit, the earliest of the following days:

(i) the day the plumbing work is last attended to by the licence holder; or

(ii) the day the contract to perform the plumbing work is satisfied by both parties to the contract or terminated.

Division 2 - Defective plumbing work

7.   Rectification of defective plumbing work

(1)  For section 57 of the Act, prescribed work that is defective includes any plumbing work –

(a) [Regulation 7 Subregulation (1) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] that does not comply with the Building Act 2016 ; and

(b) [Regulation 7 Subregulation (1) amended by No. 12 of 2016, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jan 2017] which is notifiable plumbing work or permit plumbing work within the meaning of the Building Act 2016 .

(2)  After complying with a rectification order under section 57 of the Act, the person against whom the rectification order was given must –

(a) complete a certificate of compliance in an approved form; and

(b) provide a copy of the certificate of compliance to the Administrator and the owner of the building where the defective work was undertaken.

8.   Cost of inspection, &c., not to be passed on

(1)  Except as provided in subregulation (2) , a person against whom a rectification order has been made under section 57 of the Act must bear all costs incurred in respect of –

(a) rectifying the defective work that is the subject of the rectification order; and

(b) complying with the rectification order.

Penalty:  In the case of –

(a) a body corporate, a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units; or

(b) an individual, a fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.

(2)  A person against whom a rectification order has been made may recover the cost of rectification of the defective plumbing work if –

(a) the Administrator is satisfied that the defect in the work was caused by the conduct of a person other than the licence holder or his or her agent; or

(b) the Administrator has approved the recovery of the costs.

PART 3 - Fees

9.   Fees generally

(1)  In this regulation –

GST has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth.

(2)  The fees specified in Schedule 1  –

(a) are inclusive of GST; and

(b) are prescribed as the fees payable to the Administrator in respect of the matter to which they relate.

(3)  If an application under these regulations for the issue or renewal of a licence is refused, any annual, or triennial, fee paid in respect of the issue or renewal of the licence is to be refunded to the person who paid the fee.

10.   Licence fees

A person applying for the issue or renewal of a licence under these regulations must pay the issue or renewal fee specified in Schedule 1 for that licence.

11.   Additional occupations

In addition to any other specified fee required to be paid, a person intending to apply for, or to renew, more than one occupation must pay, on application, the fee specified in Schedule 1 for each additional occupation to be included, or renewed, on the licence.

PART 4 - Miscellaneous

12.   Administrator to be notified of changes

(1)  The holder of a licence, other than a plumbing contractor licence, must notify the Administrator in writing within 21 days after any change to the following information:

(a) his or her name;

(b) his or her residential address;

(c) a telephone or fax number used in connection with the licence;

(d) an email address used in connection with the licence.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

(2)  The holder of a plumbing contractor licence must notify the Administrator in writing within 21 days after any change to the following information:

(a) if the holder of the plumbing contractor licence is an individual, his or her name;

(b) the name of any body corporate, or partnership, that holds a plumbing contractor licence or is used in connection with the licence;

(c) the nominated manager;

(d) a registered business name used in connection with the licence;

(e) the address of the holder's registered office;

(f) the address of the holder's principal place of business;

(g) a telephone or fax number used in connection with the licence;

(h) an email address used in connection with the licence.

Penalty:  In the case of –

(a) a body corporate, a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units; or

(b) an individual, a fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.

13.   Delegation to police and emergency services personnel

(1)  For section 15(2)(d) of the Act, the Administrator may delegate, either with or without conditions, any of his or her functions under the Act to a police officer for the purpose of exercising powers or performing functions or duties under the Emergency Management Act 2006 .

(2)  A delegation under subregulation (1) has effect only while a declaration of a state of emergency is in force under the Emergency Management Act 2006 .

14.   Application for warrant by email

For section 18(5) of the Act, an application for a warrant may be made by email.

15.   Infringement notices and demerit points

(1)  For section 62(1) of the Act –

(a) an offence against a provision of the Act specified in column 1 of the table in Part 1 of Schedule 2 is prescribed as an offence for which an infringement notice may be issued; and

(b) an offence against a provision of these regulations specified in column 1 of the table in Part 2 of Schedule 2 is prescribed as an offence for which an infringement notice may be issued.

(2)  A penalty specified in column 3 of a table in Part 1 or 2 of Schedule 2 is prescribed as the penalty for a body corporate for the offence specified in column 1 of the relevant table.

(3)  A penalty specified in column 4 of a table in Part 1 or 2 of Schedule 2 is prescribed as the penalty for a natural person for the offence specified in column 1 of the relevant table.

(4)  For Division 5 of Part 6 of the Act, the number of demerit points incurred for an offence is the number of demerit points specified in column 5 of a table in Part 1 or 2 of Schedule 2 for the relevant offence.

(5)  If an infringement notice is served under section 62 of the Act and is not withdrawn, the authorised officer serving the infringement notice is to forward a copy of the notice to the Administrator.

16.   Saving for disciplinary proceedings and plumbing rectification orders

(1)  If, on the commencement day, any disciplinary action or proceedings have been taken, or could be taken, under the Plumbers and Gas-fitters Registration Act 1951 and have not been completed, that action or those proceedings may be taken, continued and completed as if the repeal and rescission effected by Schedules 7 and 8 to the Act had not been effected.

(2)  Any order or notice in force under the Plumbers and Gas-fitters Registration Act 1951 immediately before the commencement day continues in force on and after the commencement day until it expires or is withdrawn, revoked or quashed under the Act.

(3)  This regulation does not limit the effect of section 16 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931 .

SCHEDULE 1 - Fees

Regulation 9

1.   Issue or renewal of Contractor Licence for self-employed Sole-Trader Contractor/Practitioner Certifier/Nominated Manager (aged 65 years or over) for a period of –

(a) one year – 68 fee units; or

(b) 3 years – 180 fee units.

2.   Issue or renewal of Contractor Licence for self-employed Sole-Trader Contractor/Practitioner Certifier/Nominated Manager (aged under 65 years) for a period of –

(a) one year – 270 fee units; or

(b) 3 years – 765 fee units.

3.   Issue or renewal of Contractor Licence, employing 2-4 (both inclusive) practitioners, for a period of –

(a) one year – 345 fee units; or

(b) 3 years – 1 005 fee units.

4.   Issue or renewal of Contractor Licence, employing 5-9 (both inclusive) practitioners, for a period of –

(a) one year – 520 fee units; or

(b) 3 years – 1 525 fee units.

5.   Issue or renewal of Contractor Licence, employing 10 or more practitioners, for a period of –

(a) one year – 695 fee units; or

(b) 3 years – 2 050 fee units.

6.   Issue or renewal of Practitioner Licence, Practitioner (Restricted) Licence, Practitioner (Certifier) Licence, Practitioner (Certifier Restricted) Licence, Practitioner (Provisional) Licence or Practitioner (Provisional Restricted) Licence, for a period of –

(a) one year – 68 fee units; or

(b) 3 years – 180 fee units.

7.   Issue or replacement of identification card – 25 fee units.

8.   Inspection of register, otherwise than by World Wide Web – 30 fee units.

9.   Extract from register – 30 fee units.

SCHEDULE 2 - Demerit points and Infringement notice penalties

Regulation 15

PART 1 - Offences under the Act

PART 2 - Offences under the Regulations

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 15 December 2010

These regulations are administered in the Department of Justice.