High front guttering advisory committee report - NSW Fair Trading ...

Regulation of roof plumbing in NSW
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Attachment A
For new building projects or renovations requiring development approval (including
complying development), the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 requires
compliance with the Building Code of Australia, including for the roof plumbing (guttering)
components.
Roof plumbing work is regulated by NSW Fair Trading, like other building trades, under the
Home Building Act 1989 and is subject to licence requirements and statutory warranties.
This means that only appropriately licensed and qualified tradespeople – generally plumbers
or builders – can carry out this work.
On the other hand, specialist plumbing and drainage work, which is specifically defined to
not include roof plumbing, can only be carried out by a licensed plumber.
Under the Home Building Regulation 2004, all residential building work (including roof
plumbing) must comply with certain quality requirements, including the Building Code of
Australia, any other relevant codes, standards and specifications that the work is required to
comply with under any law, and other relevant consent conditions. Part 3.5.2 of the Building
Code specifically provides standards for the design and construction of downpipes and
gutters, based on compliance with performance requirements or specific parts of AS3500 as
the ‘deemed to satisfy’ solution. This means that in practice, NSW Fair Trading inspectors
require roof plumbing work to meet the standards of the Building Code.
The Building Code of Australia, as is the case with the NSW Code of Practice for Plumbing
and Drainage, does not have any inherent legal force except to the extent that it is referred
to in legislative instruments.
NSW Code of Practice for Plumbing and Drainage
The NSW Code of Practice for Plumbing and Drainage is a document published and
maintained by the Committee on Uniformity of Plumbing and Drainage Regulation in NSW
(CUPDR). CUPDR membership comprises relevant government agencies: NSW Office of
Water (Chair), Country Energy, Sydney and Hunter Water Corporations, Departments of
Health, Local Government, Planning, NSW TAFE and NSW Fair Trading (a division of the
Department of Services, Technology and Administration). CUPDR also involves industry
observers: including the Association of Hydraulic Services Consultants Australia, the Master
Plumbers Association, and councils.
The NSW Code of Practice adopts AS3500 as the relevant technical standard, with a
number of local variations to that standard. The NSW Code of Practice has no inherent
regulatory force, except to the extent that it is referred to in legislative instruments.
At present, the NSW Code of Practice is called up by numerous pieces of legislation for a
variety of types of work in specified situations. For example:
• Sydney Water Regulation 2006: requires plumbing and drainage work, as defined in the
Regulation, to comply with the NSW Code of Practice;
• Hunter Water Regulation 2010: requires plumbing and drainage work, as defined in the
Regulation, to comply with the NSW Code of Practice;
• Local Government Regulation 2005: requires water supply, sewerage and stormwater
drainage work, as well as the laying of housepipes for connection to a council’s water
supply system, to comply with the NSW Code of Practice. This regulation also allows