Maintain an occupational plumber or drainer licence | Queensland Building and Construction Commission

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Update
Renew
Replace
Restore
Retired plumbers and drainers

Update  

If your contact details change, you have 14 days to update these with the QBCC. This includes your: 

  • address (Note: your business address must be a physical address and not a PO Box) 
  • phone number 
  • email. 

Download and complete the form:

Form 26—notice of change of circumstances (PDF, 99KB)

Lodge the form with us 

Renew

You will receive a copy of the renewal form by mail 40 days before your licence expires. 

Complete renewal notice 

Complete the renewal notice you received in the mail or use the form below:

Form 22—application for renewal (PDF 117KB)

Pay fees and lodge form

You can renew your licence several ways.  

As well as the licence renewal fee, you will be required to pay a once-off administration fee annually. 

Online  

BPAY is the easiest way to pay. 

  • BPAY through your online or mobile banking portal.  
  • Check your renewal notice for the BPAY biller code and your Customer Reference Number (CRN). 

No form is required with this method. 

Phone 

  • Call us on 139 333 to pay using a credit or debit card.  
  • No form is required with this method. 

In person 

  • Visit a service centre, where you will need to show photo ID 
  • You can pay by Eftpos at a service centre. 
  • You will also need to lodge the completed form. 

Mail 

Mail us the completed form with your credit or debit card details on it. 

Provisional licences cannot renew

If you hold a provisional licence you cannot renew your licence. With 12 months experience you should now apply for a full occupational licence.  

Apply for licence

Restore

You can only restore your licence within 1 year of its expiry date. After 12 months, you will need to reapply and meet all current eligibility requirements. 

Download and complete the form 

Download and complete:

Form 25—licence restoration application (PDF 122KB)

Pay fees and lodge form

To help get you back to work faster, you can pay the fees first, then return the form to us.  

You need to pay the: 

  • annual licence renewal fee listed on your renewal notice 
  • restoration fee.  
  • annual administration fee, if not already paid for the year.  

You have several ways to pay the fees and lodge your form. 

Note: BPAY is not available for restoration.

 

Phone 

In person 

  • Visit a service centre, where you will need to show photo ID. 
  • You can lodge the form and pay by Eftpos at the counter. 

Mail 

  • Mail us the form with your credit or debit card details on it. 

Replace

If your licence has been:

  • lost
  • stolen
  • destroyed
  • damaged, or
  • not received

you can apply to get it replaced.

Download and complete the form 

Download and complete:

Form 27—application for replacement licence (PDF, 120KB)

Pay fees and lodge form

You need to pay the replacement card fee.

Phone 

Retired plumbers and drainers 

If you are a licensed plumber or drainer and are considering retirement, you can maintain your licence to work on your own home.

It's important to remember that you cannot carry out plumbing or drainage work for payment once your licence is renewed or restored. 

To apply for a reduced licence fee you will need to: 

  • tick the relevant box on the form 
  • complete the statutory declaration on the renew or restore form stating that you are retired and not intending to carry out plumbing or drainage work for payment. 

Please contact us to clarify what work you can undertake with his licence. 

Employee of an RTO

If you are an employee of a registered training organisation (RTO), you can pay a reduced fee to renew or restore your licence. Indicate which RTO you are from in the relevant field on the form.  

Licence maintenance fees

You must renew your occupational licence by the due date or you will have to pay a restoration fee. You have 1 year from your licence renewal date to restore your licence. After that time you will need to reapply to get licensed again.

Our fees and charges increase on 1 July each year. On 1 July 2023 our fees and charges were increased in line with legislative requirements. You can contact us to find out details about specific fees, charges or prices. 

Annual administration fee

In addition to your licence renewal fee you will need to pay an annual administration fee of $75.68.

This only needs to be paid once per financial year per licensee. If you have already paid the administrative fee within the same financial year, you don’t need to pay it again.

Fee exemptions

Individuals (not companies) who hold a QBCC plumbing or drainage related contractor, nominee supervisor and site supervisor licence are not required to pay a fee if they restore or renew a range of corresponding occupational licences under the Plumbing and Drainage Act. See these listed in the table above.

Renewal fees

When you renew your licence you can choose to renew for 1 to 5 years.

With admin fee

Licence holder 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years
Full occupational licensee $158.52 $241.36 $324.20 $407.09 $489.98
Retiree or employee of RTO $100.01 $124.28 $148.61 $172.94 $197.21

Without admin fee

Licence holder 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years
Full occupational licensee $82.84 $165.68 $248.52 $331.41 $414.30
Retiree or employee of RTO $24.33 $48.60 $72.93 $97.26 $121.53

Restoration fees

The fees below include the restoration fee of $82.84 in addition to the licence renewal fees.

When you restore your licence, you can choose to renew it for 1 to 5 years.

With admin fee

Licence holder 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years
Full occupational licensee $241.36 $324,20 $407.04 $489.93 $572.82
Retiree or employee of RTO $182.85 $207.12 $231.45 $255.78 $280.05

Without admin fee

Licence holder 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years
Full occupational licensee $165.68 $248.52 $331.36 $414.25 $497.14
Retiree or employee of RTO $107.17 $131.44 $155.77 $180.10 $204.37

Other fees

The prices outlined in the table below do not include the annual administrative fee.

Service Fee
Endorsement application $17.12
Equivalent qualification match $31.32
Review of conditions $72.82
Replacement card $31.32
Certified copy of licence $31.32

 

Last reviewed: 18 Sep 2021 Last published: 18 Sep 2021
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