Extensive review of WA's plumbing laws and its impact on the irrigation industry

By the IAL with extracts taken from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety; Building & Energy website

WA’s current Plumbers Licensing Act 1995 has been in place since 2000 and has undergone an extensive review. Changes have been set out in the recently released “Decision Regulatory Impact Statement” (DRIS) which aims to deliver the reforms that are needed, and will ensure that the Western Australian community benefits from a strong and effective regulatory framework for plumbing long into the future.

The decisions outlined in the DRIS are not expected to impact the current activities of irrigation contractors and installers, and are essentially “business as usual” for industry. The following information is an extract from the full DRIS document which can be downloaded from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety; Building & Energy website. Information relating to “Garden reticulation plumbing work” is found in section 2.4.3 (pg 30) https://www.commerce. wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/atoms/files/plumbers_dris_2019.pdf

Stakeholders were specifically asked whether: (a) in the case of drinking water, garden reticulation work downstream of the backflow prevention device should be treated as outside the scope of the Plumbing Act and thus able to be carried out by any person and not just a licensed plumber; and (b) in the case of non-drinking water, whether garden reticulation work downstream of the point of connection to the non-drinking water supply should be treated as outside the scope of the Plumbing Act and thus able to be carried out by any person and not just a licensed plumber. Having considered the issues and potential impacts in the light of the consultation feedback, the conclusion reached is that the risks involved with garden reticulation work are such

that some aspects of the work can be safely carried out by people who are not licensed plumbers. Accordingly, the regulation of garden reticulation work is to be managed as set out in Decision Seven below. Further clarification is provided in the table [found in the DRIS – pg 189 - https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/atoms/ files/plumbers_dris_2019.pdf]

As this decision largely clarifies the existing position and does not in itself make any change to the scope of the Plumbing Act or Regulations, no adverse or financial impacts are expected as a consequence of its implementation.

Decision Seven (a) For reticulation systems that run off a scheme water supply, cutting in to the drinking water supply and installing the required isolating valve and BPD is work that must be carried out by a licensed plumber. Garden reticulation work downstream of the BPD can be carried out by any person.

(b) For reticulation systems that run off a rainwater tank or a bore that supplies drinking water, cutting in to the drinking water supply and installing the required isolating valve and BPD is work that must be carried out by a licensed plumber. Garden reticulation work downstream of the BPD can be carried out by any person.

(c) For reticulation systems that run off a rainwater tank or a bore that supplies water only for the purposes of irrigation (and thus does not need a BPD to be installed), all work relating to that installation can be carried out by any person.

(d) For reticulation systems that use untreated greywater, work carried out upstream of the in-ground diversion vessel (including a greywater diversion device) is required to be carried out by a licensed plumber. Work relating to the installation or maintenance of the in-ground diversion vessel, or anything downstream from that point, can be carried out by any person.

(e) For reticulation systems that use treated greywater, work carried out upstream of the treatment vessel (including a greywater diversion device) is required to be carried out by a licensed plumber. Work relating to the installation or maintenance of the treatment vessel itself, plus any work downstream of that unit, can be carried out by any person.

(f) For reticulation systems that use black/recycled water (i.e. treated wastewater from an on-site treatment unit), work carried out upstream of the treatment unit is required to be carried out by a licensed plumber. Work relating to the installation or maintenance of the treatment unit itself, plus any work downstream of that unit, can be carried out by any person. (This is linked to the discussion around on-site wastewater management systems in section 2.5 [of the DRIS])