Medical gas and mechanical services work
You need a licence before you can do any medical gas or mechanical services work in NSW, regardless of the cost of the work or whether the work is residential, commercial, or industrial.
Key information
- You need a licence or certificate before you can do any medical gas work in NSW. There are different types of licences available in NSW depending on the work you need to do.
- You will need a mechanical services and medical gas licence or certificate to do any mechanical services or medical gas work.
- You must have the right qualifications and have at least 2 years' experience before you can apply for a licence or certificate.
- You can apply for a 1, 3 or 5 year licence or certificate.
When you will need a medical gas and mechanical services licence
Mechanical services and medical gas work involve significant risks. To ensure safety and compliance with standards, you must have the appropriate skills, qualifications, and experience to perform this work.
Regulations are in place to ensure public safety in settings where medical gases are used, including hospitals, dental surgeries, aged care facilities, and other medical environments.
You must apply for the relevant medical gas work category to be able to undertake the work regardless of whether you hold a current plumbing licence or certificate.
There are 3 specialist work categories which include mechanical services and medical gas, medical gas technician, and medical gasfitting. Each is explained below.
You need to be licensed in every category you intend to work in.
You can apply to be licensed in different categories at the same time or at different times.
More information for air conditioning and refrigeration licence holders
There are some overlaps in the work authorised by an air-conditioning and refrigeration licence and a mechanical services and medical gas licence. If you hold an air-conditioning and refrigeration licence, you can do work authorised under the mechanical services and medical gas licence to the extent of the overlap.
To do any mechanical services work that does not fall under air-conditioning and refrigeration work, you will need the additional licence. The same applies for air-conditioning and refrigeration work that falls outside the scope of mechanical services work.
See more about air-conditioning and refrigeration work.
More information for ducting and mechanical ventilation licence holders
Holders of a minor trade work - ducting and mechanical ventilation licence need to obtain either a mechanical services and medical gas licence or a restricted mechanical services and medical gas licence (excluding medical gas) before they can carry out mechanical services work.
Licence types you can apply for
Medical gas and mechanical services work is specialist work.
There are several types of licences available in NSW depending on whether you want to:
contract to do the work,
supervise work,
do the work, or
do a combination of these roles.
The licence types that apply to medical gas and mechanical services work are:
- Individual contractor licence
- Company or partnership contractor licence
- Qualified supervisor certificate
- Tradesperson certificate.
You can apply for these licence types for 1, 3 or 5 years, except provisional tradesperson certificates, which are issued for 3 years and cannot be renewed.
Note that tradesperson certificates for this licence type can only be issued for installing medical gas pipeline systems.
Find out more about licence types and how to apply.
You can also get started with applying for your licence or certificate at Service NSW.
Time frames for licensing and registration applications
Find out about the current application processing times for different licence and registration categories.
Categories of work
The different categories of mechanical services and gas work are explained below.
Mechanical services and medical gas work
Mechanical services and medical gas work is defined as:
a) The construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of a mechanical heating, cooling or ventilation system in a building, which is associated with the heating, cooling or ventilation of that building and includes:
- any valve, regulator, pipe, flue, tank, heating or cooling pipe or surface, boiler, burner, solid fuel heater, coil or other item that is used in the system
- in the case of a cooling tower, any water pipe, valve, pump, automated dosing device or automated bleeding device or any other mechanical component that affects the cooling tower’s cooling water flow rate or wastewater disposal
- roof sheeting and roof flashing that is necessary for the purpose of any work described in this paragraph or paragraphs (b)–(d), and
b) medical gasfitting work, and
c) the installation, commissioning and any incidental design work that is associated with the installation and commissioning of:
- any part of a single head split system, or
- a ceiling cassette system, or
- an add-on condenser unit for a ducted system associated with the heating and cooling of a building, and
d) any design work incidental to, or associated with, work described in paragraphs (a) and (b).
It does not include:
- gasfitting work
- work on a cooling tower drift eliminator
- treatment of cooling or heating water
- cleaning of a cooling tower
- disassembly or reassembly of a flue terminal for the purposes of cleaning a solid fuel heater
- connection or disconnection of a system referred to in paragraphs (a)–(d) from a water supply other than disconnection of the system from a water supply at an isolating valve adjacent to a mechanical component of that system.
A full description of mechanical services work can be found in Schedule 1 of the Home Building Act
Medical gasfitting work
Medical gasfitting is the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of a medical gas installation and includes incidental design work.
Medical gas technician work
Medical gas technician work is the commissioning, testing, verification or certification of a medical gas installation.
Qualifications and experience needed
Find out below what qualifications and experience you need to get a licence or certificate.
To find organisations that deliver nationally recognised training, go to https://www.yourcareer.gov.au/learn-and-train/courses and search via the course code or name.
Your supervisor must confirm that you have the relevant experience and can perform the work required by completing one of these forms:
- Mechanical Services and Medical Gas Work - Referee Statement
- Referee's Statement - Medical Gas Work for Individual Contractor Licence (Q) / Qualified Supervisor Certificate / Tradesperson Certificate
If you are currently an apprentice or trainee, you cannot apply for a licence or certificate. You must apply as soon as you finish your apprenticeship or traineeship to be able to keep doing medical gas or mechanical services work.
If you hold a licence from interstate or New Zealand, and want to work in NSW, see Working interstate and mutual recognition.
You can also see details for medical gas and mechanical work under plumbing, draining and gasfitting licences on the Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) occupations list.
Note about references in this qualifications section:
- a VET qualification or a unit of competency includes a reference to a qualification or unit that replaces that qualification or unit.
- VET qualification has the same meaning as in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 of the Commonwealth.
For a tradesperson certificate
Medical gasfitting work
To get a tradesperson’s certificate for medical gasfitting work you must have:
a) successfully completed one of the following vocational education and training (VET) qualifications
- Certificate III in Plumbing (Mechanical Services),
- Certificate III in Plumbing,
- Certificate III in Gas Fitting, and
b) successfully completed the following units of competency in the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package:
- Install medical gas pipeline systems, and
- Carry out WHS requirements, and
c) have at least 2 years of experience in medical gasfitting work.
Medical gas technician work
To get a tradesperson's certificate to do medical gas technician work, you must have:
a) successfully completed one of the following relevant vocational education and training (VET) qualifications:
- Certificate III in Plumbing (Mechanical Services)
- Certificate III in Plumbing
- Certificate III in Gas Fitting
- Certificate IV in Engineering, and
b) successfully completed the following units of competency in the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package:
- Install medical gas pipeline systems
- Carry out WHS requirements, and
c) have at least 2 years of experience in medical gas technician work.
You will be taken to have satisfactorily completed a relevant VET qualification if you have a degree in either:
- Mechanical engineering, or
- Electrical engineering, or
- Biomedical engineering, or
- Mechatronics engineering
or another discipline that, in the opinion of the Secretary, is suitable for a person to do medical gas technician work.
Mechanical services and medical gas work
To get a tradesperson’s certificate to do mechanical services and medical gas work you must have:
a) successfully completed one of the following vocational education and training (VET) qualifications:
- Certificate III in Plumbing (Mechanical Services)
- Certificate III in Plumbing, and
b) successfully completed the following units of competency in the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package:
- Install medical gas pipeline systems (CPCPMS3034)
- Carry out WHS requirements (CPCPCM2043), and
c) have at least 2 years of experience in mechanical services and medical gas work.
Getting a conditioned licence
A conditioned licence limits the type of work you can do. If you only want to do mechanical services work, you can apply for a mechanical services and medical gas licence (excluding medical gas).
You will still need to complete a Certificate III in Plumbing (Mechanical Services) or Certificate III in Plumbing and have at least 2 years' experience. You do not need to to complete the two additional medical gas units listed above in part (b).
If you hold an existing (pre-1 March 2023) plumbing and drainage tradesperson certificate
You can get a tradesperson certificate to do mechanical services and medical gas work if you:
- immediately before 1 March 2023, held a tradesperson certificate authorising you to do plumbing and drainage work, and
- meet the additional units and experience requirements, and
- otherwise meet the requirements for the issue of the certificate.
If you cannot meet the additional units or experience requirements, you may still get a conditional authority. This means it will be subject to a condition that you must not do medical gasfitting work i.e. for mechanical services and medical gas (excluding medical gas).
For a qualified supervisor certificate or endorsed contractor licence
Medical gasfitting work
To get a supervisor certificate to do (and to supervise) medical gasfitting work, or an endorsed contractor licence that is equivalent to a supervisor certificate, you must have:
a) successfully completed one of the following vocational education and training (VET) qualifications
- Certificate IV in Plumbing, and
b) successfully completed the following units of competency in the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package:
- Install medical gas pipeline systems, and
- Carry out WHS requirements, and
c) have at least 2 years of experience in medical gas fitting work.
Medical gas technician work
To get a supervisor’s certificate to do (and to supervise) medical gas technician work, or an endorsed contractor licence that is equivalent to a supervisor certificate, you must have:
a) successfully completed one of the following relevant vocational education and training (VET) qualifications:
- Certificate IV in Plumbing
- Certificate IV in Engineering, and
b) successfully completed the following units of competency in the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package:
- Install medical gas pipeline systems
- Carry out WHS requirements, and
c) have at least 2 years of experience in medical gas technician work.
You will be taken to have satisfactorily completed a relevant VET qualification if you have a degree in either:
- Mechanical engineering, or
- Electrical engineering, or
- Biomedical engineering, or
- Mechatronics engineering
or another discipline that, in the opinion of the Secretary, is suitable for a person to do medical gas technician work.
Mechanical services and medical gas work
To get a supervisor certificate to do (and to supervise) mechanical services and medical gas work, or an endorsed contractor licence that is equivalent to a supervisor certificate, you must have:
a) successfully completed the following vocational education and training (VET) qualification:
- Certificate IV in Plumbing, and
b) successfully completed the following units of competency in the Construction, Plumbing and Services Training Package:
- Install medical gas pipeline systems
- Carry out WHS requirements, and
c) have at least 2 years of experience in mechanical services and medical gas work.
If you hold an existing (pre-1 March 2023) plumbing and drainage endorsed contractor licence or supervisor certificate
You can get an endorsed contractor licence or a supervisor certificate to do and supervise mechanical services and medical gas work if you:
- immediately before 1 March 2023, held an endorsed contractor licence or a supervisor certificate authorising you to do and supervise plumbing and drainage work, and
- meet the additional units and experience requirements, and
- otherwise meet the requirements for the issue of the licence or certificate.
You will not be able to do or supervise plumbing and drainage work for the purposes above if you only hold an authority to do or supervise draining work and no other specialist work. Draining work is defined in the Home Building Regulation 2014, Schedule 4.
If you cannot meet the additional units or experience requirements, you may still get a conditional authority. This means it will be subject to a condition that you must not do medical gasfitting work i.e. for mechanical services and medical gas (excluding medical gas).
What would you like to do now?
Get in touch with Building Commission NSW
Need help with an application or want to know more about training and accreditation? Get in touch with Building Commission NSW.
From overseas, call:+612 3814 0545