Roof plumbing work
You must have a licence or certificate to do roof plumbing work. You need the required qualifications and experience before you apply.
Key information
- In NSW, you need a contractor licence to do any residential building or trade work, including roof plumbing, which is valued at more than $5000 in labour and materials (including GST).
- There are different types of licences and certificates available depending on the work you need to do.
- You must have the right qualifications and experience before you can apply for a licence or certificate.
- You can apply for a 1, 3 or 5 year licence or certificate.
What is roof plumbing work?
Roof plumbing work is trade work.
Roof plumbing is any work involved in fixing, installing, renovating, altering, repairing and maintaining guttering, downpipes, roof flashing and roof coverings on any building or structure.
Roof plumbing does not include work on coverings made of:
- non-metallic tiles and slates
- glass (this work is usually done by glaziers)
- concrete
- timber and timber products
- thatching
- malthoid, bituminous or similar membrane material.
Roof plumbing includes putting in skylights, ventilators and the like and work to put on protective coatings that doesn’t involve structural changes to the roof or its parts.
To learn more about what is considered roof plumbing see the definition in schedule 1 of the Home Building Regulation 2014.
You must have a contractor licence to carry out, advertise or contract for building or trade work that is valued at more than $5,000 in labour and materials (including GST).
You can be fined $22,000 as an individual or $110,000 as a company under the Home Building Act 1989 for doing unlicensed work.
Applying for a licence or certificate
Licence types you can apply for
There are different 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 this category of work are:
- Individual contractor licence (or endorsed contractor licence)
- Company or partnership contractor licence
- Qualified supervisor certificate
You can apply for these licence types for 1, 3 or 5 years.
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.
Qualifications and experience needed
To get a licence or certificate to do roof plumbing work, you must complete one of the qualifications listed below.
Complete one of the following:
- CPC32420/CPC32612/ CPC32611/ CPC32608/ BCP30303/CPC32620 Certificate Ill in Roof Plumbing
OR
- CPC32420 - Certificate III in Plumbing (Roofing); or CPC32420 - Certificate III in Plumbing (Roofing and Mechanical); or CPC32413/ CPC32412/ CPC32411/ CPC32408/ BCP30103 Certificate Ill in Plumbing including the roofing stream
OR
- Certificate III in Plumbing TAFE course 1270
OR
- Qualification 90119 Certificate III in Metal Roofing Trade TAFE course #7997
OR
- Qualification Certificate in Metal Roofing Trade TAFE course #1424.
Note: for TAFE course 1270
If you have completed TAFE course 1270, you must provide a transcript that includes this NSW TAFE course code. If your transcript does not display the NSW TAFE course code 1270, you will need to contact TAFE to obtain an official letter verifying your completion of this course. You must submit this letter along with your Certificate III qualification certificate and transcript when you lodge your application.
Modules for different plumbing streams
f you hold a Certificate III in Plumbing (BCP30103, CPC32408, or CPC32411, CPC32412, CPC32413), specific compulsory and elective modules are required to apply for a licence or certificate in Roof Plumbing. The required modules are listed below by course name.
View or download our checklists of the modules to complete for Certificate III in plumbing for:
You do not need to show your qualifications if you have
either:
- ever held an endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate in roof plumbing work that had no restrictions or conditions. If you apply for a new endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate, we will accept your previous licence or certificate in place of the current qualification requirements.
or:
- held an endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate in the last 5 years in roof plumbing work that had restrictions or conditions. We will assess your application and reissue you a licence or certificate that reflects the scope of work that your licence or certificate covered. This may include some conditions or restrictions.
If your application is approved, you will be issued the same licence or qualified supervisor number you had before.
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.
If you are currently an apprentice or trainee, you cannot be issued with a licence or certificate. Once you have completed your apprenticeship or traineeship, you will need to apply for a contractor licence if you intend to do, or contract for, building or trade work.
If you hold a licence from interstate or New Zealand, and want to work in NSW, see Working interstate and mutual recognition.
This category of building and trade work is included under the NSW Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) scheme.
If you trained overseas, see Overseas trained applicants.
Do not make false or misleading claims
Providing false or misleading information is a serious offence.
If your license was obtained based on false or misleading information, you could face criminal prosecution, and your licence or certificate may be cancelled.
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.