All plumbing and drainage work in Queensland is regulated by state government legislative requirements and is categorised as:
Only permit work is approved by Council.
Permit work is defined by exclusion. Any plumbing and drainage work that is not defined as minor work, notifiable work or unregulated work, is therefore permit work. These works are defined in the Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019. You must be a licensed person to perform permit work and ensure you only perform the permit work covered by your licence (for example, a licensed drainer can perform permit drainage work).
All permit work must be assessed by Council for compliance with the technical standards for plumbing and drainage. Before commencing permit work, you must obtain a permit for the proposed work.
Council is required to assess the permit work at particular stages. It is the licensed person’s responsibility to arrange these mandatory inspections. Any licensed person who performs plumbing and drainage work must ensure it is compliant with the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018.
Council will issue an inspection certificate when the permit work has been satisfactorily completed.
On completion of the work, a Form 4 (Notifiable work) is required to be submitted to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) within 10 business days of completing the work. More information is available from the Department of Housing and Public Works website. Council may audit the work for compliance with the technical standards.
Minor work must be performed by a licensed person but does not require notification to Council or the QBCC.
Unregulated work is plumbing and drainage work that does not require Council approval or notification. No licence is required to perform this work.
A list of unregulated work (work that can be done by an unlicensed person) is available from the QBCC website.
Where the permit work includes more than three meters of below ground drainage or six meters of above ground
sanitary drainage, a drainage plan is also required with the application.
Note: A drainage plan is not required to be submitted with Fast Track domestic applications.
For more information on drainage plan requirements, including for on-site sewerage facilities, see the As Constructed Drainage Plan factsheet.
On-site sewerage facilities have special requirements, which are detailed in the On-site sewerage treatment and grey water guidelines.
No, Council does not prepare drainage plans or on-site sewerage facilities designs.
All permit plumbing and drainage works that will be below ground, behind walls, etc., requires testing and inspection before it is covered. Typical inspections include:
Only the responsible person (plumber or drainer) can book inspections. Contact the Hydraulics Unit on (07) 4417 5299 to book an inspection.
Inspection hours:
You will need the following information when booking the inspection:
Generally, inspections are booked out one business day in advance. Bookings by phone can only be accepted up to 11am the day prior to the inspection date.
Most permit applications for plumbing and drainage work use the Queensland state government Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 forms, which can be found on the Business Queensland website.
Completed forms can be submitted to Council by one of the following methods:
Alternatively, 'Form 1 – Permit work application for plumbing, drainage and on-site sewerage work' and 'Form 7 – Notification of Responsible Person' can be completed online using the links below.
For applicable fees, refer to the Schedule of Fees and Charges (Planning).
Payment of fees may be made on account or over the phone (by credit card) once the application has been lodged and entered into our system. Phone 07 4417 5325 to pay a plumbing and drainage related fee.
Should you wish to withdraw a plumbing and drainage application lodged with Council, you may request a partial refund of the application fees. The refunded amount (if any) will be determined by Council, at its absolute discretion. Any credit card surcharges applied at payment cannot be refunded. Requests for a refund of fees is to be made in writing to developmentassessment@townsville.qld.gov.au.
