Going out on your own as a gas fitter in VIC
Checked against Building and Plumbing Commission on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Plumbing licence, class Gasfitting work
The licence is the level that lets you certify your own work and take jobs in your own name. Same class, higher level.
And underneath it, to do the work
Plumbing registration, class Gasfitting work
Registration lets you lawfully carry out the work. It does not let you supervise anyone or issue compliance certificates, which is what makes it useless for working on your own.
This is the one people get wrong: the licence that lets you DO the work and the one that lets you CONTRACT for it are different. Working for a boss you only need the first. Going out on your own you need both.
- What you need before you apply
- The qualifications for the gasfitting class, then the step up from registration to licence. There are exams at both levels.
- What it costs
- BPC fees for 2026-27, GST exempt: application fee $66.30 at either level and payable separately for each, registration $416.30 for 3 years, licence $369 for 12 months.
- What you can do without it
- Nothing a gas business would do. Do not look for a dollar threshold on gas work in Victoria: to do any plumbing work you must be licensed or registered, full stop.
- Insurance the regulator requires
- Mandatory as a condition of the licence, and this catches people: you have to provide evidence of the required insurance BEFORE the BPC will issue it. Registration-only plumbers are not asked for it.
- Who issues it
- Building and Plumbing Commission
Read this before you rely on it
- The BPC does not publish how long an application takes. The only published waits are around exams: about two weeks' notice for a sitting, two to four weeks for results, and three to four weeks for your card.
Where this came from
Read off Building and Plumbing Commission on 8 August 2026. Fees and processing times usually change on 1 July, so check before you budget.
Once you are up and running, we also have a page on what ONARA Ops does for gas fitters.
When you are ready to take the first job
Once the licence is sorted, you need to look like you have been doing this for years: a website people can book from, and quotes and invoices with your logo that go out the same day you finish. That part is us.
We are not accountants, lawyers or insurance brokers, and none of this is advice. It is what the regulators and the ATO publish, gathered in one place with links to the source, so you know what to go and ask about. Rules and fees change, so check with the authority before you act on anything here. Government fees shown are for the 2026-27 year and are indexed every 1 July.