Fire Protection Work - Licensing & Registration

A while ago, I wrote about the requirements for people who carry out plumbing work (including a range of fire protection activities) need to be licensed and/or registered.

Unfortunately, I am still hearing about practitioners who are not either licensed or registered to carry out fire protection work. This also means that they are not issuing the statutory Compliance Certificate for plumbing work over $750.00.

Within the Plumbing Regulations 2008 (Vic) there are 8 classes of plumbing work other than specialised plumbing work as listed below:

1. drainage work;
2. fire protection work;
3. gasfitting work;
4. irrigation (non-agricultural) work;
5. mechanical services work;
6. roofing (stormwater) work;
7. sanitary work; and
8. water supply work.

Fire Protection Work - Definition

The definition of fire protection work is also defined in the Regulations as follows;

1. Fire protection work is -
1. the construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, maintenance, testing or commissioning of any part of a water service used for fire fighting, from the point of connection of the service to the water supply to any firefighting device or equipment forming part of that service, including the following equipment-
1. a fire hydrant or hose reel;
2. a residential or domestic fire sprinkler system;
3. a commercial or industrial fire sprinkler system;
4. a fire system pump set other than the commissioning of a fire system pump set; and
2. any design work that is incidental to, or associated with, any work described in paragraph (a).
2. In this regulation water service includes a service that is connected to a reticulated water supply, a rainwater supply or any other water supply.

It has been almost three years since these regulations were proclaimed, so by now people conducting work should be appropriately licensed and/or registered to carry out fire protection work.

Consumers should also be routinely receiving a Compliance Certificate for plumbing work over $750.00.

Fortunately, consumers can also check look-up a practitioner online at the Plumbing Industry Commission web site.

• https://consumer.etoolbox.pic.vic.gov.au/_layouts/cc/pic_validatepp.aspx

Maintenance Essentials employes licensed practitioners to carry out fire protection work and routinely issues the required Compliance Certificates.

For more information about fire protection work conducted by Licensed and Registered practitioners or Compliance Certificates, contact our Operations Support Team on 1300 30 88 22.