Hon Tjorn Sibma inquired about the processing of plumber and gasfitter occupational licences, specifically focusing on apprentice-to-tradesperson applications, processing times, and outstanding applications within the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety.

AnsweredQoN 183Legislative Council
Asked
17 March 2026
Portfolio
Commerce

QuestionView source ↗

Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and
Safety—Occupational licences—Plumbers and gasfitters
183. Hon Tjorn Sibma to
the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Commerce:
I refer to the
occupational licensing function of the Licensing Services Directorate within
the Building, Energy Safety and Service Delivery Group at the Department of
Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety as it applies to the licensing
of plumbers and gasfitters.
(1) How many
apprentice-to-plumber/gasfitter licence applications have been finalised for
each of the previous five financial years ending 2024–25?
(2) How many
apprentice-to-plumber/gasfitter licence applications have been finalised in the
current financial year?
(3) What is the median time for
processing an apprentice-to-plumber/gasfitter licence application currently?
(4) How many
apprentice-to-plumber/gasfitter licence applications are presently outstanding
and what is being done to expedite this backlog?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member
for some notice of the question. I will go to answers (2), (3) and (4), first.
(2) There were 464 plumbing tradesperson
applications and 211 apprentice-to-gasfitter applications.
(3) It was 10 business days for both.
(4) There were 29 and 17 applications,
respectively. There are currently no backlogs in processing either a plumbing
tradesperson or apprentice-to-gasfitter application.
The answer to (1) is
largely in tabular form and I ask that it be incorporated into Hansard .
Leave granted for
the following material to be incorporated.
(1) Plumbing apprentices are
not required to hold a training licence and there are no apprentice-to-plumber
applications. The data provided below is for all plumbing tradesperson
applications.
Financial Year
Number of Applications
Plumber
Gasfitter
2020–21
304
204
2021–22
331
198
2022–23
424
209
2023–24
413
198
2024–25
584
189

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