A Victorian man has been convicted and ordered by the Ringwood Magistrate’s Court to pay more than $1000 for performing plumbing work without a licence or registration.

Building practitioner Anthony Ronalds, operating under business name Master Bathrooms, has been required to pay $1350, including legal costs.

Mr Ronalds entered guilty pleas to all charges relating to unlawful building and plumbing works carried out at premises in Box Hill, 14km east of Melbourne, between May and June 2018.

He has never held a registration or licence as a plumber and was not authorised to perform any plumbing work.

The Victorian Building Authority’s (VBA) Executive Director of Regulatory Operations, David Brockman, said Mr Ronalds issued two false compliance certificates, highlighting the need to check practitioner credentials.

“Compliance certificates provide assurance that plumbing work is compliant and covered by insurance, however they must only be issued by a licensed plumber,” Mr Brockman said.

“Before you engage a plumber, check to make sure they are licensed to do the work so that you have peace of mind that it will be done safely and correctly.”

The court heard that the plumbing works carried out by Mr Ronalds involved water supply and sanitary work – installation of drains and wastewater pipes and toilet connection.

Due to inadequate installation of plumbing, the hot water temperature at the property also exceeded the 50 degrees allowed under the Australian Standards.

Mr Ronalds is a registered builder and could have taken out building insurance for the other work he did at the premises but failed to do so, putting his client at further risk.

He issued two false compliance certificates.

Mr Ronalds had a similar prior conviction in 2015 of carrying out plumbing works when not licensed or registered to do so.

Victorians wanting to engage a builder or plumber can visit vba.vic.gov.au/find to find a licenced or registered practitioner.

The VBA has an online consumer resource portal with information for anyone who is experiencing issues with builders or plumbers.