A new online course is now available to help building and plumbing industry professionals and developers to learn about water efficiency labelling, and to stay up to date with their legal obligations under the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Act 2005.

In just 45 minutes, participants will be able to complete the free course and learn about the important role they can play in saving water, energy and lowering the cost of their client’s utility bills.

The training will be rolled out through plumbing and building industry bodies and vocational institutions, while interested individuals can also access it through the waterrating.gov.au website.

Everyone in the industry can have easy access to the course, including through professional development and training programs.

The aim of the WELS scheme is to encourage more efficient domestic water use and to reduce demand for drinking water in Australia.

The WELS scheme sets the water efficiency and labelling requirements for taps, showers, flow controllers, toilets, urinals, dishwashers and washing machines.

Consumers are able to make more informed decisions about water efficiency at the point of sale through the WELS star rating label, reducing their water usage and their impact on the environment.

Over the past 18 years, the WELS scheme has been instrumental in reducing water demand in Australia and continues to deliver both water and energy savings.

“We received a lot of positive feedback from industry during our pilot testing of this course, and a wide range of stakeholders found it to be comprehensive and easy to follow,” said Matthew Dadswell, WELS Regulator.

“We are looking forward to working with industry bodies and vocational institutions in rolling this training out to their members.

“This course was created for those in the building and plumbing industries to understand the important role they can play in promoting water efficiency.”