By Jeff Patchell. 

The ABCB has released a 28-page discussion paper that outlines the pros and cons for change in regards to regulation being aligned with Water Efficiency Labelling scheme (WELS)-type legislation.

The plumbing industry has only been given 16 working days to respond to the discussion paper so it’s important for everyone to have their say now.

The reality is that 99.5% of Australia’s plumbers likely remain ignorant of the issue of installation products sold without a WaterMark certification. Too few plumbers realise they are legally liable if they install a plumbing product without WaterMark and yet there are plenty of these products around.

With more products coming onto the market via online sales and builders/developers who are prepared to cut corners, this problem is only going to get worse.

The ABCB was tasked last year with preparing a review of the situation to see if it is appropriate for plumbing products to have the similar point of sale (POS) legislation as WELS that puts the onus on the product seller rather than the installer.

You can read the full discussion paper here.

Individual plumbers are welcome to submit feedback to the review process or they can offer their opinion through their trade association.

While Plumbing Connection makes no direct comment, my take after reading the paper is that the authors don’t fully understand how quickly the regulated market’s supply chain is being disrupted.

Make sure you have your say now.