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PLUMBING CONNECTION
SPRING 2016
MAKING SENSE OF THE REGULATION
MIND GAME
A
s you will read on page 26 in this
edition, in late May we brought
together some of the best
and brightest minds from across the
plumbing supply sector to listen, learn
and question the plumbing industry’s
key regulators at the
2016 Plumbing
Supply Forum.
In talking to delegates during the day
and since that event, it seems most
industry people have a skeleton idea of
how this industry works, but at best,
few fully understand the legislation
and powers (or lack of in some cases)
that regulators have.
As for a few of the first-time
attendees wanting to learn more about
how the plumbing supply system works
in Australia, there would have been a
few eyes glazed over.
In terms of installers – the majority
of our readers – working onsite
every day, in your ongoing quest to
understand all this stuff, and you need
to, for the sake of your business and
family, we’ve gone to lengths to clarify
all the mumbo jumbo for you.
When
Plumbing Connection
publisher Jeff Patchell and I returned
to our office, we agreed we needed
to pull something together to give
everyone a better understanding of
the complex inter-relationships that
operate between the product and
installation standards, codes and
installation guides.
Our thanks go to John McBride, a
long-time expert and consultant to
government and industry on these
matters, who greatly assisted us in
pulling this information together.
But before we get into the nitty-
gritty, it’s worth considering how
this complex system of regulations
managed to reach this point.
A BIT OF HISTORY
For the past 25 years or so,
the plumbing industry has been
transitioning from what is fair to say
a somewhat ‘protected species’ of an
industry. In reality, plumbers barely
took responsibility for their work as
they were safeguarded by the support
of a number of inspections during any
given installation.
Other than a few regional
exceptions, those days have gone,
never to return. To track how well
the sector is performing today, most
state regulators – who are driven by
consumer protection – audit a small
percentage of jobs to form a view on
how well the industry is tracking.
From a supplier point of view, if you
go back 25-30 years, many of the
plumbing products used in water
THE PLUMBING INDUSTRY IS HIGHLY REGULATED, AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS THAT
DEFECTIVE OR SHODDY PLUMBING WORK CAN HAVE ON SOCIETY, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. TRAVERSING
YOUR WAY THROUGH THE REGULATION MIND GAME IS NO EASY TASK THOUGH.
JUSTIN FELIX
PAINTS A CLEARER
PICTURE OF HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS.
COVER STORY:
REGULATION