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Do I need a licensed roof plumber or can any roofer do it?

The short answer

Roof drainage work, including gutters, downpipes, flashings and metal roofing, is licensed plumbing work in most states. Tiling a roof is often treated differently, which is why the answer depends on the job.

TradieAnswers editorial · written in-house and sourced to the authorities listed below

Checked against 5 published sources, listed in full at the end of this page. How we source this

This surprises people because roofing does not sound like plumbing. The logic is drainage: anything that collects and conveys stormwater is plumbing work, which puts gutters, downpipes, flashings, valleys and metal roof sheeting under the plumbing licensing regime in most of Australia.

The usual split

  • Metal roofing, guttering, downpipes, flashings and valleys: roof plumbing, a licensed class in most states.
  • Tiled roofing: often a separate trade classification, and in some states it is not a licensed class at all.
  • The stormwater connection below ground: plumbing and drainage work, licensed everywhere.
  • Structural work to the roof frame: building work, with its own requirements.

What to check

Ask which licence class the contractor holds and check it on your state register against the work you are having done. A tiler quoting on a re-roof that includes new valleys, flashings and gutters is quoting on work that in most states needs a roof plumbing licence, and the licence class is exactly the kind of thing a register will tell you in a minute.

Sources

Every source below was fetched and its response recorded on the date shown. Where a government site blocks automated clients, that is noted rather than reported as a successful check.

  1. Plumbing and drainage licences · Queensland Building and Construction CommissionChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  2. Building and Plumbing Commission · Building and Plumbing Commission VictoriaChecked 2026-08-10 · live, but blocks automated clients so the specific page could not be confirmed
  3. Verify.Licence · NSW GovernmentChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  4. NCC 2022 Volume Three: Plumbing Code of Australia · Australian Building Codes BoardChecked 2026-08-11 · responded 200 OK
  5. Building and Energy · Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA)Checked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK

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