Renewals

Plumbers may only carry out plumbing work within Victoria if they have a current registration or licence, or are a plumbing apprentice.

To continue to carry out plumbing work:

Registered plumbers must apply to renew their registration every three years.
Licensed plumbers must apply to renew their licence every year.
If the VBA has issued a registration or licence for a lesser period, then it will have to be renewed accordingly.

Carrying out plumbing work once expiry has occurred is against the law.

Renewing your plumbing licence

Before you renew

We'll remind you to start the renewals process eight weeks before your plumbing licence expires. This gives you sufficient time to contact your insurance provider and obtain an updated Certificate of Currency.

Once you have received your updated Certificate of Currency, email it to plumbingreg@vba.vic.gov.au so we can confirm your insurance cover meets our requirements. This usually takes around three business days.

Once we have updated your practitioner record, we'll let you know you can renew your licence. You will need to renew online via eToolbox.

Using eToolbox

To renew, follow these steps:

Log in to eToolbox using your user ID and password (your user ID is your plumbing practitioner number).
Choose Renew Online from the left-hand menu of the home screen.
Complete the practitioner declaration section.
Provide your payment details.

You can also update your contact details if required.

Once processed, we will send you your new practitioner card within two weeks.

Application for renewal – Registered and Licenced Practitioners

When it is time for you to renew your plumbing registration or licence, we will send a renewal reminder to the postal address on our records, prompting you to complete your renewal via our online practitioner portal, eToolbox. You will receive a reminder eight weeks before your expiry date and four weeks before your expiry date.

It is your responsibility to advise the VBA if your postal address changes, to avoid any lost communications. If you did not receive your renewal reminders in the mail and need to renew urgently, please complete this accreditation renewal form (PDF, 418.17 KB) as soon as possible and submit it to the address on the form.

Application for renewal – CFA Volunteers

Practitioners who carry out Fire Protection – restricted to the routine servicing of hose reels for the Country Fire Authority (CFA) as a volunteer are required to complete this CFA volunteer renewal form (PDF, 343.28 KB) as soon as possible and submit it to the address on the form.

After your application is received

Once we have received your renewal application, we may contact you (via letter or email) to ask for more information.

If we grant your renewal application after your registration or licence has expired, it will not be backdated. During that period, the VBA considers you to be unlicensed or unregistered. Plumbers with an expired licence cannot purchase a compliance certificate.

Application for renewal after your licence or registration has expired

The VBA cannot renew your licence or registration if you apply to renew it after it has expired, unless:

you pay the renewal fee, including a late fee, and
we are satisfied that you didn't carry out any plumbing work in Victoria after your registration or licence expired.

If you are applying under these circumstances, you will need to provide more information to help us assess your application.

To apply to renew a licence or registration after it has expired, save and complete the Application to renew a plumbing licence/registration after expiry (PDF, 475.45 KB) on your computer (do not handwrite). The application form includes a checklist to help you complete the process.

As part of your application, we also require you to undertake a national police check. Please follow the invitation link on the form to complete your police check with the VBA’s police check provider. There will be no cost to you when completing your police check via this link.