Plumbing Service Near You

Whether it’s routine maintenance or plumbing emergencies, it’s easy to hire a local plumber.

If you need to repair your blocked drains or simply want to have your plumbing system checked, a qualified plumber can professionally handle these jobs.

Plumbing is a highly specialised trade requiring skilled, trained and licenced tradesmen with hands-on experience.

What should you look for in a plumber?

Licensed and Certified.
The first important qualification to verify when hiring a local plumber is their licence. Licensing requirements vary depending on your State.
Here are the administering agencies responsible for issuing licences for plumbers across Australia.
- Victoria:Victorian Building Association (VBA)
- New South Wales:Fair Trading State
- Western Australia: Plumbers Licensing Board (PLB)
- Queensland:Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)
- South Australia:Consumer and Business Services/Licensing and Registrations
Always check if the licence is valid and up-to-date. You may use online licence checkers for verification.
Insured and Safety Compliant.
It’s worth-noting to hire a plumber with updated insurance to help protect your finances caused by property damage or third-party accidents

Some of the common types of insurance include:
- Public Liability
- Workers Compensation
- Tools insurance
Along with insurance is the requirement to comply with Workplace Health & Safety regulations. It may be a minor leaking toilet issue that a plumber needs to address, but their training and strict adherence to health and safety regulations will ensure professional and comprehensive service is provided.
Skilled and Experienced.
Local plumbers should not only carry a licence and be adequately insured. A plumber with varied skills and expertise in plumbing installations, repairs or maintenance gives quality service.

Like other tradies, plumbers have diverse specialities, exposure and experience. Someone who is good at general plumbing repairs may not be able to deliver well when you hire them to install all of the different hot water systems, from gas to electric to solar.

As recommended, choose a plumber that suits your exact needs.
- Residential plumber
- Emergency plumber
- Roof plumber
- Gas plumber
- Mechanical plumber
- Commercial plumber
Also, consider their industry experience, recent projects and reviews.

Cost of Common Plumbing Services

On average, plumbers across Australia charge around $80 to $135 per hour for their service.

The amount to pay for labour and materials will depend on the nature of work, the size of the job and additional fees incurred due to the complexity of the job.

Emergency plumbing services

Most homeowners hire emergency plumbers for one reason: they are on-call 24/7 should they encounter plumbing emergencies such as burst pipes.

Emergency call-outs can range from $150 to $250, in addition to the time and materials on-site.

Plumber hourly rates vary between businesses and the consumer should ask for a fixed or indicative estimate up-front to avoid any price surprises or dispute.

Where possible always ask for this confirmation in writing.

Blocked drain cleaning

Blocked drains are a common household problem that may result in significant repairs. The cost of clearing clogged sinks or bathroom drains may vary from $80 to $120 per service.

Irreparable drains may lead to new installations, attracting increased costs.

Blockage issues, with proper maintenance, may be preventable. Many homeowners tend to ignore the warning signs at the early stages.

Ensure to have your drains professionally checked by a local plumber to detect the root cause and resolve the problem.

A little cost up-front may pay for itself many times over with issues fixed in the early stages, saving longer term costs and interruption of services.

Toilet installation

Home extension projects may include installing a new toilet.

New installations can range from $410 to $2,040 or more depending on what type of toilet you are buying to install and range of difficulties encountered by the hired plumber.

Choosing a plumber specialising in toilet installations will ensure a professional installation.

Homeowners should expect to pay extra fees for preparation works or when replacing old toilets.

Be wary of plumbers asking for large upfront fees. Always request an itemised quotation to compare pricing from different plumbing contractors.

Clarify the scope of work to avoid hidden costs and potential dispute. Buy based on value, and not price.

Tips on Lowering the Costs of Your Plumbing Jobs

A Plumbing service involves labour of skilled tradesmen and costly materials.

The costs can soon exceed your expectations if you do not have the scope of work and costs agreed in advance.

Not all plumbing fixes can be done ahead of time. Fault finding is difficult to fix a price on.

Discuss this closely with your plumber and ask them for indicative pricing.

Consider a ceiling price in advance where the plumber has to stop and take your further instructions before incurring additional costs.

It’s important for the consumer and tradie to understand costs so there are no budget or other issues.

Keep your plumbing well-maintained.

Clearing clogged sinks or shower drains on a regular basis will help to prevent issues from arising.

Emergency services will cost more than a regular plumbing job done in normal hours.

List down what you need done.

The plumber’s costs can be minimised by making a list of plumbing jobs.

Try to limit the number of site visits to increase efficiency - avoiding travel or call-out fees.

Always choose the right tradie.

General plumbers have a wide and varied experience. They professionally attend to all issues.

But the plumbing trade is wide and varied and there are areas that require special skill-sets - such as gas and solar appliances.

Ensure that you have done the research and satisfied yourself that your chosen tradie has the requisite experience.

This may not only give you a better standard of installation but a more competitive price.

Specialist plumbers will generally have the materials and tools on hand to complete the task and saving cost.

Post your plumber’s job on HIREtrades today.

With an Australia-wide directory of local plumbers, HIREtrades can help you obtain up to three free quotes.

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