Outcome of consultation and changes to 2023 licence renewal

Last year we invited you to give us feedback on a proposal to require information about practitioners’ fitness to practice when applying to renew their licences.

Thank you for considering this proposal and to the many individuals and organisations who made submissions.

What has changed to the renewal of your annual licence?
After careful consideration of the feedback, the Board resolved to proceed with the proposed change. What this means for you is that you will need to answer five questions about your fitness to practice when you renew your licence or this year. These questions can be found here.

Why are we making these changes?
The Board is making this change because it became aware of some matters that reflected on whether some registered people remained fit and proper people to be doing plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying. This included allegations of serious criminal offending and health conditions that could seriously impact on a practitioner’s ability to safely carry out work.
The proposed change will ensure that the Board can continue protecting the health and safety of the public, and retain confidence in the profession by assuring the public that licensed plumbers, gasfitters, and drainlayers are fit and proper persons to carry out their work.

What does it mean if you answer “yes” to the questions?
Answering yes to any of the questions does not mean you cannot renew your practicing licence. The Board is only concerned with serious matters that may impact on your work as a plumber, gasfitter, or drainlayer. As an example, a drunk driving conviction will not prevent you from renewing your licence, but the Board may ask for more information about a conviction for a serious sexual assault.

We will ask you for more information and talk to you before making any decision about renewing your licence.

What information do I need to provide?
You only need to provide information relating to matters that have occurred since you last renewed your licence. For example, if you last held a licence last year you will only need to provide information for that year period i.e. April 2022 - now. If you have not held a licence for more than a year, you will need to provide information for the time since you last held a licence. We have developed a guide on disclosing health information here.

How will the Board look after my information?
Your privacy is important to us. All information the Board collects in relation to assessing whether a practitioner is a fit and proper person will be kept secure and confidential in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.
Information that is not necessary or relevant to an assessment will be permanently deleted.
The Board has issued guidance on how they will keep your health information safe here.

Helpful further information
The Board has developed guidance which can be found here.
The Board received 368 written submissions from practitioners and organisations. These submissions were reviewed by all Board members prior to making its decision. More information about the outcome of the consultation can be found here.