Hiring a gas fitter: licensing, safety and the certificate

What a gas fitter does

Gas fitters install, repair and connect anything that runs on natural gas or LPG — cooktops, ovens, space heaters, hot water units, pool heaters and outdoor kitchens — along with the pipework that feeds them. Simple jobs are quick: connecting an appliance to an existing bayonet point, replacing a regulator, or running a leak test. Bigger jobs mean running new gas lines, sometimes trenching outside or threading pipe through walls and under floors.

The trade overlaps with plumbing — many tradies hold both tickets — but gas work is its own licensed discipline. Every legal gas job finishes with the fitter testing the installation and issuing a compliance certificate (the exact name varies by state). That certificate confirms the work is safe and tested; you'll want it for your home insurance and when you eventually sell.

How the pricing works

Most gas fitters charge a call-out fee plus an hourly rate, or a fixed price for common jobs. Connecting an appliance to an existing point sits at the low end; installing a new appliance with testing and the certificate is mid-range; and running new gas lines or converting from electric climbs from there. The calculator on this page shows the current indicative bands for your area.

The main levers are the length of any new pipe run, how hard it is to access, and the appliance itself. A short connection is fast; a long run that needs trenching or pipe fished through a wall takes real time. Parts — regulators, valves, flues — sit on top of labour. Bundling jobs into one visit spreads the call-out fee, and suspected leaks after hours attract premium emergency rates.

Checking the licence — always

This is non-negotiable: only a licensed gas fitter can legally do gas work in Australia, everywhere, with no exceptions for small jobs. Ask for the licence and check it against your state's register. Unlike some building trades where licensing depends on the job value, gas has no threshold below which an unlicensed person may work — if someone offers to connect your cooktop without a licence, walk away.

The compliance certificate is your proof the job was done and tested properly, so confirm it's included and insist on receiving it. If you ever smell gas, don't investigate yourself — turn the supply off at the meter or bottle and call a fitter immediately. Choosing well here is less about price shopping and more about confirming the licence, the insurance and the paperwork are all in order.

Mistakes to avoid

Gas mistakes are the ones you can least afford to get wrong, and they usually come from treating gas like a job any handy person can tackle. The certificate, the licence check and a healthy respect for a gas smell are the three things that keep a routine job routine.

• Letting anyone unlicensed touch gas — there is no small-job exception
• Not asking for and keeping the compliance certificate for insurance and resale
• Investigating a gas smell yourself instead of shutting off the supply and calling a fitter
• Booking a single small job instead of bundling several against the one call-out fee
• Forgetting that regulators, flues and the appliance are extra on top of labour
• Assuming an LPG setup is the same as natural gas — bottled gas needs its own fittings and sometimes a conversion kit