Hunter Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1991 Hunter Water Corporation Limited (Plumbing and Drainage) Regulation 1995 (1995-488) [GG No 105 of 1.9.1995] (NSW)

1995-No. 488

HUNTER WATER BOARD (CORPORATISATION) ACT 1991—

REGULATION

(Hunter Water Corporation Limited (Plumbing and Drainage) Regulation 1995)

NEW SOUTH WALES

[Published in Gazette No. 105 of 1 September 1995]

HIS Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council,

and in pursuance of the Hunter Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1991,

has been pleased to make the Regulation set forth hereunder.

CRAIG KNOWLES, M.P.,

Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning.

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

Citation

1. This Regulation may be cited as the Hunter Water Corporation

Limited (Plumbing and Drainage) Regulation 1995.

Commencement

2. This Regulation commences on 1 September 1995.

Definitions

3. In this Regulation:

“approved” means approved by the Corporation;

“certificate of compliance” means a certificate of the kind referred to

in clause 14;

“Corporation” means Hunter Water Corporation Limited referred to

in the Act;

“defect” in a water, sewerage or stormwater drainage service includes:

(a) a construction or use of the service that does not comply with the Plumbing and Drainage Code of Practice; and

(b) a blockage or leakage in the service;

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“fitting” includes any pipe, apparatus or fixture used for plumbing or

drainage work;

“permit” means a permit issued under Part 2;
“Plumbing and Drainage Code of Practice” means the New South

Wales Code of Practice Plumbing and Drainage produced by the Committee on Uniformity of Plumbing and Drainage Regulations in New South Wales (available from the Corporation) as in force from time to time;

“plumbing or drainage work” means work comprising or affecting:

(a) a water supply service pipe or its connection to a water main

of the Corporation; or

(b) a sewerage service pipe or its connection to a sewer main of

the Corporation; or

(c) a stormwater drainage service drain or its connection to a stormwater drain of the Corporation;

“repair” includes make good, replace, reconstruct, remove, alter,

cleanse or clear;

“SAA MP52 (1993)” means the publication entitled “Manual of Authorization Procedures for Plumbing and Draining Products”, published by the Standards Association of Australia, Fourth edition (1993);

“sewerage service pipe” means a pipe connecting premises to a sewer main of the Corporation, and includes the fittings connected to the pipe;
“stormwater drainage service drain” means a stormwater drain connecting premises to a stormwater drain of the Corporation, and includes the fittings connected to the drain;

“the Act” means the Hunter Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1991; “water supply service pipe” means a pipe connecting premises to a

water main of the Corporation, and includes the fittings connected to

the pipe.

PART 2—PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE WORK

Plumbing and drainage work to comply with Code of Practise and to

use only approved fittings

(1) A person must not do plumbing or drainage work otherwise than in accordance with the Plumbing and Drainage Code of Practice.

4.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or

100 penalty units in any other case.

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(2) A person must not use any fitting for plumbing or drainage work unless the fitting is approved.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or

100 penalty units in any other case.

Permit required for plumbing or drainage work

5. (1) A person must not do plumbing or drainage work without being the holder of a permit authorising the person to do the work.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or

100 penalty units in any other case.

(2) A person is not guilty of an offence against this clause if:

(a) the work is done in an emergency:

(i) to prevent waste of water; or

(ii)  to restore a water supply that has been shut off to prevent waste of water; or

(iii) to free a choked pipe; or

(iv) to prevent damage to property; and

(b) the person obtains a permit for the work as soon as practicable after the work is done.

(3) This clause does not apply to or in respect of plumbing or drainage work done by an employee of the Corporation.

Application for permit

6. (1) An application for a permit:

(a) must be made in an approved form; and

(b) must be lodged personally or by post at an office of the Corporation.

(2) An applicant must pay the fee determined by the Corporation for the issue of a permit.

False information in application for permit

7. A person must not, in or in connection with an application for a permit, provide information or produce a document that the person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or

100 penalty units in any other case.

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Refusal of permits

8. (1) The Corporation may refuse to grant a permit to a person who, in its opinion, has previously carried out plumbing or drainage work in contravention of the Act, this Regulation or a direction under the Act or

this Regulation.

(2) The Corporation may also refuse to grant a permit to a person while any relevant information that was not supplied with the application and that has been requested by the Corporation from the applicant is outstanding.

Conditions of permits

9. (1) The Corporation may grant a permit subject to conditions.
(2) A person must not contravene a condition of a permit.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or

100 penalty units in any other case.

Suspension or cancellation of permit

10. (1) The Corporation may, by written notice served on the holder of

a permit, suspend or cancel the permit if:

(a)	the permit was granted on the basis of false or misleading information; or
(b)	the holder of the permit has contravened a condition of the permit;

or

(c) the holder of the permit has contravened the Act, this Regulation or a direction under the Act or this Regulation.

(2) The notice must set out the reason for the suspension or

cancellation.

(3) The Corporation may suspend or cancel a permit at the request of

(a) the holder of the permit; or

(b) the owner, or duly authorised agent of the owner, of the premises on which the work authorised by the permit is to be, or is being, done.

Corporation to be notified of damage to its works or other property

11. A person who, in the course of doing plumbing or drainage work,

damages a work or other property of the Corporation must immediately
notify the Corporation of the damage.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or 100 penalty units in any other case.

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Defective plumbing or drainage work

12. (1) The Corporation may, by written notice served on a person who is carrying out plumbing or drainage work, direct the person:

(a)	to repair, as specified by the Corporation, work done otherwise than in a tradesmanlike manner; or
(b)	to bring into conformity with the Plumbing and Drainage Code of Practice work done otherwise than in accordance with that Code; or
(c)	to repair or replace, as specified by the Corporation, a defective fitting used in any of the work done; or
(d)	to bring into conformity with the Corporation’s approval any fitting that does not comply with the approval.

(2) A person to whom such a direction is given must not fail to comply with the direction.

Maximum penalty: 200 penaltyunits in the case of a corporation, or 100 penalty units in any other case.

(3) If a direction is given to a person before a certificate of compliance is given for the work, the person must not continue with the work until the direction has been complied with.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or 100 penalty units in any other case.

(4) A direction is of no effect if it is issued more than 2 years after the

work to which it relates has been completed.

Approval of fittings

13. (1) Before approving the construction or use of a fitting of a

particular kind, the Corporation:

(a) may require:

(i) a fitting of that kind to be submitted to the Corporation for examination and testing; or

(ii)  submission to the Corporation of a satisfactory result of tests of a fitting of that kind carried out by an approved person or body; and

(b) may require fittings of that kind to be manufactured under an approved system of quality assurance.

(2) The Corporation must not approve the construction or use of a particular kind of fitting unless it is satisfied that it complies with the requirements of SAA MP52 (1993).

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Person to give certificate of compliance after work completed

14. (1) A person who does plumbing or drainage work must, within 48 hours after completing the work:

(a)	give the Corporation a certificate of compliance duly completed and signed by the person; and
(b)	give a copy of the certificate to the owner of the premises on which the work was done or to which the work was connected.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or 100 penalty units in any other case.

(2) A certificate of compliance must be in the approved form (as supplied by the Corporation) and must certify that the plumbing or drainage work to which it relates has been completed in accordance with the Plumbing and Drainage Code of Practice.

(3) A person must not, in a certificate of compliance, provide information that the person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or

100 penalty units in any other case.

(4) This clause does not apply to or in respect of plumbing or drainage work done by an employee of the Corporation.

PART 3-MISCELLANEOUS

Exemption from certain requirements

15. (1) The Corporation may exempt all persons, or any specified class of persons, from any or all of the following requirements of this Regulation:

(a)	the requirement to hold a permit authorising the doing of plumbing or drainage work;
(b)	the requirement to complete a certificate of compliance with respect to plumbing or drainage work;
(c)	the requirement to use only approved fittings for plumbing or drainage work.

(2) An exemption under subclause (1) (a) or (b) may relate to plumbing or drainage work generally or to any specified kind or kinds of plumbing work.

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(3) An exemption under subclause (1) (c) may relate to fittings generally or to any specified kind or kinds of fitting.

(4) The Corporation may vary or revoke any exemption under this

clause.

(5) Notice of any exemption granted under this clause, or of any variation or revocation of such an exemption, may be given in such manner as the Corporation considers appropriate.

(6) A person in respect of whom an exemption under this clause ceases to have effect by reason of the variation or revocation of the exemption is not guilty of an offence against this Regulation as a result of the exemption having ceased to have effect unless it is established that he or she was aware of the variation or revocation of the exemption.

(7) A person is taken to be aware of the variation or revocation of an exemption if written notice of that fact is served on the person, either personally or by post.

(8) Subclause (7) does not affect any other means by which a person

may be made aware of the variation or revocation of an exemption.

Repeal

16. (1) The Hunter Water Board (Water, Sewerage and Drainage Systems) Regulation 1989 is repealed.

(2) Any act, matter or thing that, immediately before the repeal of the Hunter Water Board (Water, Sewerage and Drainage Systems) Regulation 1989, had effect under that Regulation continues to have effect under this Regulation.

NOTES

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

1 .         Citation

2.         Commencement

3.        Definitions

PART 2—PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE WORK

4.        Plumbing and drainage work to comply with Code of Practice and to use only approved fittings

5.         Permit required for plumbing or drainage work

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6.        Application for permit

7.       False information in application for permit

8.        Refusal of permits

9.        Conditions of permits

10.      Suspension or cancellation of permit

1 1 .       Corporation to be notified of damage to its works or other property

12.      Defective plumbing or drainage work

13.      Approval of fittings

14.      Person to give certificate of compliance after work completed

PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS

15.      Exemption from certain requirements

16.      Repeal

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The object of this Regulation is to repeal that part of the Hunter Water Board (Water, Sewerage and Drainage Systems) Regulation 1989 that was continued in force by the Hunter Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1991 and to remake the substance of that Regulation. The new Regulation deals with the following matters:

(a) the performance of plumbing and drainage work, including the issue, suspension and cancellation of permits, the remedying of defective work and the giving of certificates of compliance by persons who have completed plumbing or drainage work (Part 2);

(b) other consequential or ancillary matters (Part 1 and 3).

This Regulation is made under the Hunter Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1991, including sections 69 (Work for water supply, sewerage or drainage) and 70 (the general regulation-making power).

This Regulation is made in connection with the staged repeal of subordinate legislation under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989.