Best Plumbers in Melbourne

How we ranked Melbourne's plumbers

Plumbing is one of the busiest trade categories on Google Maps in Melbourne. We looked at 95 plumbing businesses and kept the 63 that had at least 50 public reviews and a website of their own that actually loads. Those that made the cut average 4.84 stars. With a field average that high, the star figure on its own tells you very little about which plumber to ring first.

That is why the order comes from a score instead. A plumber's rating is discounted slightly for uncertainty, and the discount fades as reviews accumulate, so a short run of jobs rated five stars cannot outrank a rating held across years of callouts. On equal stars, the busier plumber ranks higher. Groups running several vans count once, under their top Melbourne branch. The 10 shown start at 4.90 and finish at 4.77, and nobody can pay to climb.

How the score works →

How much does a plumber cost in Melbourne?

Plumbers charge in one of two ways. Small repairs and fault finding are usually billed by the hour, and published 2026 price guides put that at $80 to $200 an hour depending on the area and the plumber's experience. On top sits a callout fee of $60 to $250 for travel and the first look, though some plumbers fold the first hour of work into it. Ask which applies before you book.

Jobs with a predictable scope are often quoted as a fixed price: clearing a blocked drain, swapping a hot water unit, fitting a toilet. As a guide, a simple tap or toilet leak repair runs $80 to $150, installing a toilet, basin or sink $250 to $600, and swapping a water heater for one of the same type $1,200 to $2,500 or more. Those figures may not include the callout fee, so check the quote.

After hours is where bills jump. In Victoria an emergency callout generally costs $150 to $300 before any work starts, and a full emergency visit lands between $300 and $700 depending on the job and the hour. If you can turn the water off at the meter and wait until morning, the daytime rate applies instead. Get the quote in writing with GST, parts and the callout fee itemised.

Do plumbers need a licence in Victoria, and how do you check it?

Every plumber working in Victoria has to be licensed or registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC), the regulator that took over the Victorian Building Authority's role in 2025. The difference matters. A registered plumber either works under a licensed plumber's supervision or sticks to jobs that need no compliance certificate. Only a licensed plumber can certify the work, and only a licensed plumber is required to carry insurance against defective work.

Licences are also issued by class of work, and a plumber must hold each class they intend to work in. The main classes include water supply, sanitary, drainage, gasfitting, roofing (stormwater) and mechanical services, with specialised additions such as Type A appliance servicing for gas heaters. Someone licensed for water supply is not automatically allowed to touch your gas line or relay a sewer drain, so match the class to the job.

• Search the plumber's name or licence number in the BPC's online directory of licensed and registered practitioners before you book.
• Ask to see the BPC photo ID card when they arrive; it lists the types of plumbing work that person is eligible to do.
• If the person on site is registered, not licensed, ask which licensed plumber is supervising and will sign the compliance certificate.
• For a gas heater service, look for the Type A appliance servicing endorsement on the card.

What is a plumbing compliance certificate, and when should you get one?

A compliance certificate is the licensed plumber's signed statement that the work meets Victoria's plumbing regulations and standards. You are owed one when the job is worth $750 or more in total, counting labour, materials, appliances and fixtures, even if you bought the appliance yourself. Some work needs a certificate at any price: installing or replacing a gas appliance, altering gas piping, and anything on a sanitary drain below ground.

The plumber must give you the certificate within five days of finishing and lodge it with the BPC in the same window. The certificate confirms the work is covered by the plumber's insurance for six years, and that cover is meant to continue even if the plumber retires or stops trading. A quote trimmed to sit just under the threshold, with a suggestion to skip the paperwork, is a warning sign.

When something goes wrong, the BPC's advice is to go back to the plumber first, in writing and with photos, and give them a reasonable chance to fix it. If that fails you can lodge a complaint with the BPC, which can assess plumbing work done within the past ten years where the plumber is still licensed, and may refer you to the plumber's insurer. A missing certificate is itself grounds for a complaint.

Can you still replace a gas hot water system in Victoria?

For now, yes, but the deadline is close. From 1 March 2027 gas hot water systems can no longer be installed in existing Victorian homes. If your gas unit breaks down after that date and cannot be repaired, or needs replacing for any other reason, the replacement has to be electric. Repairs to an existing gas unit stay legal, and nothing forces you to remove a system that still works.

The rule covers hot water only. There is no requirement to replace gas space heaters or gas cooktops, and homes already connected to gas can stay connected. If your unit is ageing, ask plumbers to quote a heat pump alongside any gas option. Eligible Victorian households can currently combine a Solar Homes hot water rebate of up to $1,000, or $1,400 for a locally made system, with a Victorian Energy Upgrades discount.

Gas appliances you keep still need looking after. Energy Safe Victoria and the BPC recommend having gas heaters serviced at least every two years by a gasfitter endorsed for Type A appliance servicing, and the service should include a carbon monoxide test. In a rental, a gas safety check every two years is the rental provider's legal duty, so renters are entitled to ask when the last one was done.

Who pays for the plumber: you, your landlord or the water company?

Before paying to clear a blocked sewer, work out whose pipe it is. Your water corporation owns part of the connection. Yarra Valley Water, for example, repairs the water pipe from the main to the meter, and its sewer responsibility ends at the first inspection opening or one metre from the property boundary, whichever is less. Everything on your side, including the overflow relief gully, is yours to maintain and to pay for.

Renters should not be paying for most plumbing at all. A burst water service, a blocked or broken toilet, a gas leak, a serious roof leak and a hot water service that has stopped working are all urgent repairs under Victorian rental law, and the rental provider must act immediately. If you cannot get a prompt response, you may organise the repair yourself up to $2,500 and claim the money back in writing.