Knowledge/Licences and standards/Who regulates HVAC work in Victoria now?
Who regulates HVAC work in Victoria now?
Four bodies, and one of them has a new name. The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) became the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) on 1 July 2025. Refrigerant is the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC), electrical safety is Energy Safe Victoria, and the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) scheme sits with the Essential Services Commission (ESC).
- Plumbing and building
- BPCreplaced the VBA 1 Jul 2025
- Refrigerant
- ARClicences and authorisations
- Electrical safety
- Energy Safe Victoria
- The VEU scheme
- ESCrules by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)
Often out of date
If a page still says VBA, it was probably written before July 2025
The Victorian Building Authority was replaced by the Building and Plumbing Commission on 1 July 2025. A lot of industry guidance still names the VBA, including stuff that's still being handed out.
The rule it describes might still be right. But it tells you nobody has checked that page since the change, and that's worth knowing before you rely on the rest of it.
Why a split system is plumbing work
In Victoria, you need to be registered with the BPC to install a split system. To get the refrigerated air conditioning class, you need a restricted electrical licence first. So it's one, then the other. And you still need an ARC refrigerant licence to handle the gas.
That catches out installers who've come to air con from an electrical background and assume the electrical licence is the one that matters.
Where the plumber's work starts
Condensate is the boundary that comes up most on site. The line you can run and the point where the connection becomes a licensed sanitary plumber's work aren't the same point. The BPC publishes a guidance sheet on exactly this, MS 03 Condensation Drainage of Air Conditioning Systems, and it's worth reading before you rely on habit.
Sort it out before the job, not in front of the customer. Truth is, the line isn't obvious, and plenty of the trade only gets it roughly right.
Registered for the right things?
The regulator changed, the classes didn't get any simpler, and plenty of contractors have never had anyone walk them through it.
Ask Kevin what you should be checking.
Who this is for: small and medium HVAC contractors in Victoria. If you're a homeowner after a rebate or a repair, you need a licensed contractor, not us, and yours can point you the right way.
Related
- Victoria's rental minimum standards, date by dateEvery date from March 2027 to July 2030 and what triggers each one. Plus one to tell every landlord: existing evaporative already complies.
- What does a restricted electrical licence actually cover?A restricted electrical worker can issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety, and must. But the licence covers less than most of the trade thinks.
- Refrigerant licence classes, and the one that doesn't existThere's no RAC02 licence. There's RAC01 (full) and RSS03 (restricted). RSS03 covers less than installers think, with no refrigerant service work at all.
Review date: 1 March 2027. Figures in this area change without much notice and this page carries some that will go stale. Every number above is dated and sourced so you can check it yourself. If you find something out of date here, tell us and we will fix it.