Plumbing Entry Level Pathway

Stakeholder consultation identified differing industry perspectives regarding the most effective pathway for individuals transitioning from entry-level programs into plumbing apprenticeships. Employers have raised concerns that individuals who have completed school-based apprenticeships often lack sufficient exposure to the practical application of skills. Conversely, other stakeholders have expressed that existing pathways do not provide adequate credit transfers into apprenticeship programs, thereby limiting opportunities for progression.

In response to these inconsistencies, the scope of this project is to map the pathways through which individuals can enter, progress and move across occupations within the plumbing industry. This mapping aims to develop a more coherent understanding of training and career progression pathways to inform the potential design of a nationally accredited entry-level pathway program.

Across jurisdictions, a range of different plumbing pathway models currently exist, including accredited courses, and unit-based job-ready programs.

• Victoria recently transitioned 22701VIC Certificate II in Plumbing (Pre-apprenticeship).
• Western Australia is currently reviewing 52887WA Certificate II in Plumbing ahead of its currency period ending on 31 August this year.
• South Australia has developed 11410NAT Certificate II in Plumbing Pathways, following concerns that the Victorian qualification was unsuitable for the South Australian context, and is currently seeking state-based recognition and funding support.
• Queensland currently utilises 11054NAT Certificate II in Plumbing Services through TAFE Queensland, though stakeholders raised concerns regarding accessibility outside the organisation and limitations associated with funding arrangements.
• The Northern Territory currently supports pathway entry through a job-ready model using selected plumbing units of competency rather than a dedicated qualification.

Stakeholder consultations identified inconsistent approaches between jurisdictions, alongside limitations around portability, accessibility and funding arrangements. While several jurisdictions continue to pursue state-based solutions, stakeholder consultation identified growing support for a nationally consistent approach that improves transferability, accessibility and alignment across jurisdictions.

Within this context, the project will focus on development of a vocational pathway that places equal emphasis on skills, knowledge and practical application. The proposed approach will focus on the foundational capabilities applicable across a range of plumbing occupations and career pathways, supporting more flexible, transferable and industry-relevant outcomes that strengthen workforce mobility, national consistency and career progression.

Technical Committee

Technical Committee members will provide expert advice, based on evidence, across educational and/or technical knowledge to advise Build Skills on any impact on learners and possible implementation issues.

Technical Committee Member applications are now open and will close Thursday 10 September 2026. The Technical Committee Member application form is located here.

The Terms of Reference for the Technical Committee can be located here.

The first Technical Committee meeting will be held in September 26. In the Training Product Development phase, there could be up to 4 Technical Committee meetings. Meetings will be for a duration of 2-4 hours and will be held through a combination of face-to-face and online formats.

The first draft training products will be published on our website for public consultation in April 27, and feedback. Further to this, there will be two (2) online public consultations.

From May 27 the Technical Committee will be required to meet again, and conduct further revisions to the draft training products, based on the feedback received through public consultation. It will be decided at this time if additional consultation is required.

The final draft training products will be sent to Commonwealth and State/Territory Senior Responsible Officers in August 27.

The finalisation and submission of the training products to the Assurance Body is proposed to be made in September 27. Subsequently, implementation and promotion of the new training products will commence in December 27.

Please note these dates may be subject to change throughout the project.

BuildSkills has established a consultation strategy that identifies key stakeholders and outlines mechanisms for engaging with them during the drafting of training products. This strategy includes the management of public consultations on the drafted products and the processing of feedback received.

The consultation methods employed by BuildSkills consist of in-person and virtual meetings, online surveys, focus groups, industry workshops, and feedback submitted through the website, or via email.

BuildSkills will engage the following stakeholders throughout the training product development process.

Please refer to the Project Overview & Consultation Strategy document for more information on our approach to consultation. Our strategy may be amended as per direction provided by the Technical Committee at the first Technical Committee meeting in September 2026.

We have commenced engagement with our industry to develop draft training products that are now ready for feedback.

Several accredited courses have been mentioned in stakeholder conversations for this project:

• 22569VIC Certificate II in Plumbing (Pre-apprenticeship) (replaced by 22701VIC Certificate II in Plumbing)
• 52887WA Certificate II in Plumbing
• 11410NAT Certificate II in Plumbing Pathways (this course has not yet been approved by ASQA)
• 11054NAT Certificate II in Plumbing Services

This summary details the changes made to the training products, outlining the reasons for these changes and provides the mapping information.

BuildSkills concluded a series of webinars aimed at keeping industry stakeholders informed about the proposed amendments to our training products. During these sessions, we provided an overview of the changes and outlined how participants could submit their feedback through our consultation channels.

We thank everyone who participated. We are currently assessing the valuable feedback received and compiling insights to guide our next steps. Your input is invaluable as we work towards improving our training products.

BuildSkills has reviewed the feedback received.

The feedback we received has been invaluable in guiding our next steps. We appreciate your insights and have made adjustments to ensure that the final products reflect the broad consensus of our stakeholders.

The Summary of Change document has been updated to reflect the modifications made. The updated document can be downloaded here.

The Consultation log has been updated reflect the feedback received and to include a high-level summary. The Log can be downloaded here.

The following documents have been provided to the Training Package Assurance Body.

The Training Package Assurance Body is evaluating these training package products to ensure they comply with the Training Package Organising Framework (TPOF). Once they are satisfied with the assessment, the Training Package Assurance Body will recommend that the draft training products for this project be endorsed by the Skills Ministers.