Dris proposal for national licensing of the plumbing and gasfitting occupations

Processing component of licence fees

Table G.12: Processing application component of licence fees

Assumption	Unit	Value		Source
Processing application component of new licence fees
Processing fee component (all jurisdictions except NSW)	% of licence fee	44.6%	PricewaterhouseCoopers, National Occupational Licensing System: Estimating financial impacts: final report, August 2009, page 24 Based on estimates of the efficient processing component of licence fees from a survey of regulators undertaken in 2009 (specific to licensing of plumbing occupations). Estimated percentage based on licence processing cost as a proportion of fee revenue.
Processing application component of new licence fees – New South Wales
NSW: Contractors	$	$130.54		Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012 Weighted average used for individuals ($129 for 44,287 licensees), partnerships ($137 for 2,050 licensees) and corporations ($137 for 8,467 licensees)
NSW: Full licence holders	$	$75		Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012
NSW: Registered tradesperson	$	$59		Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012
Processing application component of renewal licence fees
Processing fee component (all jurisdictions except NSW and SA)	% of licence fee	44.6%		PricewaterhouseCoopers, National Occupational Licensing System: Estimating financial impacts: final report, August 2009, page 24 Based on estimates of the efficient processing component of licence fees from a survey of regulators undertaken in 2009 (specific to licensing of plumbing occupations). Estimated percentage based on licence processing cost as a proportion of fee revenue.
NSW processing fee	$	$59		Based on information provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012
SA processing fee	$	$5		Based on information provided by South Australia in May 2012

Number of licensees

The latest available data on the number of licensees has been used where available. Where licensee numbers are unavailable, the number of licences has been used as a relevant proxy.

Table G.13: Number of contractors

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Total existing licensees – contractor
NSW	number of licensees	54,804	Unpublished data provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012. Note: Includes the number of individual, partnership and company contractor licensees
VIC	number of licensees	--	There is no contractor licence in Victoria.
QLD	number of licensees	12,867	Unpublished data provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012. Sum of plumbers (7,015), gasfitters (3,152) and occupational fire licences (2,700).
WA	number of licensees	2,760	Plumbers Licensing Board, Licensed plumbers numbers
SA	number of licensees	1,728	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
TAS	number of licensees	469	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
ACT	number of licensees	188	Companies and partnerships. Unpublished data provided by the Australian Capital Territory in June 2012.
NT	number of licensees	–	There is no contractor licence in the Northern Territory.

Table G.14: Number of (full) licence holders

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Total existing licensees – (full) licence holder
NSW	number of licensees	4,081	Unpublished data provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012.
VIC	number of licensees	11,962	Unpublished data provided by Vic regulator received 23 February 2012 (licence numbers as at 30 June 2011).
QLD	number of licensees	19,363	Unpublished data provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012. Sum of plumbers (12,562), gasfitters (5,501) and occupational fire licensees (1,300).
WA	number of licensees	22,732	Plumbers Licensing Board, Licensed plumbers numbers
SA	number of licensees	3,360	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators. Based on 2,500 plumbers and 1,700 gasfitters, but discounted to account for those who are contractors. Information provided by South Australia suggests that 20% of licensees also hold a contractor licence. As these licensees would be included in the number of contractor licensees above, 20% have been removed from the total number of (full) licensees, leading to 3,360.
TAS	number of licensees	1600	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
ACT	number of licensees	2061	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators. Based on 1363 plumbers and 698 gasfitters
NT	number of licensees	979	Unpublished data provided by the Northern Territory in May 2012. Based on 644 plumbers and 335 gasfitters

Table G.15: Number of tradesperson registrations

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Total existing licensees – tradesperson registrations
NSW	number of licensees	8,661	Unpublished data provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012.
VIC	number of licensees	12,003	Unpublished data provided by Vic regulator received 23 February 2012 (licence numbers as at 30 June 2011).
QLD	number of licensees	2,837	Unpublished data provided by Queensland in May 2012. Based on 2,342 plumbers and 495 gasfitters
WA	number of licensees	230	Plumbers Licensing Board, Licensed plumbers numbers
SA	number of licensees	2,030	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators. Based on 1,200 plumbers and 830 gasfitters
TAS	number of licensees	100	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
ACT	number of licensees	774	Unpublished data provided by the Australian Capital Territory in June 2012. Sum of all individual journeyman licensees.
NT	number of licensees	272	Unpublished data provided by the Northern Territory in May 2012. Based on 254 plumbers and 18 gasfitters

Table G.16: Total existing licensees (contractors, (full) licence holders and tradesperson registrations)

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Total existing licensees
NSW	number of licensees	67,546	Unpublished data provided by NSW regulator on 29 February 2012.
VIC	number of licensees	23,965	Unpublished data provided by Vic regulator received 23 February 2012 (licence numbers as at 30 June 2011).
QLD	number of licensees	35,067	Based on unpublished data provided by Queensland on 31 May 2012.
WA	number of licensees	25,722	Plumbers Licensing Board, Licensed plumbers numbers
SA	number of licensees	7,118	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators. Also based on unpublished advice from South Australia.
TAS	number of licensees	2,169	Unpublished data provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
ACT	number of licensees	3,023	Unpublished data provided by the Australian Capital Territory in June 2012.
NT	number of licensees	1,251	Unpublished data provided by the Northern Territory in May 2012.

Frequency of renewal of licence

Table G.17: Current frequency of renewal – contractor

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Current frequency of renewal (i.e. ‘licence term’)
NSW	years	3	NSW Fair Trading, Business Licence Information Service It is assumed for the analysis that licensees apply for a three year licence. However, licensees also have the option in New South Wales of applying for a one year licence.
VIC	years	–	There is no contractor licence in Victoria.
QLD	years	1	Information provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
WA	years	3	WA Plumbers Licensing Board
SA	years	1	Based on advice from SA regulator received January 2012.
TAS	years	1 or 3	Tasmanian Department of Justice, Business Licence Information Service
ACT	years	3	Based on advice from ACT regulator. It is assumed for the analysis that licensees apply for a three year licence. However, licensees also have the option in the Australian Capital Territory of applying for a one year licence and approximately a third of licensees may do this.
NT	years	–	There is no contractor licence in the Northern Territory.

Table G.18: Current frequency of renewal – (full) licence holder

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Current frequency of renewal (i.e. ‘licence term’)
NSW	years	3	Based on information provided by New South Wales in May 2012.
VIC	years	1	Unpublished data provided by Vic regulator received 23 February 2012.
QLD	years	5 for plumbing and gasfitting 3 for occupational fire	Information provided by Queensland in May 2012. A weighted average has been applied between plumbing and gasfitting, and occupational fire. The weighted average used in the analysis is 4.87 years.
WA	years	3	WA Plumbers Licensing Board
SA	years	3	Based on advice from SA regulator received January 2012.
TAS	years	1 or 3	Tasmanian Department of Justice, Business Licence Information Service
ACT	years	3	ACT Planning and Land Authority It is assumed for the analysis that licensees apply for a three year licence. However, licensees also have the option in the Australian Capital Territory of applying for a one year licence.
NT	years	3 for plumbers 5 for gasfitters	Information provided by the Northern Territory in May 2012. Weighted average of plumbers and gasfitters has been used in the analysis. The weighted average is 3.68 years.

Table G.19: Current frequency of renewal – tradesperson registration

Assumption	Unit	Value	Source
Current frequency of renewal (i.e. ‘licence period’)
NSW	years	3	NSW Fair Trading, Business Licence Information Service
VIC	years	3	Unpublished data provided by Vic regulator received 23 February 2012.
QLD	years	1	Information provided by the COAG National Licensing Taskforce, received May 2011 based on advice from regulators.
WA	years	3	WA Plumbers Licensing Board
SA	years	3	Based on advice from SA regulator received January 2012.
TAS	years	1 or 3	Tasmanian Department of Justice, Business Licence Information Service
ACT	years	3	ACT Planning and Land Authority It is assumed for the analysis that licensees apply for a three year licence. However, licensees also have the option in the Australian Capital Territory of applying for a one year licence.
NT	years	3 for plumbers 5 for gasfitters	Information provided by the Northern Territory in May 2012. Weighted average of plumbers and gasfitters has been used in the analysis. The weighted average is 3.13 years.

Time cost of applying for a licence

Note that this time cost only applies to licences applied for in a licensee’s home jurisdiction. Applying for a licence under mutual recognition is assumed to take longer due to additional search costs. The assumptions under mutual recognition are outlined below in section 3.1.14.