The Combined Notice of Work and Certificate of Compliance looks like one document, so crews often treat it like one deadline. That is the timing mistake.
NSW plumbing guidance splits the job into at least two paperwork moments:
- Notice of Work before starting work
- Certificate of Compliance at completion of the plumbing and drainage work
A sewer service diagram can add a third closeout item for drainage work. Inspection bookings can add more dates in the middle. If you leave everything until the customer wants the invoice, the notice side is already late and the certificate side is filled from memory.
This guide is about when each piece is due, which pathway applies, and how to run the combined form without collapsing both duties into one Friday afternoon admin block.
For the full form walkthrough, use the Combined Notice on-site guide. For storage and copies, use the record keeping guide. Browse NSW plumbing forms for related templates.
When do you submit the NSW Combined Notice?
The Notice of Work goes in before work starts and the Certificate of Compliance goes in at completion. The two halves of the same form are lodged at different moments, not together. The map below sets out each step.
| Document or step | When NSW guidance points to it | Who it usually goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Work | Before starting work | Building Commission NSW via MyInspections for listed metro inspection work, or local plumbing regulator for relevant regional inspection work |
| Inspections | At the stages the pathway requires, often before covering work | Relevant inspection body for the site |
| Certificate of Compliance | At completion of all plumbing and drainage work | Person who arranged the work, plus regulator pathway where required |
| Sewer Service Diagram | At completion of drainage work where required | Person who arranged the work / owner or agent, plus regulator pathway |
If your job does not need inspection, the notice and regulator-copy rules can differ, but the completion certificate duty still needs a deliberate closeout.
Notice of Work before the tools come out
NSW Government's plumbing inspection documents page says a Notice of Work is a form that outlines plumbing and drainage work to be carried out and the person carrying out the work.
It says plumbers and drainers must submit a Notice of Work before starting work to:
- Building Commission NSW via MyInspections for work requiring an inspection in Sydney, the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Newcastle, and Hunter, or
- the local plumbing regulator using the Combined Notice of Work and Certificate of Compliance for the type of work the relevant local plumbing regulator requires to be inspected
That is the first timing rule. The notice is not a completion form. It is a start-of-work form.
What the notice should answer early
Before the job starts, the notice side should make these points clear:
- What work is planned
- Where it will be carried out
- Who is carrying it out
- Which pathway or regulator applies
- Any fee, commencement, or reference details known at the time
If those answers are fuzzy at the start, the certificate at the end will be harder to line up.
Scope changes after the notice
Jobs change. A bathroom becomes a wet-area reconfiguration. A simple water service becomes a larger alteration. When the scope moves, update the job record and check whether the notice or inspection path needs an update under the current process for that site. Do not leave the certificate as the first place the new scope appears.
Certificate of Compliance at completion
NSW guidance says a Certificate of Compliance confirms the work complies with the Act, Regulation, Plumbing Code of Australia, and the Deemed-to-Satisfy requirements of AS/NZS 3500, and identifies the plumber or drainer as the responsible person for that work.
NSW guidance says that at completion of all plumbing and drainage work, plumbers and drainers must complete a Certificate of Compliance, provide a copy to the person who arranged the work, and submit it through the relevant pathway where required.
For listed metropolitan inspection work, the guidance points to Building Commission NSW at completion of work or prior to arranging a final inspection via MyInspections. For local regulator inspection work, it points to the Combined Notice form pathway.
Complete means complete
"Completion" is not the moment the customer is happy enough to pay a progress claim. It is the moment the plumbing and drainage work being certified is finished and ready for the compliance statement.
Practical checks before you complete the certificate side:
- The work described on the form is finished
- Required testing is done
- Inspection outcomes that affect final certification are known
- Pre-existing defect notice fields are handled if they apply
- The completion date matches the real end of the certified work
If the job is staged, be honest about what this certificate covers. Do not certify unfinished work because the office wants paperwork today.
What if the work does not need an inspection?
Not every job follows the full inspection pathway.
NSW guidance says that for work not requiring an inspection, the Combined Notice of Work and Certificate of Compliance can be used, and a copy does not need to be provided to Building Commission NSW or the local plumbing regulator.
That creates a common misunderstanding: "no inspection means no paperwork." Unless the work itself falls within the minor-works exemption in clause 11, the guidance still points to completing a Certificate of Compliance at the completion of the work and giving a copy to the person who arranged it.
So for no-inspection work, the timing is still:
- Confirm the job truly sits outside the inspection pathway you think it does
- Carry out the work
- Complete the CoC at completion
- Give the required copy to the person who arranged the work
- Keep the finished PDF with the job record
Do not invent a regulator lodgement if the guidance says one is not required. Do not skip the customer copy either.
Do emergency and minor works need a Notice of Work?
NSW guidance says a standard Notice of Work does not need to be supplied to Building Commission NSW or the local plumbing regulator for emergency work or listed minor work. The legal follow-up is different for each. For emergency work, section 10 of the Act requires the responsible person to notify the plumbing regulator, and clause 5 of the Regulation sets the period at 5 business days after the work is carried out. The Regulation's minor-works exemption covers the standard Notice of Work, ready-for-inspection notification and Certificate of Compliance duties for listed work such as tapware or hot water unit replacement and kitchen, laundry or bathroom renovations where no plumbing is changed.
Other duties can still apply, and the exact edge of "minor works" and "emergency work" should be checked against the current Act, Regulation and official guidance for the job in front of you, not against ute folklore.
Useful field questions:
- Is this truly emergency work under the process you are using?
- Is the bathroom work only a like-for-like fixture replacement with no location change?
- Is the work exempt from the Certificate of Compliance duty, or does the emergency-work pathway still require one?
- Does drainage work still need an SSD?
When the answer is unclear, read the current plumbing inspection documents page before you start.
Metro pathway timing
For work requiring inspection in the listed metropolitan areas, the notice and certificate path runs through Building Commission NSW via MyInspections.
Timing habits that keep metro jobs clean:
- Submit the Notice of Work before starting
- Book inspections at the stages the work needs, especially before covering drainage or water supply work that must be seen
- Complete the Certificate of Compliance at completion or before arranging a final inspection, as the current process requires
- Provide the person who arranged the work with their copy
- Keep the finished records with inspection outcomes and any SSD
Do not wait until the final inspection request to discover the notice was never lodged.
Regional pathway timing
Outside the Sydney, Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Newcastle, and Hunter areas, regional inspection and enforcement are delegated to local councils and authorities. Regional guidance says plumbers and drainers must submit:
- Notice of Work to the local plumbing regulator before work begins
- Certificate of Compliance on completion of the final inspection to the local plumbing regulator, and a copy to the person for whom the work was carried out
- Sewer Service Diagram to the local plumbing regulator and the owner or owner's agent
Regional inspection stages commonly include drainage before backfill, sewer connection before backfill, water supply before walls or ceilings are covered, re-inspections where needed, and final works before occupation. Local regulators can vary the practical booking rules, so confirm the local process for the site.
The Combined Notice form is the document NSW points to for many of these regional notice and certificate needs, with copies for licensee, owner, and regulator.
Where the combined form sits in the calendar
Think of the combined form as a job-long document with two main checkpoints.
Checkpoint A: before start
- Property and owner details confirmed
- Licensee details current
- Planned work types selected and described
- Notice pathway chosen
- Fee and reference details added if already known
- Notice submitted through the right channel where required
Checkpoint B: at completion
- Work description updated if the real work differs from the plan
- Testing and final checks finished
- Completion date entered
- Certificate declaration completed
- Owner or person-who-arranged-the-work copy provided
- Regulator copy submitted where required
- SSD included in the pack where required
- Finished PDF stored with the job
If your crew only opens the form at Checkpoint B, Checkpoint A is already at risk.
Certificate timing rules in the Regulation
Clause 8 of the NSW Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2017 generally requires the certificate of compliance and the copy for the person for whom the work was carried out to be given within 2 business days after completion. The period is 7 business days if the plumbing regulator does not inspect the work during the period it must be available for inspection. If the person who contracted the work is not the owner, the Act and Regulation give that person 7 business days after receiving the certificate to pass a copy to the owner or owner's agent.
2 business days
Certificate of Compliance, standard case
After completion, to the person the work was carried out for.
7 business days
Where the regulator does not inspect
The longer period in clause 8 of the Regulation.
7 business days
Contractor passing the copy to the owner
From receiving the certificate, where the contracting party is not the owner.
5 business days
Notifying the regulator after emergency work
Clause 5 of the Regulation, where no standard Notice of Work was required.
The practical habit is still the safest one: complete the certificate as soon as the work is actually finished, not at the end of the week when the office is chasing paperwork.
SSD timing is not certificate timing
A Certificate of Compliance and a Sewer Service Diagram can both be due around completion, but they are not the same document and they are not interchangeable.
NSW guidance says plumbers and drainers must provide a copy of the SSD to the person who arranged the work and submit a copy through the relevant pathway for drainage work. For listed metro inspection work, that is at completion of the drainage work via MyInspections. For local regulator work, the SSD goes to the local plumbing regulator and the owner or owner's agent.
If the drainage is finished and ready to cover, do not assume the Combined Notice certificate side covers the SSD duty. Prepare both. See NSW Combined Notice vs sewer service diagram.
A job-flow example that keeps timing honest
Use this as a simple crew process, then adjust for the local pathway.
Day before start
- Confirm site address, owner or builder details, and who arranged the work.
- Confirm inspection pathway for the postcode and work type.
- Check licence and supervisor details.
- Prepare Notice of Work details on the Combined Notice form where that is the document in use.
- Submit the notice through the required channel before work starts.
During the job
- Keep photos and notes of covered or hard-to-see work.
- Book inspections before backfill or wall lining when required.
- Record product, fixture, and drainage changes that affect the final description.
- Start the SSD while the drainage is still open if one is required.
At completion
- Finish testing and final checks.
- Update the work description if needed.
- Complete the Certificate of Compliance section.
- Preview the official PDF layout.
- Provide the required owner or arranger copy.
- Submit the regulator copy where required.
- Submit or hand over the SSD where required.
- Attach the finished PDF and supporting files to the job record.
That flow uses the combined form as a live job document, not a retrospective admin form.
Timing mistakes to avoid
Filling the notice after the trench is open
If the notice was required before start, that sequence is already wrong. Fix the process for the next job and check whether the current job needs corrective action under the local pathway.
Completing the certificate before the work is finished
A certificate dated before the certified work is complete is a poor record. Finish the work and testing first.
Using metro timing on a regional site
The bodies and forms can differ. Check the site, not the last job.
Leaving the customer copy for "later this week"
NSW guidance and the Regulation put real time pressure around completion copies. Complete and provide the certificate promptly.
Closing the job with no CoC because no inspection was booked
No inspection is not automatically no certificate. Check the completion duty for the work type.
Related reading and next steps
Start the NSW Combined Notice of Work and Certificate of Compliance when you are ready to capture the official layout, or browse NSW plumbing forms. The plumbing forms hub covers the other states.
Related articles:
- NSW Combined Notice on-site guide
- Record keeping and handover guide
- Common Combined Notice mistakes
- NSW Combined Notice vs sewer service diagram
Official references
For current requirements, check the NSW plumbing inspection documents guidance, the Combined Notice form page, the regional inspections guidance, and the NSW Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2017.
