Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand (MPANZ), representing over thousands of plumbing businesses across Australasia, continues to advocate strongly on behalf of our members ahead of the 2025 Federal Election.
Earlier this year, MPANZ submitted our Federal Election document, Fighting for Positive Change: Plumbing Industry Priorities, to all major political parties and key independents.
Click here to view the document
This document highlights three key focus areas for the plumbing industry:
- Championing consistent, evidence-based regulation
- Securing the sustainability and integrity of the plumbing industry
- Future-proofing our skilled workforce
Each area is supported by clear recommendations aimed at strengthening our sector and supporting the future of the industry.
Responses from Political Parties
We have now received responses from two of the major political parties:
Australian Labor Party (ALP) Response:
- Regulation and Product Certification: Commitment to national consistency in building regulations and product certification, including developing a National Building Product Assurance Framework.
- Unfair Contract Terms: Implementation of stronger protections for small businesses through unfair contract terms legislation.
- National Licensing: Existing work toward a national licensing scheme for the electrical trades, with potential future expansion to other sectors like plumbing.
- Apprenticeships and Skills: Continued support for plumbing apprentices through incentives, cost-of-living assistance, and fast-tracked skills assessments for construction-related migrants.
- Energy Transition: Recognition of the ongoing role of natural gas during the energy transition and investment in upskilling the workforce for the clean economy.
Liberal National Party (LNP) Response:
- General Commitments: A focus on delivering a strong economy with low inflation, safer communities, and quality healthcare.
- Skills and Training: A Dutton Coalition Government would invest over $500 million to help small and medium businesses skill the next generation of Australian workers and will provide $12,000 in wage support for small and medium businesses hiring eligible new apprentices and trainees in critical skills shortage areas, covering approximately 10% of wage costs.
- Energy Policy: A commitment to support the continued use of natural gas as a key part of Australia’s energy mix.
- Regulation and National Construction Code (NCC): The Coalition has committed to freezing any further changes to the NCC for 10 years to help control housing costs and reduce red tape. They also intend to review the Labor Government’s 2022 NCC changes to further streamline regulations and ease compliance burdens for the construction industry.
Further to the above, we would also like to note that we did not receive a response from The Greens to our request for their policy positions.
Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand does not tell members how to vote. Our role is to advocate for the plumbing industry and to keep our members informed about where political parties stand on issues critical to our sector. We encourage all members to review this information and make their own informed decision when voting in the upcoming Federal Election.