Gas work in Canberra sits at an odd point in time. Tens of thousands of ACT homes still heat, cook and shower with gas, and those appliances need a licensed gasfitter for every repair, service and compliance check. At the same time, the Territory has legislated a move off the gas network, so the same gasfitter is increasingly asked whether it is worth fixing a gas appliance at all or whether the money is better put towards an electric replacement. This page covers both sides: safe, licensed gas plumbing today, and honest advice on the transition.
Licensed gasfitting in the ACT
In the ACT, gasfitting is a licensed occupation under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004, administered by Access Canberra. Connecting, disconnecting, repairing or installing any gas appliance, running gas pipework, or converting an appliance between natural gas and LPG must be done by a licensed gasfitter, and you are entitled to ask for the licence number before the work starts. For gasfitting work the gasfitter provides a compliance certificate, which is your record that the installation was tested and meets the standard. Keep it; insurers and buyers ask for it.
In Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra, Karabar and Googong the rules are those of NSW, and the gasfitter must be licensed with NSW Fair Trading.
Gas leaks: what to do first
If you smell gas inside the house, do not switch anything on or off, do not light anything and do not start a car in an attached garage. Open doors and windows on the way out if it is safe to, turn the gas off at the meter if you know where the valve is, and leave the property. Then make the call from outside.
Who you call depends on where the leak is. The gas network in the ACT and Queanbeyan, including the mains in the street and the meter itself, is operated by Evoenergy, and a smell of gas at the meter, on the nature strip or with no obvious source should go to the Evoenergy gas emergency line. A leak at an appliance, a cooktop connection, a bayonet fitting or the pipework inside the house is the licensed gasfitter’s job. If you are unsure, call the network first, because they will make the meter safe, and then call the gasfitter to find and fix the fault on your side.
Inside the property, the gasfitter isolates the supply, pressure tests the whole installation with a manometer to confirm and locate the loss, and repairs or replaces the failed section, fitting or appliance regulator. The installation is then retested before the gas goes back on and every appliance is relit and checked.
Gas hot water and cooktops
Gas storage hot water systems and continuous-flow units are common across Canberra, particularly on 1980s to 2000s homes in Tuggeranong, Gungahlin and Weston Creek. The typical faults are a pilot that will not stay lit, a thermocouple or ignition failure, a burner that lights but produces lukewarm water, and, in winter, a frozen or split relief line on a unit mounted on a south-facing wall. Canberra frosts are hard on outdoor gas water heaters. Continuous-flow units in particular can lock out on cold mornings when the inlet water is close to freezing, and pipe lagging is the cheap fix.
Cooktops fail at the igniter, the burner cap or the flexible connection behind the unit. A yellow, lazy flame instead of a crisp blue one means incomplete combustion and should be looked at, not lived with. Replacing a gas cooktop is a gasfitting job, and increasingly the question is whether to replace it with another gas unit or move to induction, which needs an electrician rather than a gasfitter and is where most new Canberra kitchens are heading.
For hot water faults of any fuel type, see hot water plumber Canberra.
Carbon monoxide and gas heaters
Gas ducted heating, wall furnaces and flued space heaters carry most Canberra homes through winter. Wall furnaces from the 1960s and 70s are still running in Woden Valley and Belconnen, and gas ducted systems from the 1980s and 90s are everywhere in Tuggeranong. Any of them can produce carbon monoxide if the heat exchanger has cracked, the flue is blocked or the burner is out of adjustment. Because CO is colourless and odourless, the first sign is often headaches and drowsiness that ease when you leave the house.
A gasfitter tests a heater by measuring CO in the flue gases and in the room while the heater runs, and by checking for negative pressure: powerful rangehoods and bathroom exhaust fans in a well-sealed modern house can pull flue gases back into the living space. Older open-flued heaters are the highest risk. Have heaters tested before the first cold snap rather than after, and never run an unflued heater in a bedroom.
The ACT gas phase-out
The ACT has legislated a move away from fossil gas. New connections to the gas network have been prohibited since 8 December 2023, which means new homes in estates such as Whitlam and Ginninderry are all-electric. The Territory’s stated aim is to be off gas by 2045. Existing connections continue, appliances can still be repaired and replaced like for like, and nobody is required to disconnect today. But the direction is fixed, and it changes the maths on every major gas repair.
The practical advice is this. A cheap repair to a gas appliance with years left in it is still worth doing. A failed gas storage hot water unit, a cracked heat exchanger in a decades-old ducted heater or a full cooktop replacement is a decision point, because the electric alternatives, heat pump hot water, reverse-cycle heating and induction cooking, generally cost less to run in Canberra and will not depend on a gas connection that is being wound down. The ACT Government has run rebate and interest-free loan schemes for electrification; check current eligibility before committing either way.
Converting from gas to electric
Moving off gas is a coordinated job between a plumber, a gasfitter and an electrician. The plumber installs the heat pump hot water system in a suitable outdoor position, allowing for Canberra frost and for noise near bedroom windows. The gasfitter disconnects and caps the gas appliances, and once the last appliance is gone, helps arrange the meter removal and abolishment with Evoenergy so you stop paying the daily supply charge. The electrician upgrades circuits and, if needed, the switchboard, because a heat pump, an induction cooktop and a reverse-cycle system together draw more than an old gas home’s board was designed for. Sequence matters: keep the gas hot water running until the heat pump is commissioned, especially in winter.
What happens when you call
You describe the fault, you are given an honest arrival time, and the call-out rate is explained before anyone is dispatched. On site the gasfitter makes the installation safe first, diagnoses, and quotes the repair or replacement before starting. The work is tested, the appliances are recommissioned and you receive the compliance paperwork. For an emergency at any hour, see our 24 hour plumber Canberra page.
What is included
- Gas leak detection and repair on internal pipework, bayonet fittings and appliance connections
- Pressure testing of the whole gas installation before the supply is restored
- Gas hot water repairs and replacement, storage and continuous flow
- Cooktop, oven and bayonet installation and disconnection
- Carbon monoxide and negative pressure testing of ducted heaters, wall furnaces and space heaters
- Compliance certificates for gasfitting work in the ACT
- Disconnection, capping and meter abolishment when a home goes all-electric
Signs you should call now
- A smell of gas anywhere inside the house or at an appliance
- A hissing sound at the meter, the hot water unit or behind the cooktop
- Yellow or orange flames on a cooktop or heater instead of blue
- Headaches, drowsiness or nausea that ease when you leave the house with the heater on
- The hot water pilot keeps going out, or the water is only lukewarm
- Soot marks or scorching around a heater or flue
- A gas bill that has jumped without a change in use
If you smell gas
Do not switch lights or appliances on or off and do not light anything. Leave the property, opening doors on the way out if it is safe. Gas at the meter, in the street or with no clear source: call the Evoenergy gas emergency line. Gas at an appliance or inside the house: call a licensed gasfitter. If in doubt, call Evoenergy first.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I call for a gas leak in Canberra, Evoenergy or a plumber?
It depends on where the gas is escaping. Evoenergy operates the gas network in the ACT and Queanbeyan, so a smell at the meter, on the nature strip or with no obvious source should go to the Evoenergy gas emergency line, and they will make the meter safe. A leak at a cooktop, heater, hot water unit or the pipework inside the house is repaired by a licensed gasfitter. If you are unsure, call Evoenergy first.
Does a gas plumber in the ACT need a licence?
Yes. Gasfitting in the ACT is licensed by Access Canberra under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004, and only a licensed gasfitter may install, repair, disconnect or convert gas appliances and pipework. You can ask for the licence number before the work starts. In Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong, the equivalent licence is held with NSW Fair Trading. Unlicensed gas work is illegal and puts your insurance at risk.
Can I still get a new gas connection in Canberra?
No. New connections to the gas network in the ACT have been prohibited since 8 December 2023, so a new home or a previously all-electric home cannot have a gas meter installed. Existing gas connections remain, and appliances on them can still be repaired and replaced. The ACT Government's stated aim is for the Territory to be off fossil gas by 2045, so the network is being wound down over time.
Should I repair my gas hot water system or replace it with a heat pump?
If the fault is minor and the unit is not old, repair it. If the tank has failed or the unit is near the end of its life, a heat pump hot water system is usually the better long-term choice in Canberra: it runs on electricity, works through our winter with the right model, and does not depend on a gas network that is being phased out. The gasfitter will quote both options honestly.
How often should a gas heater be tested for carbon monoxide?
Gas ducted heaters, wall furnaces and flued space heaters should be serviced and tested regularly, and before the start of each winter is the sensible time in Canberra. Older open-flued heaters and any heater in a well-sealed home with powerful exhaust fans are the highest risk. The gasfitter measures carbon monoxide at the flue and in the room, checks for spillage, and advises a service interval for your unit.
What happens to the gas meter when I go fully electric?
Once the last gas appliance has been disconnected and capped by a licensed gasfitter, the connection can be abolished so the meter is removed and the daily supply charge stops. The gasfitter helps arrange this with Evoenergy through your retailer. Until the meter is gone, you keep paying the supply charge even with no gas in use, so it is worth finishing the job properly rather than leaving the meter in place.
Are gas cooktops being banned in Canberra?
No existing gas cooktop is being banned, and you can still repair or replace one on an existing connection. What has changed is that new homes cannot connect to the gas network, and the ACT is moving off gas by 2045. Many Canberra households replacing a cooktop now choose induction, which is an electrician's job rather than a gasfitter's, and have the gasfitter cap the old bayonet or line.
