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Finally, after a long blockage, it's now legal in WA to take a plunger to a toilet or change a showerhead

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-04/law-changes-allow-small-home-plumbing-by-residents/103665030?

As part of law reforms regulating plumbing in the state, it is now legal for residents to do small plumbing jobs in their own homes.

Finally, after a long blockage, it's now legal in WA to take a plunger to a toilet or change a showerhead

So, uh should i be expecting a visit from the fuzz for all the tap reseals i may or may not have done over the years?

20 comments

maculata

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If some court tried to prosecute me for plunging my own toilet I would run amok killing the offending prosecution team with the actual plunger.

Tau

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Common sense (surprisingly) appears. Hopefully stuff like that is actually legal in NSW, because even if it isn't I'm keeping on doing it myself - calling a plumber in for something that can be done by anyone with a couple of brain cells to rub together seems a waste of both their time and my money.

Gorgritch_umie_killa

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See, over East your politicians talk about kitchen table issues. Over here our politicians are all about toilet seat issues.

Crackhappy

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Australia? What?

Nath

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Wait, this wasn't legal? I've been told by my real estate agent in the past to change the tap washer myself. I knew I was within my rights to insist they do it, but to speed things along, I did the job myself.

Gorgritch_umie_killa

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Probably the right decision by you in the end.

Nothing worse than staring into the black hole of time that passes waiting for a tradie to turn up 3 hours after they said they'd be there! :)

Nath

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Well, sure. But that's not what amazed me. It was that a property manager recommended to me that I do something illegal that boggled my brain.

Gorgritch_umie_killa

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Yeah, very true.

zik

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Three hours? Our plumber was "too busy" to show for two weeks running.

Baku

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Not from WA, but I take it this was very rarely enforced, and if nobody's enforcing it, is it even really a law? Would it even be upheld if you challenged it in court?

maniacalmanicmania

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Why didn't anyone tell me that I could have enjoyed the good life as a professional toilet plungerer in WA this whole time? I want to rewind the clock and start adulting all over again.

INHALE_VEGETABLES

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Dare to dream it's not too late.

Heavybell

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Meanwhile in Tassie, I bought a whole new cistern mechanism from Bunnings and just followed the instructions. Sure hope that was legal. :|

Gorgritch_umie_killa

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Well it depends. Do you live in Launcistern?

Heavybell

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Hah, nice one :P

Etterra

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American here - why the hell was this a thing? It sounds insane.

DillyDaily

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Heck up until recently you couldn't even change a blown out light bulb in a rental in certain states.

Tenant rights in Australia leave much to be desired and it's becoming an increasingly bigger issue with the housing crises trapping people in rentals where they have very few rights.

Gorgritch_umie_killa

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Not sure. It could be a situation like 'big pharma', but with plumbers, so, 'Big Crack'...

It might also have been an oversight in the original legislation that led to the 2000 laws overreaching, but judges simply applying the Golden Rule to interpret the legislation as a lesser standard, while they waited for legislators to pull their pants up, which in this case took just a smidge over two decades. So a pretty quick turn around if you concenttrate only on the 'two' in that last sentence.

ikidd

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I installed a cistern, septic tank and pump out mound myself. Inspector came by and said "nice job" and fucked off.

Gorgritch_umie_killa

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Criminal! The long arms of lady justice close in on you!

Seriously thats a big job. Must have hired a digger? If you have pics whack em up on ausreno's!