FFP Guides

Compliance by state

How backflow testing and reporting works in Queensland

In Queensland the owner must have each testable backflow prevention device maintained and tested at least once a year by a plumber holding the backflow prevention endorsement. Within 10 business days the plumber gives Form 9 to the local government and the owner (Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019, ss 102 and 103).

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Official name
Form 9: Registration and report on inspection and testing of testable backflow prevention devices
Regulator
The local government for the property (under the Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019); QBCC licenses the tester
Who issues it
A plumber holding the QBCC backflow prevention endorsement (a backflow prevention licensee)
When
Installing, removing, or the yearly maintenance and test of a testable backflow prevention device
Deadline
Test at least once each year after registration; Form 9 to the council and owner within 10 business days of the work
Lodgement
To the local government for the property, through that council's own channel (for example Brisbane's online Form 9, Sunshine Coast's MyCouncil), plus a copy to the owner
Keep records for
The council keeps each notice on its register until the premises are demolished or removed. The regulation sets no separate retention period for the plumber, so keep your copy on the job.
Penalty
Owner: up to 20 penalty units ($3,454 at the $172.70 unit value from 1 July 2026) for not registering, and the same again for not having the yearly test done. Plumber: up to 20 penalty units ($3,454) for not giving Form 9 to the council and owner within 10 business days.

Homeowner? If your property has a testable backflow device in Queensland, you must register it with your council and have it tested every year by an endorsed plumber, who sends the report to council for you.

What the certificate must show

Recent change

15 May 2024: amended Form 9 released; councils such as Sunshine Coast accept only the amended form from 31 August 2024.

Produce it from a ServiceM8 job

  1. Add each testable device as an Asset on the client or site, recording device type, make, size, serial number and location, so every year's test sits in the asset history.
  2. In Settings > Forms, build a form called Form 9 backflow test QLD from the current Business Queensland Form 9, with a Multiple Choice for report type (Installation / Removal / Annual maintenance and test) marked mandatory.
  3. Add Number questions for each test reading your devices need and a Multiple Choice Pass / Fail per check, laid out to match the sections of the current Form 9.
  4. Put the tester's name, licence number and endorsement in the Word template as fixed text per staff member, and map the job address and client name field codes.
  5. Add a Text question for the local government area and a Choice for lodgement channel (Online portal / Email / Post), so the office knows where the PDF goes.
  6. From the Dispatch Board, create a recurring job per site with a job template for the backflow test, set to repeat each year, so the annual test is booked before the council's reminder.
  7. When the form is completed against the asset, the PDF lands in the job diary. Email it to the council's backflow address or upload it to their portal, and email the owner, on the same day.
  8. Add a job checklist item Form 9 lodged with council, dated, so you can prove the 10 business day window was met.

The council, not a water utility, holds the register

Queensland puts testable backflow devices under local government. Section 101 of the Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 requires every council to run a program for registering each testable device in its area and monitoring its maintenance and testing, and section 113 requires the council to keep every notice it receives on a register until the premises are demolished or removed.

That makes the reporting route simple in one sense (you always report to the council for the property's address) and fiddly in another, because each council runs its register its own way. Brisbane City Council charges owners an annual registration fee, sends a testing reminder at the start of the year and expects the test done by 31 December, and lets testers lodge through an online version of Form 9 or by email. Sunshine Coast Council recovers its register cost through a fee on the rates notice and accepts annual reports through its MyCouncil portal, but says initial test reports cannot be lodged online. If you test across several council areas, keep a note of each council's lodgement channel against the client site.

Which devices count as testable

Schedule 10 of the regulation defines a testable backflow prevention device as a double check valve, a pressure type vacuum breaker, a reduced pressure zone device, a registered air gap, a registered break tank or a testable single check valve. Anything on that list triggers registration and the yearly test. A dual check valve inside a standard domestic meter is not on the list.

Who does what, and by when

The owner of the premises carries two duties under section 102: register the device with the council by giving notice in the approved form, and arrange for a backflow prevention licensee to maintain and test it at least once each year after registration. Each carries up to 20 penalty units.

The plumber carries the reporting duty under section 103. After installing, removing, or maintaining and testing a testable device, the licensee must give notice in the approved form to both the local government and the owner within 10 business days. That notice also counts as the owner's registration for a new device, so a plumber who lodges the commissioning test properly saves the owner a separate step. Missing the 10 business days is also up to 20 penalty units, and it is your penalty, not the owner's.

The endorsement and the five year revalidation

Testing is limited to a backflow prevention licensee, meaning a plumber whose licence carries the backflow prevention endorsement (Schedule 1 of the regulation lists its scope as testing, commissioning and maintaining backflow prevention devices). The QBCC issues the endorsement on the unit CPCPWT4022 Commission and maintain backflow prevention devices. Unlike other plumbing endorsements it is not permanent: QBCC requires backflow testers to requalify every five years and send in the revalidation qualification. Put each tester's revalidation date in your staff records, because a lapsed endorsement makes every Form 9 they sign unreliable.

Use the current Form 9

The approved form is Form 9, Registration and report on inspection and testing of testable backflow prevention devices. The state released an amended version on 15 May 2024 and councils such as Sunshine Coast stopped accepting the old one from 31 August 2024. If your ServiceM8 template was built from the pre 2024 form, rebuild it from the current Business Queensland download before your next lodgement.

Sources

  1. A local government must establish a program for registering each testable backflow prevention device installed at premises in its area and monitoring the maintenance and testing of each device. Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld), s 101 (current as at 2 January 2026), checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. The owner must register the testable backflow prevention device by giving notice in the approved form to the local government, and must arrange for a backflow prevention licensee to maintain and test it at least once each year after registration. Maximum penalty 20 penalty units for each. Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld), s 102(2) and (4), checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. A licensee who installs, removes, or maintains and tests a testable backflow prevention device must, within 10 business days, give notice of the work in the approved form to the local government and the owner of the premises. Maximum penalty 20 penalty units. Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld), s 103(3), checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. A testable backflow prevention device means a double check valve, pressure type vacuum breaker, reduced pressure zone device, registered air gap, registered break tank or testable single check valve; the local government keeps each notice on its register until the premises are demolished or removed. Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 (Qld), Schedule 10 and s 113, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. The backflow prevention endorsement requires CPCPWT4022 (or, for previous holders, a revalidation course within the last five years), and unlike other endorsements the holder must requalify every five years. Queensland Building and Construction Commission, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. Brisbane City Council requires owners to register each testable device and pay an annual fee, test at least once every calendar year, and accepts Form 9 through its online version or by email within 10 business days. Brisbane City Council, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  7. Sunshine Coast Council accepts Form 9 through MyCouncil, email, post or in person, but initial test reports cannot be submitted online; the amended Form 9 dated 15 May 2024 is the only one accepted from 31 August 2024; the register fee is on the rates notice. Sunshine Coast Council, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  8. The Queensland penalty unit is $172.70 from 1 July 2026 under the Penalties and Sentences (Penalty Unit Value) Amendment Regulation 2026. Queensland Law Society Proctor, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  9. Completed ServiceM8 forms convert to a PDF saved to the job diary, where they can be emailed; form answers are placed into a Word document template using Template Field Codes. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  10. A ServiceM8 form can be completed against an asset from the job's Assets menu; each question shows past values for that asset, and the completed form is listed in the asset's history and saved in the job diary. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  11. ServiceM8 recurring jobs are created from the Dispatch Board with New Recurring Job, a job template, automatic scheduling and a recurrence pattern with an end date. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.