Every business below is checked against the QBCC licence register and ranked by quantified Google-review themes — never by who paid.
Based in Kirwan
In Kirwan, customers keep naming the same tradesperson at Harlen Plumbing Pty Ltd., a pattern that suggests a one-person operation. The QBCC register confirmed its Plumbing and Drainage licence as current on 22 August 2026. The business holds a 5-star rating across 15 Google reviews as of 28 August 2026, with response time the most common theme in the analysed sample.
Based in Mount Low
Mount Low's Horizon Plumbing NQ has collected Google reviews since July 2018, marking over eight years of customer feedback. The QBCC register confirmed its Plumbing and Drainage licence as current on 22 August 2026. As of 28 August 2026, the plumber holds 4.9 stars across 70 Google reviews, with customers most often describing leak repairs.
Based in Bushland Beach
Customers at Nexgen Plumbing NQ keep singling out the same tradesperson in their feedback — the pattern points to a one-person operation rather than a crew. The owner wrote back to all 38 customers whose feedback was analysed as of 28 August 2026, with 23 of those reviews landing in the past year. Response time is what customers bring up most often, and communication comes up regularly too. The Bushland Beach plumber holds a 5-star rating across 44 Google reviews, and its QBCC licence in Plumbing and Drainage was confirmed current on 22 August 2026.
Based in Rasmussen
Top Flow Plumbing and Gas, a plumber in Rasmussen, Townsville, is rated 4.1 stars across 13 Google reviews as of 28 August 2026. Customers most often bring up hot water systems, with gas work close behind. The owner writes back to 11 of the 12 customers who left feedback. The QBCC register confirmed its Plumbing and Drainage licence as current on 22 August 2026.
Based in Kirwan
Woodward Plumbing and Gas Pty Ltd has 28 Google reviews behind it, but only 23 of them were analysed for this snapshot, and the owner wrote back to 22 of those 23 customers. The earliest review is from June 2021, giving the business at least five years of feedback history. Response time is what customers bring up most, though the count is modest. The QBCC register confirmed the Plumbing and Drainage licence as current on 22 August 2026. Rating: 5 stars across 28 Google reviews as of 28 August 2026.
By the numbers
Every figure below is counted from this page's own register checks and review analysis — 151 reviews read across 5 licence-verified businesses. Ratings are shown as attributed text and link to the source profile.
| Rank | Business | Base suburb | Licence class | Google rating | Most-mentioned praise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Horizon Plumbing NQ | Mount Low | Plumbing and Drainage | 4.970 on Google | Professional & friendly · 38 |
| 02 | Nexgen Plumbing NQ | Bushland Beach | Plumbing and Drainage | 5.044 on Google | Response time · 21 |
| 03 | Woodward Plumbing and Gas Pty Ltd | Kirwan | Plumbing and Drainage | 5.028 on Google | Response time · 14 |
| 04 | Harlen Plumbing Pty Ltd. | Kirwan | Plumbing and Drainage | 5.015 on Google | Response time · 9 |
| 05 | Top Flow Plumbing and Gas | Rasmussen | Plumbing and Drainage | 4.113 on Google | Response time · 5 |
What reviewers praise most
Licence classes held
5 businesses based across 4 suburbs. Licences all verified on 2026-08-22.
About plumbers in Townsville
Queensland's $3,300 minor-works exemption doesn't cover plumbing and drainage, or gasfitting — both stay licensable at any value, no matter how small the job. The exemption itself is narrow — a sanitary drain's inspection caps, say — past which the work, tap included, needs a current, register-checked QBCC Plumbing and Drainage licence. Gas work is a separate QBCC Gasfitting class — a hot water unit or cooktop connection needs it, so confirm a business holds that class before booking. Prices below come from this city's own completed jobs, not a Brisbane figure relabelled; review themes are counted from real Google reviews, not chosen for tone.
Townsville's rainfall doesn't follow the pattern its latitude suggests. The Bureau's Townsville Aero record, 85 years of it, puts the annual mean at 1,162mm against Cairns' 2,025mm — most of it falling across December to March; June to September each average under 25mm. That split, not steady humidity, strains buried pipe: dry, shrinking clay for months, then sudden saturation, moves joints a steadier climate leaves alone. Storm exposure is on record, not just forecast: Cyclone Althea flattened around 200 homes here in 1971, and Cyclone Kirrily left nearly 34,000 Townsville homes and buildings without power in January 2024. Lavarack Barracks, Australia's largest army base, and James Cook University's Townsville campus — over 10,000 students — drive faster rental turnover than most owner-occupied streets see. Salt air off Cleveland Bay corrodes outdoor brass and copper fastest along the Strand and Pallarenda; inland suburbs like Kirwan see far less of it.
Typical prices in Townsville
Ranges reflect quotes observed locally — not national averages, not advertised "from" prices.
| Service | Typical range (A$) |
|---|---|
Plumber call-out / general attendance (typical range) Airtasker's Townsville plumbing page (fetched 2026-08-27) states an average-cost range of $67–$200 with a $115 median, drawn from 51 rated local jobs — Townsville's own completed-task data, not a national figure with the city name swapped in. It covers general attendance across job types rather than a fixed 30–60 minute scope, and the page doesn't state whether figures include GST. | A$67 — A$200 |
Blocked drain — simple clear Two individual completed Townsville tasks on Airtasker (fetched 2026-08-27): an unblock-shower-drain job at $80 and a blocked-toilet clear at $200. No Townsville source was found for a complex clear involving CCTV inspection or jet-rodding, so this range covers simple clears only — it isn't stretched to match the higher CCTV/jet-rod figures other AusYield cities publish. | A$80 — A$220 |
Tap, mixer or toilet repair / replace (fitting extra) Individual completed Townsville tasks on Airtasker (fetched 2026-08-27) span a $40 tap-washer replacement and a $100 leaking-tap fix up to a $500 toilet repair — leaking from the base to the sewer connection, requiring a new suite. The spread is wide because it covers everything from a washer swap to a full toilet replacement; supply of tapware or a pan is additional. | A$40 — A$500 |
Hot water system — supply + install (replacement) Individual completed Townsville tasks on Airtasker (fetched 2026-08-27): a new 160L system installed for $400, a 250L system replacement (tank removal plus install) at $1,900–$2,000, and a full supply-and-replace electric system at $3,000. Smaller add-on jobs on the same page — a $150 timer fit, a $50 gas reconnection, a $10 tempering-valve swap — are excluded here as none is a system replacement. | A$400 — A$3,000 |
Gas appliance / cooktop connection (licensed gas work) Individual completed Townsville tasks on Airtasker (fetched 2026-08-27) cluster at $100–$300 for cooktop connection specifically: installing a new gas cooktop ($200), removing an old cooktop and fitting a new one ($100), and preparing a cabinet for a gas stove ($300). A full oven-and-stove replacement on the same page ran to $600 — outside this line's narrower cooktop-connection scope. | A$100 — A$300 |
Common questions
Yes. The $3,300 minor-works exemption that applies to some other trades never covered plumbing and drainage in the first place, and nothing about storm urgency changes that — a burst pipe or damaged hot water system after a cyclone is licensable work regardless of how quickly it needs fixing. It matters for insurance too: after events like Cyclone Althea or Cyclone Kirrily, a claim for storm-related plumbing damage typically needs an invoice from a QBCC-licensed plumber, not just a receipt from whoever was available fastest.
No. Whether a property is managed by Defence Housing Australia, a private property manager, or self-managed, the licence requirement is the same — a QBCC Plumbing and Drainage licence for the pipework, a separate QBCC Gasfitting licence for gas connections. It doesn't matter who books the tradesperson; what matters is checking that specific plumber's own current licence on the register, rather than assuming a booking made through defence housing channels has already been vetted.
Salt-laden air off Cleveland Bay accelerates corrosion of standard chrome-plated and brass fittings on properties close to the water, a factor inland suburbs largely avoid. Marine-grade stainless steel or DZR-rated brass fittings resist it far better than standard-grade hardware. If an outdoor tap or valve on a coastal property is seizing or showing surface rust within a few years of installation, it's worth asking a plumber about corrosion-resistant replacements rather than fitting the same standard part again.
Only for the handful of tasks the regulation genuinely exempts — replacing a tap washer, a shower head or a water filter cartridge, for instance. A broken hot water system, or the tap itself rather than its washer, is licensable plumbing work regardless of who lives in the property or how long a repair request has been sitting with the landlord. Doing it yourself beyond that short list isn't just a lease issue — it can affect the landlord's insurance and, if something goes wrong with the water supply, the tenant's own liability.
That one you can do yourself. Queensland's Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019 puts replacing the caps on a sanitary drain's ground-level inspection openings on its short unregulated-work list, alongside cleaning the grate over a drain trap at ground level. The list is narrow and specific, though — it doesn't extend to repairing the drain itself or anything below the cap, so if the crack turns out to signal a bigger problem underneath, that part of the job needs a licensed plumber.
More trades in Townsville