First-year plumbing apprentice tool list

The practical breakdown

Most first years turn up with a small kit and add to it as the jobs demand. Your boss or leading hand will tell you what to buy first, so do not blow your budget before you start. Cert III in Plumbing (CPC32420) covers water, sanitary, drainage, roofing and stormwater, gas and mechanical services streams, and each stream leans on different gear.

• •Tape measure (8m is the standard trade length)
• •Hacksaw plus spare blades
• •PVC pipe cutters (ratchet style is easiest to start with)
• •Multigrips and a couple of adjustable wrenches (small and large)
• •Pipe wrenches, a 10 inch and a 14 inch cover most jobs
• •Spirit level and a torpedo level for tight spots
• •Half round and rat tail files for cleaning up pipe ends
• •Screwdriver set, claw hammer, utility knife and a good set of pliers
• •Chalk line, marking pencil and a set square
• •Tin snips and a rivet gun if your work includes roofing and stormwater
• •Knee pads, they save your knees on every slab and trench job
• •Tool bag or belt to carry it all
• •Shovels, crowbars and drain machines for drainage work are almost always employer supplied, but expect to spend plenty of first year on the end of them

Who pays: the award tool allowance

Under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award (MA000036, clause 21.8), if your employer requires you to provide tools beyond basic consumables, they must either reimburse you the cost or pay a weekly tool allowance, currently $22.96 from 1 July 2026. Apprentice minimum rates already include a percentage of that tool allowance based on your year, so part of every pay is meant to fund and maintain your kit.

On enterprise agreement sites, especially commercial and union jobs, the employer commonly supplies everything beyond a basic hand kit. Check your payslip and your agreement before you spend. If you are buying tools the boss requires and no allowance or reimbursement is coming through, raise it, or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.

PPE: what the boss must supply

Under WHS law the person conducting the business must give workers the PPE needed to control risks on the job, and the Plumbing Award backs it up: where protective clothing or equipment is required by law, the employer must supply it or reimburse you for it (clause 21.8(c)). If a company uniform is required, the employer provides and replaces it. Do not let anyone dock your pay for site-required safety gear.

In practice you will still want your own boots and hi vis before you start, because TAFE expects you to arrive with basic PPE and it follows you between jobs. Treat that as your kit, and everything risk-specific on site as the employer's problem.

Sun protection is safety gear in Australia, not an optional extra. A wide brim hat or brim attachment, sunscreen and long sleeves belong in your bag for outdoor work, and the ATO treats sunscreen, sunhats and sunglasses as deductible protective items for outdoor workers.

• •Steel toe or composite safety boots (AS/NZS 2210.3)
• •Hi vis shirt and safety glasses (AS/NZS 1337)
• •Gloves suited to the job (leather for pipe, cut resistant for blade work)
• •Hearing protection for grinding, hammering and confined spaces
• •Wide brim hat, sunscreen and long sleeves for outdoor work
• •A white card (general construction induction card) before you set foot on most sites

Resi vs commercial vs maintenance

First year plumbing is not one job, and the kit should match the sector you have been hired into. Ask which one you are in before you buy anything beyond the basics.

• •Residential new builds: your hand kit gets hammered daily on rough-ins. A cordless drill driver is often expected by second or third year, but let the boss tell you when
• •Commercial and industrial: press-fit systems and big gear rule. Press tools, core drills and threading machines are employer supplied, sites have inductions and lock-up storage, and you need the least personal kit of any stream
• •Maintenance and service: the broadest personal kit. Basin wrench, plunger, small drain tools and a well organised bag matter because you work out of a van and every job is different
• •Whatever the sector, specialised gear like PEX crimpers, soldering kits and drain cameras comes later or stays the employer's cost

Free money: rebates and loans

Check what your state offers before you spend a dollar, and keep every receipt, because every scheme demands them.

These schemes open and close as funding runs out. Queensland's Free Tools for First Years $1,000 cashback did exactly that, closing on 30 June 2025 once funds were exhausted, so always check your state training authority for what is open right now.

• •WA: the Construction Training Fund Apprentice Tool Allowance pays up to $1,000 at commencement and another $1,000 at completion for apprentices starting between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2029. Claim through the CTF Portal within 11 months of starting, with tax invoices, for tools bought from one month before you commenced
• •Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans: interest free loans for apprentices in priority trades like plumbing, paid monthly, usable for tools, and 20 per cent of the loan is wiped when you finish your apprenticeship
• •Many awards including the Plumbing Award also require reimbursement of apprentice training fees and textbook costs, so ask about those too

Tax, receipts and stolen tools

Tools you buy yourself for work are tax deductible: anything costing $300 or less is claimable in full that year, dearer items are depreciated over their life, and a set counts as one item, so four $100 pieces of a $400 set get depreciated, not claimed outright. Repairs, tool insurance premiums and interest on money borrowed for tools are also deductible. You cannot claim anything your employer supplied or reimbursed, or purchases already covered by a government rebate.

This page has told you gear grows legs, so have an actual plan. Under the award you can be reimbursed up to $1,335 if tools stored or transported at the employer's direction are lost to fire, break-in or theft, and you must report any theft to police before claiming. Label your gear, get it on a tool insurance policy or check your contents and vehicle cover, and read the fine print, because many policies exclude or cap tools left in a vehicle overnight.

Common mistakes

Buying a huge tool box in week one is the classic rookie move. Half of it sits unused all year and some of it will not suit the sector you are in. The other classic is quietly self-funding a kit your tool allowance, your employer or a state rebate should be covering.

• •Not checking your payslip for the tool allowance before spending your own money
• •Buying PPE the employer is legally required to supply on site
• •Throwing out receipts, which kills both your rebate claim and your tax deduction
• •Cheap hand tools, a soft multigrips or a hacksaw that will not hold a blade straight slows everyone down
• •Leaving tools in the ute overnight, thieves love utes and insurers know it
• •Missing rebate deadlines, WA's commencement claim closes 11 months after you start

What to ask your supervisor

Before you spend a cent, ask exactly what you must supply versus what the company provides. Every plumbing business runs this differently, and the answers change what you buy and what you can claim.

• •What is the minimum tool list for my first few weeks, and what sector of work am I mostly doing
• •Do you supply tools, reimburse me, or is the tool allowance in my pay rate
• •What PPE does the company provide, and what am I expected to bring
• •Is there a preferred brand or type for pipe wrenches or PVC cutters
• •Where do my tools get locked up on site, and what happens if they are stolen from work