INSIGHT · LICENSING & COMPLIANCE

Gas in new homes:
state-wide rules in Victoria and the ACT, none found elsewhere.

2 November 2026

Victoria has stopped new gas connections for homes needing a planning permit since 1 January 2024, and regulations made in December 2025, not yet in operation, reach building permits and plumbing work from 1 January 2027, with a water heater rule for existing homes from 1 March 2027. The ACT has barred new network connections in most zones since 8 December 2023. We found no state-wide rule on gas in new homes in the other six jurisdictions in the sources that opened on 2 November 2026, which does not show that none exists. NSW has council rules, in Sydney and Parramatta. Victoria's 2027 rules turn on reticulated natural gas, and the Premier's statement says LPG use is unchanged.

A kitchen counter with a black induction cooktop and a single saucepan

Analysed 2 November 2026 · Victorian S.R. No. 140/2025 (made 9 December 2025), Victoria Government Gazette S 1 of 2024, Building Act 1993 version 152, Premier's statements of 28 July 2023 and 24 June 2025 · ACT SL2023-33, Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010 and Climate Choices page · City of Sydney and City of Parramatta pages · all read 2 November 2026.

Key takeaways

Victoria has three dates, not one: 1 January 2024 for planning permits under Amendment VC250, 1 January 2027 for building permits and for plumbing work that connects gas during construction or to an existing building with no connection, and 1 March 2027 for gas water heaters in existing Class 1 and 2 buildings. The 2027 rules are made but not yet in operation.
The Victorian 2027 rule works through the surveyor: New reg 37A says a relevant building surveyor must not issue a building permit if aware a new reticulated gas connection relates to the work. Permit forms gain a field for it.
The ACT rule binds the gas distributor: Section 13A of the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010 stops new natural gas connections in prescribed zones and premises. Class 1 to 4 buildings are covered in any zone.
Elsewhere, look at the council: Sydney DCP 2012 says indoor gas appliances are not to be included in new residential accommodation for applications submitted after 31 December 2025, and fossil fuel gas service is not to be provided for applications submitted after 31 December 2026. Parramatta's controls apply in its City Centre, and in February 2026 its council declined to extend them until the NSW Gas Decarbonisation Roadmap is released.
We would record the three dates beside the gas decision: A system-design recommendation: planning permit date, building permit date and connection application date, with the rule each date falls under, held against the specification.

Gas rules found,
state by state.

No state-wide rule found means none appeared in the sources that opened on 2 November 2026. It is not a government statement that none exists.

Local rules outside Sydney and Parramatta were not surveyed. A council control can apply in any state, including where the rule column shows no state-wide rule.

State	Rule	Scope	Start date	Status	Instrument and version read
Victoria	No new gas connections where a planning permit is required	New dwellings, apartments and residential subdivisions needing a planning permit	1 January 2024	In force. Clause text: not verified (2 Nov 2026)	Amendment VC250, Victoria Government Gazette S 1, 1 January 2024; read 2 Nov 2026
Victoria	Building permit must not be issued if the surveyor is aware a new reticulated gas connection relates to the work; no connecting a reticulated gas appliance during construction of the whole building; no plumbing to install or connect reticulated gas downstream of the supply point	Class 1 to 7, 9 and 10 buildings (Class 8 not listed): construction of the whole building and, under reg 45C, existing buildings with no reticulated gas connection. Exceptions in regs 37A, 45B and 45C	1 January 2027	Made 9 December 2025, not yet in operation	S.R. No. 140/2025: reg 37A Building Regulations 2018 and Part 6A, regs 45B and 45C, Plumbing Regulations 2018; Building Act 1993 v152, ss 10, 24(8), 221B; read 2 Nov 2026
Victoria	No installing or replacing a reticulated gas water heater	Existing Class 1 and 2 buildings and appurtenant pools; exceptions in reg 45E	1 March 2027	Made 9 December 2025, not yet in operation	S.R. No. 140/2025, Division 3 of Part 6A, regs 45D and 45E; read 2 Nov 2026
Australian Capital Territory	Gas distributor must not provide a new natural gas connection	Zones CFZ, CZ1 to CZ6 and RZ1 to RZ5, and premises with Class 1 to 4 buildings in any zone; s 8 exemptions	8 December 2023	In force. A development application lodged or approval issued before 2 March 2024 stays exempt if the connection application is made by 7 December 2028 and the connection is provided within 12 months, by 30 March 2029 at the latest	Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010, R14 (6 December 2025), s 13A; Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation 2011, R3 (9 December 2025), ss 6 and 8; read 2 Nov 2026
New South Wales	No state-wide rule on new homes found. City of Sydney, local control: indoor fossil fuel gas appliances such as cooktops, ovens or space heaters not to be included	New residential accommodation	Applications submitted after 31 December 2025	In force in the published DCP	Sydney DCP 2012, Section 3, cl 3.13.4 (file dated 7 September 2026); read 2 Nov 2026
New South Wales	City of Sydney, local control: not to be serviced by fossil fuel gas	New residential accommodation; new offices of at least 1,000 square metres net lettable area; hotels or motels of at least 100 rooms; buildings with at least 100 serviced apartments. A food and beverage tenancy in a mixed use development may have one gas connection. The council's report says existing buildings, alterations and industrial uses are not reached and bottled gas is not restricted	Applications submitted after 31 December 2026	In the published DCP, start not yet reached. Council approved 27 October 2025	Sydney DCP 2012, Section 3, cl 3.13.4 (file dated 7 September 2026); post-exhibition report (20 October 2025); read 2 Nov 2026
New South Wales	City of Parramatta, local control: all-electric controls in the City Centre only	New buildings in the City Centre, with an exemption where a process or equipment cannot be served by electricity. Outside it the gas option continues	2022 in the Parramatta City Centre DCP, per the council. Exact date: not verified (2 Nov 2026)	In force per the council. Extension outside the City Centre declined 23 February 2026	Parramatta DCP 2023, Part 9.8.3, as described on the council's page; read 2 Nov 2026. DCP text: not verified (2 Nov 2026)
Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory	No state-wide rule found	Not applicable	Not applicable	No rule found, 2 Nov 2026	No instrument located; government position not verified (2 Nov 2026)

Victoria: why people quote
January and March 2027.

Both 1 January 2027 and 1 March 2027 are right for Victoria, for different work. The Premier's statement of 24 June 2025 set them out, and S.R. No. 140/2025, made on 9 December 2025, provides for them. Neither is in operation yet.

1 January 2024: planning: Gazette S 1 records Amendment VC250 as prohibiting new gas connections for new dwellings, apartments and residential subdivisions where a planning permit is required. The notice does not reach a home that needs only a building permit.
1 January 2027: building permits: Reg 37A reaches the building permit stage for the construction of a listed class of building. Part 6A of the Plumbing Regulations also bars connecting a reticulated gas appliance during construction of a whole building (reg 45B), and plumbing that installs or connects reticulated gas downstream of the supply point where the whole building is under construction or an existing building has no reticulated gas connection (reg 45C).
1 March 2027: water heaters in existing buildings: Reg 45E bars installing or replacing a reticulated gas water heater for an existing Class 1 or 2 building or appurtenant pool. Exceptions include insufficient space, a centralised gas system, switchboard or network work, temporary disconnection, warranty replacement, a contract made with the owner before 1 March 2027 with the work done within 3 months after that date, and building work under s 10(1) or (2) before that date.
Work already under way: Reg 37A(3) excepts a permit for work to which s 10(2) of the Building Act applied immediately before 1 January 2027: the relevant building surveyor certifying that substantial progress was made on the design before commencement. Regs 45B(3) and 45C(4) except plumbing for work under s 10(1) or (2), and s 10(1) covers work under a building permit existing immediately before commencement.

What the rules do not catch.

LPG in Victoria: Reticulated gas is defined in s 221B(1) of the Building Act as natural gas connected through a gas company's meter assembly. The Premier's statement says the use of LPG for households or business is unchanged.
Existing gas in Victoria: The Premier's statement says there are no changes to heating for owner-occupiers or to gas cooking in existing homes, and that repairs remain allowed. Reg 45C still bars, from 1 January 2027, plumbing that connects reticulated gas to an existing building with no connection. Rental minimum standards are announced from 1 March 2027 and were not read in a made instrument.
Class 8 in Victoria: Reg 37A lists Classes 1 to 7, 9 and 10, not Class 8. The Premier's statement excludes industrial, manufacturing and agricultural buildings from the commercial reach.
Existing connections in the ACT: The regulation targets new connections. Climate Choices says it also applies to extensive renovation or construction projects where a connection is abolished to make a site safe. Climate Choices says only businesses or persons in commercial or community facility zones can apply for a Minister's exemption, and s 11(3) of the Regulation requires refusal for a connection to a Class 1 or 2 building.
A NSW state policy on large commercial buildings: City of Parramatta's page says the Sustainable Buildings SEPP, in effect from 1 October 2023, requires large commercial buildings to be designed to operate without fossil fuels or be capable of converting to all-electric by 2035. That is not a rule on new homes. SEPP text: not verified (2 Nov 2026).
The NCC: We found no NCC clause barring gas in the provisions read. Whole-of-Home in S42C3 scores the home's energy use, a different mechanism. Our page on 7 star and Livable Housing adoption shows where it applies.

What to check in a specification
and what to record.

Planning date: Whether a planning permit was required, and the date of the application and the permit, against Victoria's 1 January 2024 and any council control.
Building permit date: The permit date against 1 January 2027 in Victoria, and any certificate of substantial progress on design relied on under s 10(2).
Connection application date: When the gas connection was applied for, and with whom. In the ACT, s 13A binds the distributor, and the s 8 exemptions depend on an earlier approval and a connection application by 7 December 2028.
What the specification assumes: Cooktop, hot water, heating and any pool heater, with fuel and supply: reticulated natural gas, LPG cylinder, or electric. A line that reads gas does not say which.
Electrical capacity: Reg 45E lists switchboard alteration and network augmentation among its exceptions, so electrical capacity is a recorded fact. Note the assumption and have the licensed electrician or designer confirm it.

What we would put in a system

Where agents help is narrow. A document agent can read a specification and a permit, extract fuels and dates, and flag a line that says gas in a state with a rule. A person confirms it. No agent decides whether an exception applies or whether a design complies. That belongs to the building surveyor, the licensed plumber and your advisers.

Field	Why it is load-bearing
Fuel for each appliance	The Victorian rules turn on reticulated natural gas. An LPG cooktop and a gas main are different facts.
Planning and building permit dates	They decide which of Victoria's rules applies, and a home can cross 1 January 2027 between the two.
Connection application and distributor	The ACT rule acts at the connection, and its exemptions turn on the connection application date.
Rule and status at the date	In force, made or announced, with the instrument. A rule made but not yet in operation still shapes a job finishing after it starts.
Exception relied on	Reg 37A(3), reg 45B(3) or 45C(4), a reg 45E exception or an ACT exemption, with the person who confirmed it and the document.

Questions worth asking
of your own specifications

For a Victorian builder: which of your jobs cross 1 January 2027?

A home with a gas line in the specification and a building permit not yet issued is the one to look at. Reg 37A turns on the surveyor being aware of a new connection, and the permit forms will ask.

For a developer with staged land: which stages had planning permits before 1 January 2024?

VC250 and the 2027 rules work on different steps. A subdivision and the homes later built on it can fall under different rules, so the stage record needs both dates.

For a plumber: does the work order say what the gas is?

Part 6A of the Plumbing Regulations uses reticulated gas, defined as natural gas through a meter assembly. The work order should show it. General information, not legal or licensing advice.

For a project manager outside Victoria and the ACT: have you checked the council?

A state with no rule found is not the whole answer. Sydney's and Parramatta's controls are at council level, and other councils were not surveyed.

Questions people ask about
gas in new homes

Is gas banned in new homes in Victoria?

In Victoria, new gas connections have been prohibited since 1 January 2024 for new dwellings, apartments and residential subdivisions that need a planning permit, under Amendment VC250. From 1 January 2027, under S.R. No. 140/2025, a building surveyor must not issue a building permit if aware a new reticulated gas connection relates to the work. That regulation was made on 9 December 2025 and is not yet in operation.

Can I connect gas to a new house?

It depends on the state and the date. In Victoria, new gas connections are barred now where a planning permit is required, and regulations not yet in operation reach the building permit stage from 1 January 2027. In the ACT, the distributor has been barred from providing a new natural gas connection in most zones since 8 December 2023. We found no state-wide rule in the other six jurisdictions on 2 November 2026, which does not show that none exists, and councils such as the City of Sydney have their own.

Are new homes all electric in Australia?

Not nationally. We found no NCC clause barring gas in the provisions read on 2 November 2026. Victoria and the ACT have rules of their own, and the Victorian Premier's statement of 24 June 2025 says all new homes will be built all electric from 1 January 2027. The instrument is S.R. No. 140/2025, not yet in operation. LPG use is unchanged in Victoria, per the same statement.

Is gas being phased out in Australia?

There is no national instrument among the sources read. Victoria's regulations for 2027, not yet in operation, stop new reticulated gas connections in new buildings and in existing buildings with none, and from 1 March 2027 gas water heater installation or replacement in existing Class 1 and 2 buildings, each with exceptions. The Premier says gas cooking and owner-occupier heating in existing homes are unchanged. The ACT Government describes its regulation as part of a broader plan to electrify Canberra by 2045.

Is gas banned in new homes in Sydney?

Sydney Development Control Plan 2012, cl 3.13.4, says indoor fossil fuel gas appliances are not to be included in new residential accommodation for applications submitted after 31 December 2025. For applications submitted after 31 December 2026, new residential accommodation and larger offices, hotels and serviced apartment buildings are not to be serviced by fossil fuel gas. It is a council control in the City of Sydney area, not a NSW-wide rule, and the council's report says it does not reach existing buildings.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows: State and council rules on new gas connections that appeared in the Victorian, ACT and council sources read on 2 November 2026, their scope, start date and status, and what to record on a project.
Key facts quoted: Victoria: 1 January 2024 (VC250), 1 January 2027 (reg 37A and Part 6A, made 9 December 2025) and 1 March 2027 (reg 45E). ACT: 8 December 2023 (SL2023-33). City of Sydney: DCP cl 3.13.4, applications submitted after 31 December 2025 and after 31 December 2026. City of Parramatta: extension declined 23 February 2026.

"No state-wide rule found" means no instrument appeared in what opened. Energy, planning and building pages for several governments did not open on 2 November 2026, and no government's statement that no rule exists was read.
The Victorian planning clause was not read: planning.vic.gov.au did not open and VC250 is described from the Gazette notice. Energy Victoria, Building and Plumbing Commission and VBA pages also did not open.
S.R. No. 140/2025 was read as made. Building Regulations version 032 and Plumbing Regulations version 010 are shown in force on 2 November 2026 and do not yet carry it. Any later amending regulation: not verified (2 Nov 2026).
Councils outside Sydney and Parramatta were not surveyed, and Waverley's DCP did not open. Parramatta's DCP did not open, so its control is described from the council's page.
Announced Victorian rental standards and the national gas connection rule proposal were not read in an instrument and are not relied on.
General information about published rules. It is not legal, plumbing, building surveying or energy advice for any project, and it takes no view on gas policy.

What to watch next

31 December 2026: Applications submitted after this date meet the fuller row of Sydney DCP 2012 cl 3.13.4.
1 January 2027: Reg 37A and regs 45B and 45C commence in Victoria under S.R. No. 140/2025.
1 March 2027: Victoria's water heater rule starts to apply (reg 45D). The Premier's statement also announced rental minimum standards from this date.
NSW Gas Decarbonisation Roadmap: City of Parramatta tied its next step to this document. The NSW Government says it committed to deliver the roadmap by late 2026; its page, updated 19 August 2026, gives no release date.

Bring us one specification
with a gas line in it.

Send us a specification and the permit dates for one job. We will show which dates and instruments the file turns on, what it does not say, and which fields would hold them.

General information about published rules, as read on 2 November 2026. Not legal, plumbing, energy or building surveying advice, and it does not describe any project. Confirm the position with your building surveyor or licensed plumber.

Send us the specification · Compliance

Sources

Suggested citation: Cyberate research team, Gas in new homes by state, analysed 2 November 2026, from the Victorian and ACT instruments and council pages listed. Derived figures: none; every date is as published by the source named.

Gas in new homes: state-wide rules in Victoria and the ACT, none found elsewhere.