Property Inspection and Servicing

Overview

This page provides information and data on the Property Inspection and Servicing sector, which is one component of the Property Services industry.

The Property Inspection and Servicing industry includes those involved in fire protection, fire inspection and testing, fire protection equipment maintenance and installation, and swimming pool and spa servicing. There were 3,310 businesses operating in fire protection and safety in 2018 in Australia, and 1,082 business involved in swimming pool and spa servicing.

Nationally recognised training for Property Consulting, Inspection and Servicing is delivered under the CPP Property Services Training Package.

For information on public safety services such as fire, see Corrections and Public Safety.

All data sources are available at the end of the page.

Employment trends

Detailed employment information was unavailable for this sector. For general information relating to employment, see Property Services.

Training provider type
Funding source

Student location
Training delivery location

Commencements and completion
Qualification level and occupation
State and Territory

Training snapshot

Program enrolments in Property Consulting, Inspection and Servicing-related qualifications increased between 2016 and 2017 (from 1,470 to 1,570) and remained relatively stable to 2019, before declining by almost one fifth (19%) to 1,250 enrolments in 2020. Program completions peaked in 2016 at almost 610, falling to around 520 in 2018 but increasing again to approximately 580 in 2019. Completions declined again in 2020, down to approximately 520.

The most common level of qualification in this sector in 2020 was certificate II with 71% of enrolments, followed by certificate III with 25%. There were more enrolments in the area of fire protection, inspection and testing in 2020 (940) than in the area of swimming pool and spa servicing (approximately 310). The most common intended occupation in this sector in 2020 was Fire Protection Equipment Technician.

All enrolments in 2020 for this sector were at private training providers, and the overwhelming majority of subjects were funded through domestic fee-for-service arrangements (94%).

The largest proportions of students in 2020 were from New South Wales (35%), followed by Queensland (33%) and Western Australia (15%). Correspondingly, the largest proportions of training were delivered in New South Wales (42%), Queensland (33%) and Western Australia (13%).

Apprentice and trainee commencements and completions have historically been low in this sector, fluctuating between a peak of approximately 90 in 2016 and declining to a low of 30 in 2019. Commencements have increased slightly in 2020, up to approximately 50. Completions have also fluctuated during this time, with a peak of approximately 50 in 2011, and declining to a new low of 10 in 2020.

Apprentices and trainees in this sector have an intended occupation of either Fire Protection Equipment Technician or Technician and Trades Worker (not elsewhere specified), with the largest proportions of apprentices and trainees in training in 2020 reported by New South Wales (50%) and Queensland (45%).

For more data specific to your occupation, industry or training package, visit NCVER’s Data Builder.

For more data specific to your region visit NCVER’s Atlas of Total VET.

If you are interested in extracting NCVER data to construct tables with data relevant to you, sign up for a VOCSTATS account.

Industry insights

According to the Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast, the top generic skills for the Property Services industry as a whole, and therefore for the Property Inspection and Servicing sector are, in addition to knowledge specific to the industry area:

Managerial / Leadership
Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) (Foundation skills)
Customer service / Marketing
Financial
Technology.

The Property Services IRC’s 2020 Skills Forecast identifies skills in the areas of Bushfire Attack Level assessment and fire-preventative design and planning as having gained an increased focus in the wake of the widespread bushfires in early 2020. Though qualified practitioners are required across Australia, the current university qualifications are very costly in time and money and over qualify the graduates. An industry project proposes a new set of VET qualifications to address these skills shortages.

Fire protection, inspection and testing has come under greater scrutiny in the wake of the Shergold Weir Report published in February 2018. The Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast predicts changes in compliance and enforcement systems as well as regulatory practices based upon the 24 recommendations in the report. The skills forecast notes that the report was identified frequently during consultation with IRC members as a key driver for change.

In response to this report, one of the potential future projects currently being explored by the Property Services IRC is the Built Environment Auditor: Annual Fire Safety Certifier project. As there is currently no nationally consistent approach to training for the property services sector (except in NSW), due to the national trend towards greater oversight and compliance of the testing and maintenance of building fire safety and emergency systems the Property Services secretariat is exploring the benefits and viability of nationally endorsed training in the area.

The Property Services IRC’s 2018 Skills Forecast notes increasing demand for fire protection and safety as a result of urbanisation, with higher-density and multi-story dwellings requiring sophisticated safety systems. The current training may be inadequately meeting the need to skill workers in managing the emerging and diverse regulatory requirements of high and complex buildings. With an increasingly strict regulatory landscape on more of these types of buildings in construction, it is important that the sector has access to the training necessary to develop these skills. There is also a need for greater training around risk assessment, tied to emerging demand for an ‘annual assessor’ role.

The Property Services IRC’s 2018 Skills Forecast also related an increasing focus on water conservation, affecting those involved in swimming pool and spa servicing. Water-efficient products are in greater demand from consumers, meaning workers need information and training regarding these products. The urbanisation mentioned previously is also driving demand for swimming pool and spa installation and maintenance though an increase in urban dwellings.

Links and resources

Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

IRC and skills forecasts

Property Services Industry Reference Committee

Data sources and notes

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET students and courses from the following training packages or qualifications:

CPP Property Services Training Package, PRM Asset Maintenance Training Package.
Fire Protection Inspection and Testing
- CPP20511 - Certificate II in Fire Protection Inspection and Testing
- CPP20521 - Certificate II in Fire Protection Inspection and Testing
- CPP30811 - Certificate III in Fire Protection Inspection and Testing
- CPP30821 - Certificate III in Fire Protection Inspection and Testing
- PRM20406 - Certificate II in Asset Maintenance (Fire Protection Equipment).
Swimming Pool and Spa Service
- CPP31212 - Certificate III in Swimming Pool and Spa Service
- CPP31218 - Certificate III in Swimming Pool and Spa Service
- CPP41312 - Certificate IV in Swimming Pool and Spa Service
- CPP41319 - Certificate IV in Swimming Pool and Spa Service.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

2016 to 2020 program enrolments
2016 to 2020 program completions.

Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.

Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.

CPP Property Services Training Package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:

2011 to 2020 commencements
2011 to 2020 completions
apprentices and trainees in-training October to December 2020 collection, by qualification and state and territory of data submitter.

Updated: 20 Jan 2022

Property Inspection and Servicing

Sectors