Gas Leak In Your Wollongong Home? What To Do In The Next 10 Minutes

For Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour, Figtree and Corrimal homeowners who can smell gas right now — or who suspect a leak and want to know what to do before calling a licensed gas fitter.

Quick answer: If you can smell gas right now, stop reading this and do four things. Get everyone (including pets) outside. Don’t touch any light switches, power points, or anything that could spark. Open doors and windows on your way out if you can do it without a detour. Once you’re outside, call a licensed gas fitter. If the smell is strong or you feel sick, call 000 first.

Now, if you’ve got a minute and the smell is faint or you’re not sure, keep reading. Here’s what to do.

How To Know It’s Actually A Gas Leak

Short answer: Trust your nose. Natural gas and LPG don’t smell like anything on their own — the rotten-egg smell is an additive (mercaptan) put in deliberately so leaks are detectable. One sign is enough to act on.

Signs of a gas leak in the home:

• A rotten egg or sulphur smell, especially near appliances, the gas meter, or the BBQ line
• A hissing or whistling sound near a gas pipe, fitting, or appliance
• A pilot light that keeps going out
• Indoor plants dying near a gas line for no obvious reason
• Headaches, dizziness, nausea, or unusual tiredness in people in the house — particularly if more than one person feels it at the same time
• A higher-than-usual gas bill with no change in how you’re using gas

You don’t need all of these. One is enough to act on.

The 10-Minute Action Plan

Short answer: Get everyone outside, don’t touch any electrical switches, open doors and windows on your way past, turn the gas off at the meter if it’s safe to reach, then ring a licensed gas fitter from the footpath. If the smell is strong or anyone feels sick, ring 000 first.

Do these in order. Don’t skip steps.

1. Get everyone out. Adults, kids, pets, everyone. Outside, away from the house, upwind if there’s a breeze.
2. Don’t flick anything. No light switches on or off. No power points. No phone chargers in or out. Don’t start the car if it’s in the garage. A spark in a gas-filled room is what turns a leak into a fire.
3. Open doors and windows on your way past. Only if it’s on your path out — don’t make extra trips through the house to ventilate.
4. Turn off the gas at the meter, if it’s safe and easy to reach. The handle is usually a quarter-turn valve next to the meter outside. Turn it 90 degrees so the handle sits across the pipe.
5. From outside, call a licensed gas fitter. Use your mobile from the footpath, not the home phone inside.
6. If the smell is strong, you feel sick, or you can hear hissing, call 000 first. The fire brigade will make the property safe. Then call us.
7. Don’t go back inside until a licensed gas fitter has tested the property and told you it’s safe.

That’s it. Ten minutes, no guesswork.

When It’s An Emergency Vs When You Can Wait An Hour

Short answer: Call 000 first if the smell is strong, you can hear hissing, anyone feels unwell, or the leak is near an ignition source. A faint smell near one appliance with no symptoms is a same-day call-out, not a 000 job. If you’re not sure, treat it as an emergency.

Treat it as an emergency (call 000 then us) if:

• The smell is strong and won’t clear
• You can hear hissing
• Anyone in the house feels dizzy, sick, or short of breath
• There’s a visible flame where there shouldn’t be one
• The leak is near an ignition source (heater, stove pilot, hot water unit)

You can wait for a same-day licensed gas fitter if:

• The smell is faint and only near one appliance
• You’ve turned the gas off at the meter and the smell is clearing
• No one is unwell and there’s no hissing

If you’re not sure which category you’re in, treat it as an emergency. We’d rather come out and find nothing than not be called.

Why DIY Gas Work Is Illegal In NSW

Short answer: In NSW, only a licensed gas fitter can install, alter, repair, or disconnect any gas pipe, appliance, or fitting. Licences are issued under NSW Fair Trading and the work must comply with AS/NZS 5601. Unlicensed gas work is a prosecutable offence.

This isn’t a technicality. Unlicensed gas work is a prosecutable offence and penalties apply. More importantly, gas leaks caused by DIY connections are one of the most common reasons we get called out — and a faulty DIY job behind the stove can sit there leaking slowly for months before anyone notices.

If you’ve bought a house and you’re not sure whether previous work was done by a licensed gas fitter, get it checked. Receipts and a gas compliance certificate are what you’re looking for.

Check whether a tradesperson holds a current NSW gas fitting licence on the NSW Fair Trading public licence register.

What CSP Does When We Arrive

Short answer: Isolate the gas at the meter, test the system with electronic leak detection (not soapy water), pressure-test the line, repair the faulty section, re-test the whole system, and issue a gas compliance certificate before we leave.

When one of our licensed gas fitters gets to the property:

• We isolate the gas at the meter and confirm the supply is off.
• We test the system with electronic gas leak detection equipment — not soapy water guesswork. We can pinpoint a leak down to the fitting.
• We pressure-test the line to confirm where it’s losing gas.
• We repair or replace the faulty section — pipe, joint, fitting, or appliance connection.
• We re-test the whole system to make sure nothing else is leaking.
• We issue a gas compliance certificate. This is your proof that the work was done to standard by a licensed gas fitter. Keep it with your house paperwork — insurers and buyers will ask for it.

We don’t leave a job until the system passes a full pressure test.

Common Causes Of Gas Leaks In Wollongong Homes

Short answer: Old galvanised or copper pipework in 40+ year old homes, aging appliances, DIY stove and BBQ connections, weather damage to outdoor gas lines, ground movement, and (yes, really) rodents chewing flexible hose.

We get called out to a lot of these in Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour and through Figtree and Corrimal. The usual suspects:

• Older homes with original gas pipework. A lot of the housing stock through the Illawarra is 40+ years old and the original galvanised or copper fittings corrode over time.
• Faulty or aging appliances. Old gas heaters, stoves, and hot water units develop leaks at the inlet connection.
• DIY connections. The classic one — someone’s swapped a stove or hooked up a new BBQ line without a licensed gas fitter. Compression fittings done by hand almost always leak eventually.
• BBQ and outdoor kitchen lines. Outdoor gas points are exposed to weather and get knocked. The flexible hose to the BBQ is a frequent failure point.
• Subsidence and ground movement. Shifts in the ground can stress underground gas lines, especially on older properties on clay.
• Rodent damage. Yes, really. Mice and rats chew flexible gas hoses in roof spaces and under floors.

FAQ

Can I still smell gas with all the windows open?

Yes — and that’s a sign the leak is ongoing, not just a one-off whiff. Ventilation helps disperse what’s already there, but it won’t fix a live leak. Get out and call us.

Is a gas leak covered by insurance?

Usually the repair to the gas system itself isn’t covered — that’s classed as maintenance. But damage caused by a leak (fire, smoke, contents) generally is, provided the work was done by a licensed gas fitter. Check your policy. This is one of the reasons that gas compliance certificate matters.

How much does it cost to find and fix a gas leak?

Emergency gas call-outs in the Illawarra start from $250 for diagnosis and minor repair. More complex jobs — replacing a section of corroded line or an appliance connection — are quoted on the day once we’ve found the source. We’ll tell you the price before we start the repair, not after.

Do you offer 24/7 response?

For confirmed or suspected gas leaks in Wollongong and the Illawarra, yes. Call us anytime. If we can’t get to you fast enough and it’s an emergency, we’ll tell you to ring 000 first.

What if it’s the gas appliance, not the line?

Same drill. Turn off the gas at the meter, get out, call us. We diagnose the whole system — line and appliance — and tell you whether it’s a repair or a replacement. If the appliance is past it, we’ll say so straight.

When This Article Isn’t For You

• You’re outside the Illawarra. We cover Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour, Figtree, Corrimal and the surrounding suburbs only. Sydney callers, you want a Sydney gas fitter.
• You want to do the gas work yourself. We won’t talk you through it and we won’t recommend it. It’s illegal in NSW and it’s dangerous.
• You’re after the cheapest possible price. We’re not the cheapest — we’re licensed, insured, and we issue a compliance certificate on every job.

Need A Licensed Gas Fitter In Wollongong Now?

CS Plumbing Services are licensed plumbers and licensed gas fitters covering Wollongong, Dapto, Shellharbour, Figtree, Corrimal and the wider Illawarra. Gas leak diagnosis and repair from $250. Same-day response for suspected leaks. Gas compliance certificate issued on every job.

If you’re not sure, call us. We’d rather come out and find nothing than not be called.

Call CSP now on 0416 101 022.