Governance

The Association’s Board is elected from the National Council. To ensure all members are understood and represented equitably, the Board is made up of members from across the membership categories.

National Board of Directors

Our National Councillors are here to represent you; our valued members, the plumbing industry. We understand and respect our position and responsibility. The decisions government and regulatory bodies make, affect our members’ businesses, our industry and the greater Victorian community.

You can read our financial statements, annual reports and RTO reports here.

Norm AndersonPresident

Norm Anderson
President

Norm has over 36 years’ experience in the commercial plumbing industry and is the Director of NSG Plumbing Pty Ltd, a Melbourne based company offering contract, maintenance, design and construct services. NSG Plumbing currently employs 70 full time employees. Norm is an active member of the Construction Division and is a representative of the National Council, as well as a Member of the Plumbing Advisory Council Board.

Daniel SmolenaarsVice President

Daniel Smolenaars
Vice President

Daniel has over 30 years’ experience in the plumbing industry. He is the Managing Director of Smolenaars Plumbing and has facilities in Sale and Traralgon. The business has been established in Gippsland for over 40 years and delivers work across a broad section of Eastern Victoria between Mallacoota and Warragul. Smolenaars Plumbing deliver across multiple facets of the plumbing industry covering commercial construction, civil construction, residential sprinkler fitting, specialising in maintenance plumbing and gas servicing. Over time the team have continued to expand the business into infrastructure developments, directional drilling and other core civil components.

Scott DowsettVice President

Scott Dowsett
Vice President

Scott has over 36 years’ experience in the commercial plumbing industry and has been a member of the Association since 1997. He is the Director of Cooke & Dowsett Pty Ltd, an international Tier 1 commercial plumbing company that employs licenced plumbers across Australia and New Zealand. Scott has been a committee member of the Major Contractors’ Division since 2006 and is the current Chairman. Scott was also a Director of Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand Ltd.

Grant DonaldHon. Treasurer

Grant Donald
Hon. Treasurer

Grant is a qualified plumber who has been involved in the industry for over 46 years. He is a Director of Premier Plumbing Service, a commercial plumbing company based in Ballarat. Proudly, their membership with the Master Plumbers has continued unbroken for 71 years. Grant is a member of the Major Contractors’ Division and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Grant is also a Director on the board of CoINVEST and has just been appointed for a further four years. Grant is also a Justice of the Peace.

Kevin ShinnersBoard Member

Kevin Shinners
Board Member

Kevin’s company, Shinners Plumbing, has been a Master Plumbers member since 1953. In 2002, Kevin was presented with the Hygieia Award for outstanding voluntary services for the development of the plumbing industry and in particular, recognition of his dedicated involvement in pursuing improvements in a pprentice training for the industry. Kevin was granted Life Membership in recognition of his continuing contribution to the Association. In 2019 Kevin was presented with a Service Award in the Premier’s Volunteer Champions Awards for his contribution to the plumbing industry.

Greg TinkBoard Member

Greg Tink
Board Member

Greg has over 30 years’ experience both as a contractor and an educator. He has delivered over 15,000 hours of theory and practical training across the pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship and post-apprenticeship programs at RMIT University. Greg has contributed to a number of industry handbooks, reports and training programs, including over a decade of involvement in developing and delivering Green Plumber training. He has also designed and managed the installation of various leading-edge workstations at PICAC.

David GeschkeBoard Member

David Geschke
Board Member

David has been working as a licenced plumber in his family business for over 20 Years, he has always maintained an interest in various aspects of our industry, from ESV compliance, to working through various water authority’s requirements, VBA inspections and compliance matters as well as keeping up to date with the ever changing Standards landscape.

The Association of Hydraulic Services Consultants Australia (AHSCA) has been a keen interest of his.  As a current Director of the (AHSCA) Research Foundation he has a good understanding of the support that the members may need and also the importance of maintaining the core values of non-for-profit organisations.

David McCarthyBoard Member

David McCarthy
Board Member

David has been plumbing for almost 20 years now. Hailing from a dairy farm in Colac, Victoria, his career has taken him all over Australia including a stint in Perth, and working as the M&E Manager for one of the UK’s biggest building companies, Ardmore, in London. David started his business David McCarthy Plumbing in 2013 in Melbourne’s west and the business is multi-award winning including New and Emerging Wyndham Business Award Winners in 2016 and Trades Business of the Year in the National My Business Awards in 2019. His business passion is investing in his team and his aim is to create a culture of happy, talented plumbers.

National Council

Phill CraigNational Council Representative

Phill Craig
National Council Representative

Phill has carried a passion for people, plumbing and business for over 30 years and is the Director at O’Brien Electrical and Plumbing Vermont where he combines all three elements. With National coverage of both trades, Phill likes to engage in high functioning team environments, constantly striving for more for clients and colleagues and the plumbing industry.

Christopher UnwinNational Council Representative

Christopher Unwin
National Council Representative

Christopher has over 15 years’ experience in the plumbing industry. He is a graduate of the Master Plumbers Group Training Scheme. He started his own business, Around The Clock Plumbing Pty Ltd, in 2000, specialising in commercial maintenance work throughout Victoria. He strongly believes in the importance of future proofing our industry and upskilling both plumbers and apprentices. Christopher is looking forward to contributing further to the plumbing industry through his role on the National Council.

Paula Withington National Council Representative

Paula Withington
National Council Representative

Paula has over 26 years of experience in the plumbing industry through Roofrite Guttering & Roofing Systems who have been members of the Association for 16 years. Paula has worked in a variety of industries from personnel to accountancy to media. Roofrite have positioned themselves to be a company of note in Victoria for their holistic approach to residential roofing services. She has been part of Roofrite since its inception and joined the National Council in 2022, to give back to the association, bringing to the table an extensive background in business management. She has also been actively involved in the Plumbing and Gasfitting Division meetings for years and was a long-time contributor to the Bendigo Golf Day.

Tim WilkenNational Council Representative

Tim Wilken
National Council Representative

Tim has been plumbing in the Hamilton region for over 16 years and has been working in his own business Wilken Plumbing for 9 years. Being located in the southwest of Victoria Tim specialises in all forms of plumbing, servicing both residential, agricultural & industrial plumbing needs of the surrounding area. Tim has spent both time and money over the years to give back to his local community through the sponsorship of various local sporting clubs and organisations. Since joining Master Plumbers back in 2015, Tim has decided to give back to the association and join the National Council in 2023.

Luke Kennedy National Council Representative

Luke Kennedy
National Council Representative

Mark Humphery National Council Representative

Mark Humphery
National Council Representative

Mark Humphery joined Master Plumbers in 2019. Mark started his apprenticeship in 1972 with the well-renowned Melbourne plumbing company VG Burdens in Ringwood. In 1984 he founded R&T Plumbing & Gasfitting which specialises in developments, Government contracts, sewer connections and real estate maintenance, which it still does today.

Mark has extensive experience and knowledge around large government projects and now brings his knowledge and expertise to the Master Plumbers National Council.

Management Team

The Association’s Management team works to ensure the delivery of services to members and is responsible for the representation of member issues to external bodies and regulators.

Peter DalyCEO & Association Secretary

Peter Daly
CEO & Association Secretary

With more than 20 years’ experience in senior leadership roles in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, Peter has a deep understanding of membership organisations and a proven history of working successfully with government and industry to build consensus around business and public policy outcomes. He is a Civil Engineer and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Peter is a Director of Incolink, the Indigenous Plumbing and Sanitation Foundation, Plumbing Staff Solutions, Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand, National Centre for Vocation Education Research and a number of Master Plumbers’ associated entities.

Brendan GouldExecutive Manager Training Services

Brendan Gould
Executive Manager Training Services

Brendan has a strong educational background and significant experience with training development in the plumbing sector. After completing a plumbing apprenticeship and working within industry Brendan’s focus turned to education and has been involved in plumbing training and delivery since 2000.
In his role, Brendan oversees training, including the expansion of courses offered to members and industry. Master Plumbers delivers a range of courses including Certificate III Plumbing Apprenticeship, Certificate II Plumbing Pre-Apprenticeship and a number of license level and post-trade training courses.

Thanuja GunatillakeExecutive Manager Member and Corporate Services

Thanuja Gunatillake
Executive Manager Member and Corporate Services

Thanuja is an experienced senior professional, leading multidisciplinary teams across Australia’s largest membership and industry based organisations.  Her career has spanned the transport, construction, and hospitality sectors with a strong focus on affecting positive change within organisations, their customers and the communities they serve.  She brings a background in Civil Engineering, Business Management and Social Impact to the team at Master Plumbers.  Thanuja’s role includes responsibility for driving membership growth, business development, strategic partnerships and membership value proposition.

Honourary Positions

Peter JensenHonourary Historian

Peter Jensen
Honourary Historian

Peter is the Managing Director of Worboys Plumbing, which has been a member company of the Association over 75 years. In 2005, Worboys won the Green Plumbers Domestic Project of the Year award and was granted Life Member status of the Association 2016.

In 2023, Peter stepped down from his National Council position. For many years Peter had made a concerted effort to identify, sort, catalogue and preserve a significant part of our Heritage Collection. Because of this the association decided to make a new position for Peter and at the 2023 Annual General Meeting, Peter was made the first Honourary Historian of the association.