We won! Water Tight Canberra is the 2026 Trades Champion for Plumbing Services (Large)
We’re still a bit stunned. On Saturday 27 June 2026, at the Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards gala at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, the MC read out “Plumbing Services (Large) winner is… Water Tight Canberra!” and our table went up. It’s a national award, judged on the business behind the trade rather than the trade alone, and it’s a huge moment for a crew that started out in 2010 as one bloke, one van and a lot of long days.
Tom accepting the award on behalf of the team, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, 27 June 2026. It’s a quick two minutes, and yes, there’s a bit of language in it. Captions are on.
What the award actually is
The Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards are run by Precedent Productions, the people behind the Australian Small Business Champion Awards, which have been going for 28 years. Businesses enter in their trade category and are judged on how well the business is run: customer service, systems and processes, training, community involvement and consistent results over time. Finalists are shortlisted from entries right across Australia, and the winners are announced at the gala in Sydney.
We found out we were finalists back in May. Finding out we’d won was a different thing altogether.
What got us over the line
Our entry was about the stuff our customers tell us they care about most:
- Every job is guaranteed, and we back that with two more promises: if we’re more than 10 minutes late we waive the service call fee, and if we don’t leave your place as clean as we found it, we pay for a professional clean.
- You know the price before we start. No surprises on the invoice.
- Licensed, fully qualified plumbers on every job, and a real person answering the phone 24/7.
- Gear that saves you time and money: drain cameras, pipe and leak locators, thermal imaging and acoustic leak detection, so we find the problem instead of guessing.
- A team that’s been with us for years, proper training, and the systems that mean you get the same service whoever turns up.
The people who made it happen
If you watch the speech, you’ll notice Tom spent most of it talking about everyone except himself, and that’s about right.
First, Belinda. Bel wrote the award application and was convinced it wasn’t up to scratch (it clearly was). She runs the finance and HR side of the business and, as Tom put it on the night, her role is more essential than his these days. Too many of these moments have been accepted on behalf of the company while Bel takes none of the credit, so this one’s for her.
Second, the whole Water Tight Canberra team. This award belongs to every one of them. Their professionalism, their care for our customers and their willingness to do things properly are what the judges were really recognising. A special thanks to Wally, who runs the show day to day, and to Nathan and Thomas, who lead our commercial and strata work.
Third, Lifestyle Tradie. Andy and Ange, and the other members of that group, helped turn a business where Tom was doing everything and couldn’t get on top of any of it into one that runs well without him in the middle of it. If you’re a tradie reading this, go and have a look at what they do.
Finally, thank you to the customers who’ve trusted us in their homes since 2010, and the suppliers and industry partners who’ve backed us along the way.
What it means for you
Nothing changes about the way we work, and that’s the point. The award recognises what our customers already get: plumbers who turn up on time, explain what’s going on in plain English, give you options, fix it properly and leave the place tidy. We’ll keep raising the bar.
If you need a plumber in Canberra, call us on 02 6195 9991 or book online.
Water Tight Canberra, founded in 2010 by Tom Martin, provides plumbing, drainage, gas fitting, hot water and blocked drain services across Canberra, Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra. ACT licensed plumber 2017441. Member of Master Plumbers ACT. National winner, 2019 Telstra Business Awards (Small and Succeeding Business).
