The state plumbing regulator is reminding Victorians of the value of having access to safe bathroom facilities this World Toilet Day.
The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) is marking the international day created by the United Nations (UN) to highlight the importance of having a professional plumber install your toilet to keep you safe and well.
In Victoria, all home-made, self-installed or non-compliant sanitary toileting products are illegal, pose a health risk to the community and should be removed from bathrooms and toilets immediately.
The VBA's State Building Surveyor Andrew Cialini said Victorians who are having trouble with their toilet should hire a professional plumber or risk serious consequences.
"If you need to get a broken toilet fixed or a new one installed, you must use an appropriately registered and licensed plumber, doing it yourself can pose dangers," he said.
"Sewage can contaminate the drinking water supply through backflow or back-siphonage, causing infections, diarrhoea or other health problems."
World Toilet Day raises awareness of the 3.6 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation.
"Being able to use the toilet when we need to is something many of us take for granted, this is an opportunity to remind consumers to value the access we have to systems that not only keep us comfortable but keep us safe and well," Mr Cialini said.
The UN states that when some people in a community do not have safe toilets, everyone's health is threatened.
Poor sanitation contaminates drinking-water sources, rivers, beaches and food crops, spreading deadly diseases among the wider population.
Globally, at least two billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces.
Every day, over 700 children under five years old die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene.
"Bidets, douche sprays and handheld hoses can also only be installed by an appropriately registered or licensed plumber" Mr Cialini said.
