Natural gas meter: quarter turn until the handle is crossways
Your gas meter is usually on an external wall near the front of the house. On the pipe entering the meter you will find a valve with a flat metal handle. When the handle runs in line with the pipe, gas is on. Turn it a quarter turn, which is 90 degrees, so the handle sits crossways to the pipe, and gas is off. It should move by hand; if it is stiff, a spanner on the handle is fine, but never force a valve that feels seized, and never partially open one. On is in line, off is crossways, nothing in between.
It is worth finding this valve today, in daylight, before you ever need it. In our experience the people who handle a gas smell calmly are the ones who already knew where their meter was.
LPG bottles: close the hand wheel clockwise
If your home runs on bottled LPG, each bottle has a hand wheel valve on top. Turn it clockwise until it stops to shut the bottle off. If you have twin bottles with an automatic changeover valve, close both bottles. The same applies to a barbecue bottle: the valve on the bottle itself is always the true shutoff, not the appliance knob.
When you should shut the gas off
| Situation | Action | Who to call |
|---|---|---|
| You smell gas inside the house | Shut off at meter or bottles, open doors and windows, leave the house | Licensed gas fitter, from outside |
| You smell gas near the meter or in the yard | Shut off if safe to reach, keep clear | Your gas distributor's 24 hour faults line, then a gas fitter |
| Hissing sound at a pipe, appliance or bottle | Shut off, do not investigate with a flame or phone torch up close | Licensed gas fitter |
| Storm, flood or impact damage near gas lines | Shut off as a precaution | Licensed gas fitter before reuse |
| Appliance burning yellow, sooting or cutting out | Turn off that appliance at its isolation valve | Licensed gas fitter for a service |
| Going away for an extended period | Optional shutoff at meter or bottles | No callout needed to shut off |
While the gas is leaking or suspected, do not operate light switches, do not use lighters or matches, and do not start vehicles in an attached garage. Get people and pets out first, then make calls from outside. For natural gas network emergencies, your distributor's 24 hour faults number is printed on the meter and on your gas bill.
Why you should not just turn it back on yourself
Shutting gas off is the safe, do-it-yourself part. Turning it back on is where things go wrong. Restoring supply means confirming there is no leak, repressurising the system, checking every appliance, and relighting pilot lights in the right order. If a leak was the reason you shut down, the system needs to be pressure tested by a licensed gas fitter before it carries gas again, and in Queensland leak repair itself is licensed gas work without exception. Turning the meter back on over an unfound leak simply refills your wall cavities with gas.
If you shut the gas off purely as a precaution, for a storm or a holiday, and there was never any smell or fault, restoring it is lower risk, but you still need to relight pilots and confirm every appliance comes back cleanly. If anything smells wrong or will not relight, stop and call us.
What a gas emergency callout costs
As of 2026 our after-hours emergency rate on the Gold Coast is $360 to $560 for the first hour plus the work required, and we tell you the real number before we leave the depot. We also give honest arrival estimates: we quote you an ETA based on where we actually are, and on busy storm nights we say so rather than promising a fantasy 20 minutes.
Sources: Resources Safety and Health Queensland gas safety guidance; Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld).
Smell gas now? Shut it off, get out, then call us
Shut the gas off at the meter or bottle, ventilate, get everyone outside and call Hills Plumbing & Gas on 0472 657 042 from a safe spot. We attend gas emergencies across the Gold Coast, with all gas work carried out under a Queensland gas work licence and plumbing work covered by QBCC licence 15243081. Details on our emergency plumbing page.