diff --git a/tooling/hibernate-gradle-plugin/hibernate-gradle-plugin.gradle b/tooling/hibernate-gradle-plugin/hibernate-gradle-plugin.gradle
index 4c893be0e882..01266b040003 100644
--- a/tooling/hibernate-gradle-plugin/hibernate-gradle-plugin.gradle
+++ b/tooling/hibernate-gradle-plugin/hibernate-gradle-plugin.gradle
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ gradle.taskGraph.whenReady { tg ->
 	}
 
 	// verify credentials for publishing the plugin up front to avoid any work (only if we are publishing)
-	if ( tg.hasTask( ":publishPlugins" ) && project.tasks.publishPlugins.enabled  ) {
+	if ( tg.hasTask( tasks.publishPlugins ) && project.tasks.publishPlugins.enabled  ) {
 		// we are publishing the plugin - make sure there is a credentials pair
 		//
 		// first, check the `GRADLE_PUBLISH_KEY` / `GRADLE_PUBLISH_SECRET` combo (env vars)