If you are applying for your first licence or a different licence (as an individual), you will need to prove your identity as well as have the necessary qualifications and experience. Go to the Proof of identity requirement page and the Licence classes and qualifications page for more information.

Proof of identity requirement
Licence classes and qualifications

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No overseas qualifications are approved for licensing in NSW. Overseas applicants are required to demonstrate they have the skills and knowledge necessary to be granted a licence or certificate. In NSW, the standard applied to assess the skills and knowledge of the applicant is an Australian training package qualification.

Skills assessment

Applicants from overseas who have already migrated to Australia, for example a person sponsored by an employer, should approach a Registered Training Organisation for an assessment of their skills and knowledge for the licence class relevant to their trade. For a list of licence classes and their qualification requirements as well as a list of Registered Training Organisations who will assess your skills and knowledge, follow the links below.

List of licence classes and qualifications
List of Registered Training Organisations in PDF format (size: 41kb)

The General Skilled Migration Program

Some applicants may have come to Australia through the Commonwealth Government’s General Skilled Migration Program for selected countries and trade occupations. The five countries currently under the program are:

• United Kingdom
• India
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• Philippines.

The current trade occupations are:

• electrician
• plumber
• refrigeration and air-conditioning mechanic
• carpenter
• joiner
• bricklayer.

Under the Migration Program, applicants may apply to VETASSESS for assessment of their skills and knowledge before coming to Australia. For information about how to have an assessment done contact VETASSESS.

Any applicant under the Migration Program who is issued with an Off-Shore Technical Skills Record from VETASSESS, is eligible to be granted:

• a provisional tradesperson certificate for electricians and air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and roof plumbers or
• a provisional tradesperson certificate for plumbers, drainers and gasfitters.

Any applicant issued with a qualification through VETASSESS is eligible to be granted a contractor licence or supervisor’s certificate for carpentry, bricklaying and/or joinery.

Visit the VETASSESS website.

Provisional certificate conditions

The holder of a provisional certificate must:

• work under the supervision of a current holder of the full licence or qualified supervisor’s certificate for the same trade
• be enrolled in an approved training course towards the full licence or certificate.

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Before your licence expires, check that you have received a Renewal application form from Fair Trading.  If you haven’t, call 13 32 20 and let us know. It is your responsibility to renew your licence on time.

If you don’t renew your licence on time, you will have to make an extra payment called a ‘restoration charge’ (refer to Home building licence fees and charges). You can only restore your licence within three months of its expiry. After that, you will have to apply for a new licence resulting in a new licence number.

Caution: A new licence number means all your business documentation will need to be updated and you cannot trade until your new licence is issued.

Renewing your licence online

Fair Trading has introduced a new online facility for renewing licences where there are no changes on the licence. You will need to choose an alternative renewal method if there are changes to your details. Online renewal has been available to all licence holders since the end of April 2008.

For those licences and certificates where a fee is payable on renewal, a discount of $6.00 applies to online renewals.

To renew online, have your renewal application form on hand and go to the Government Licensing Service website. To start the process, you will need to enter your licence number and your renewal number. Remember, if you want to make any changes to your licence details such as your address, you will not be able to renew online. If you need any help using the online renewal service, call Fair Trading on 13 32 20. 

Renew your licence online through the Government Licensing website

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From 29 April 2005, the grounds on which we can refuse to renew or issue you with a licence have been extended to include, where:

• you have been previously disqualified from holding a licence
• your application is made using false information
• a close associate (who is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence) exercises a significant influence over you or the operation and management of your business.

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If you have an existing licence or certificate and wish to change the kind of work you are authorised to do, you need to lodge another licence application form. This change is called a variation. The fee will be different depending on the variation you want.

To change your licence from an individual contractor licence to a partnership/company licence, you will need to lodge a new application form in the name of the partnership or company. It may save you time to call us on 13 32 20 first and check that you have all the necessary documents.

Also in this section you will find information about proof of identity requirements, your responsibillities as a licensee and the end to the 20 year rule.

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The Home Building Act 1989 prohibits a company from advertising, quoting, contracting or arranging for any residential or specialist work to be carried out without having a current contractor licence.

The maximum penalty for a company contracting to do residential or specialist work without a licence is $110,000 (for partnerships the maximum penalty is $22,000).

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A company or partnership that is applying for a contractor licence is required to specify the name of its proposed nominated qualified supervisor and the nominated supervisor must consent to be the supervisor for the company/partnership.

If only one qualified supervisor is nominated, they must also hold a current endorsed individual contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate that includes all classes of work that the company wishes to contract for. It may be necessary for the company to nominate more than one supervisor to cover all classes of work that the company proposes to carry out.

The holder of a company or partnership contractor licence is required to notify Fair Trading within 7 days of its ceasing to have a nominated supervisor. Failure to notify is an offence.

If, without prior consent having been given by Fair Trading, the holder of a company or partnership licence does not have a nominated supervisor which is acceptable to Fair Trading for a period exceeding 30 days, the licence will be cancelled.

The nominated supervisor of a licence is required to notify Fair Trading within 7 days of them ceasing to be the nominated supervisor for that licensee. Failure to notify is an offence.

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An acceptable nominated supervisor is one that is:

• a director of the company; or
• a member of the partnership, or
• an existing or proposed employee.

A supervisor cannot be accepted for nomination if they are:

• a casual employee;
• a temporary employee;
• a sub-contractor.

An ‘employee’ -

• is entitled to all the benefits of all relevant industry Awards;
• is a ‘worker’ for purposes of Workers Compensation legislation;
• pays tax under the PAYE (pay as you earn) System and receives Tax Stamps or a Group Certificate for the tax deducted from their wages;
• has the hours they worked recorded in their employer's Wages Book and is entitled to a statement with each wages payment indicating the hours for which they are paid and any deductions (including tax) made;
• is subject to the control and direction of their employer in matters not affecting their responsibility as a supervisor (eg. the scheduling of work performed by the employee, their starting and finishing times, etc).

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If the supervisor is nominated for another licensee, Fair Trading must give approval for dual nomination. Fair Trading will request additional information when considering the proposed nominee.

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The nominated supervisor is responsible for the carrying out of all relevant work undertaken by the contractor. The supervisor actually in control of work is guilty of improper conduct if codes of practice, ordinances or regulations are breached, if unsuitable materials are used or the work is not done in a good and workmanlike manner.

A nominated supervisor must discharge their responsibilities as the nominated supervisor for their employer personally and cannot delegate them to another person.

This does not mean that the nominated supervisor must be present at the site at all times if the work being carried out is residential building work.

However, when the nominated supervisor is absent, the nominated supervisor should:

• ensure that any work is done by the holder of an endorsed licence, supervisor certificate or registration certificate or under the supervision of the holder of an endorsed licence or supervisor certificate authorising its holder to supervise that work;
• have arrangements in place to ensure that the work is, or has been done properly (e.g. be readily contactable to give instructions or on their return, promptly inspect work done in their absence).

If the nominated supervisor ceases to be a director, partner or employee, they must notify Fair Trading of this fact within 7 days. Failure to notify is an offence.

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A company Contractor Licence is cancelled if the company has become the subject of a winding up order or has been voluntarily wound up.

If a company is wound up, it is the responsibility of the directors to immediately surrender the licence card to a Fair Trading Centre or Government Access Centre, or if unable to do so, lodge a statement signed by a current director providing details of why the card cannot be surrendered.

If a director of a company that has been wound up due to insolvency holds an individual or partnership Contractor Licence, or is the director of another company that holds a Contractor licence, it may result in an application for renewal of the licence being refused.

In this situation, if the director of the affected company as an individual, director of another company or member of a partnership  holds the class of Building or Swimming pool Building, the individual, partnership or company Contractor Licence may not be renewed. If the individual, partnership or company Contractor Licence is for a class other than Building or Swimming pool Building, the licence if approved for renewal may have the condition imposed ‘Only for Contracts not exceeding $12,000’.

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An individual or partnership Contractor Licence will be cancelled if the licence holder has the class of Building or Swimming pool Building and the individual or member of the partnership becomes bankrupt.

It is the responsibility of the individual or member to immediately surrender the licence card to a Fair Trading Centre or Government Access Centre, or if unable to do so, lodge a statement signed by the individual or member providing details of why the card cannot be surrendered.

If the individual or member of the partnership who holds Contractor Licence becomes bankrupt and they don’t hold a licence in the class of Building or Swimming pool Building, they should notify Fair Trading that they have been declared bankrupt.

Fair Trading will request additional information from the licence holder in relation to the bankruptcy and will consider the information in determining whether the licence should be cancelled.

If the individual or partnership Contractor Licence is not cancelled, the licence will have the condition imposed ‘Only for Contracts not exceeding $12,000’.

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