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Take on a bathroom or a deck and you can cross into licensed work without noticing. The trigger is the job value, and it differs by state.
Take on a bathroom or a deck and you can cross into licensed work without noticing. It comes down to the job value. In New South Wales you need a licence for work over $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST. In Queensland it's building work over $3,300.
Some work needs a licence at any price
In New South Wales, electrical, plumbing, draining and gasfitting, and air conditioning and refrigeration work need a licence whatever the job costs. Queensland licenses plumbing and drainage and gas fitting at any value, and its Electrical Safety Office licenses electricians.
Victoria counts combined trades
In Victoria, work over $10,000 needs registration with the Building and Plumbing Commission, unless it's only one trade such as painting, tiling or plastering. Combine plastering and painting on a job over $10,000 and you need to be registered.
Quoting counts too
In New South Wales the licence covers advertising and contracting for the work, not just doing it. Unlicensed work can mean fines of $22,000 for an individual or $110,000 for a company.
Your trade's licence class
Carpentry, painting, structural landscaping and roofing are licensed classes in both New South Wales and Queensland above each state's job value. In Queensland a handyman doesn't need a licence for a job of $3,300 or less that isn't electrical or plumbing work and doesn't need an occupational licence.
Air con installers need a Refrigerant Handling Licence to work with refrigerant, and the business needs a Refrigerant Trading Authorisation to acquire, store or dispose of it. In Victoria, plumbing needs a registration or licence from the Building and Plumbing Commission, or the worker must be a plumbing apprentice, and every electrical worker needs a licence from Energy Safe.
More detail and each regulator's page are in our guide: Do I need a licence for my trade?. Check with your state's regulator before you take the job.
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