General Building Licensing Information

NSW

The process of getting a builders' license in New South Wales is managed and regulated by the Department of Fair Trading.

Licensing

For home building or trade work you must have a contractor license before you contract, sub-contract or advertise to do residential building work where the reasonable market cost of the labour and materials is more than $5,000 (including GST)

License Types

  • Building

License Application

You must lodge your application and payment in person at a Service NSW centre.

https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/trades-and-businesses/licensing-and-qualifications/general-building-work

Experience

You must have at least 2 years’ full-time relevant industry experience working in a wide range of building construction work. Also, your experience must run across all stages of construction. 

Qualifications

  1. CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction - For further information on this qualification click here

Plus, one of the following:

  • a current Carpentry or Bricklaying contractor license or supervisor certificate, or an approved qualification that would allow the issue of such a license (for details of approved qualifications,
  • Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) BCG50206 or CPC50208
  • Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) CPC50210 including the following units:
    • CPCCBC5004A Supervise and apply quality standards to the selection of building and construction materials
    • CPCCBC5005A Select and manage building and construction contractors
    • CPCCBC5007A or CPCCBC5007B Administer the legal obligations of a building and construction contract
    • CPCCBC5009A Identify services layout and connection methods in medium rise construction projects.
  • Bachelor of Housing from an Australian University or a Degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Architecture, Housing, Construction, Construction Management, Construction Project Management, Construction Economics, Applied Science (Building), Quantity Surveying from an Australian University.
  1. Degree in Building, Construction, Construction Management, Construction Project Management, Construction Economics, Applied Science (Building), or Quantity Surveying from an Australian University which requires the applicant to undertake the equivalent of 4 years’ full-time study and a mandatory work placement.

National Police Check

Nil

Financial Requirements

Nil

Building Insurance Requirements

If you’re a licensed builder or tradesperson in NSW, you need to get home building compensation (HBC) cover for each home building project over $20,000 including GST.

HBC cover, which used to be called ‘home warranty insurance’, protects homeowners as a last resort if you can’t complete building work or fix defects.

You need this cover to work directly for a developer, homeowner or owner-builder for new homes, new low-rise ‘multi-unit’ buildings of three storeys or less, or home renovations, unless exempt. Sub-contractors do not need the cover, because the head contractor has covered the work.

You must give proof of the HBC cover to your customer before starting work or asking for any payment or deposit.
 

More Information

For more information on applying for a NSW Builders' License, or to learn more about the process, visit the Department of Fair Trading website.