How to check a tradie is licensed, in every Australian state
How do I check if a tradesperson is licensed in Australia?
Each state and territory publishes a free public register of licensed tradespeople. Search the register for the state the work is happening in, using the licence number the tradesperson gave you, and check the name on the licence matches the business you are hiring and that the licence covers the class of work.
A licence number written on the side of a van proves nothing on its own. Anyone can print a number. What makes it worth something is that every state and territory publishes a register you can search for free, in about thirty seconds, from your phone while the person is standing in your kitchen.
The awkward part is that there are eight of them, they are run by eight different agencies, and they are named things like "Service NSW Public Register" and "WA Building Commission Licence Search". So people don't check. Here is the short version for each.
Where each register is
Search the register for the state the work is being done in, not the state the business is based in. A Queensland electrician working on a job in northern New South Wales needs to satisfy New South Wales.
- NSW - Service NSW "Verify a licence" search, covering trade licences and contractor licences.
- VIC - the Victorian Building Authority for building trades, and Energy Safe Victoria for electrical work.
- QLD - the Queensland Building and Construction Commission licence search.
- WA - Building and Energy, part of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
- SA - Consumer and Business Services licensing register.
- TAS - Consumer, Building and Occupational Services.
- ACT - Access Canberra's licence and registration search.
- NT - the Northern Territory Building Practitioners Board.
What to check once you have found them
Finding a record is the beginning, not the end. Four things on that page matter more than the fact it exists at all.
- The name matches. A licence held by a person is not a licence held by the company quoting you, and a licence in a former business partner's name is a common and expensive surprise.
- The class covers the work. A restricted electrical licence is real, current, and still does not permit a switchboard upgrade.
- The expiry date is in the future. Licences lapse quietly and people keep working.
- There are no conditions or disciplinary notes. Registers publish these, and almost nobody scrolls far enough to read them.
The licence is not the insurance
These get conflated constantly. A licence says the person is permitted to do the work. Public liability insurance is what pays for it when they put a foot through your ceiling, and for most residential work nobody checks it at all.
Ask for the certificate of currency, not a policy number. A certificate of currency names the insurer, the insured entity, the amount of cover, and the period it runs for, on one page. It is the document the insurer issues precisely so it can be shown to people like you, and any business that carries cover can produce one the same day.
Why we do this check for you
On Rated Tradies every listing shows what has actually been verified rather than what was claimed: whether the ABN is registered and active with the Australian Business Register, whether a licence has been checked against the state register and when, and whether public liability cover is current.
Where a check has not been done, the listing says that too. A directory that only ever shows green ticks is not telling you anything, because it never had the option of telling you anything else.