Skip to content

Licensing · NSW

Trade licensing in New South Wales

The short answer

NSW Fair Trading licenses building, electrical and plumbing work, and you can check any licence free on the NSW public register before you sign anything.

Checked against 8 published sources, listed in full at the end of this page. How we source this

Who regulates what

BuildingNSW Fair Trading
Licenses builders and trade contractors. A licence is required above a value threshold, and home building compensation cover is required above a higher one.NSW Government ↗
ElectricalNSW Fair Trading
Electrical work is licensed with no homeowner exemption. NSW publishes a plain-language page on what electricians may do and what you must not.NSW Government ↗
Plumbing and gasNSW Fair Trading
Plumbing, draining and gasfitting are separate licence classes. Work must be notified and is subject to inspection.NSW Fair Trading ↗
Consumer disputesNSW Fair Trading, then NCAT
Free conciliation first. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal hears building and consumer disputes without requiring lawyers.NSW Fair Trading ↗

How to check a licence in NSW

  1. Ask for the licence number and the exact name it is held under, which is often a company rather than the person on site.
  2. Search the NSW public register yourself rather than accepting a photo of a card.
  3. Check the licence class covers this type of work, and that it has not expired.
  4. Look for conditions or disciplinary history recorded against the licence.
  5. Confirm the ABN on ABN Lookup matches the entity named on the quote.

New South Wales runs one of the more consolidated systems in the country. Building, electrical and plumbing licensing all sit with NSW Fair Trading rather than being split across separate bodies, which makes checking simpler here than in most states.

Two checks that are the same wherever you live

Almost every trade credential in Australia is issued by a state, so checking one means knowing which register to search. Two are national, which makes them the easiest checks available to you:

  • Air conditioning: an ARCtick refrigerant handling licence from the Australian Refrigeration Council. Handling refrigerant without one is an offence.
  • Solar: accreditation with Solar Accreditation Australia, which took over from the Clean Energy Council on 29 February 2024. Without it your system cannot generate the federal certificates that fund the discount.

Related questions

Is there a free way to check a NSW builder's licence?
Yes. The NSW public register is free, needs no account, and shows licence status, class and expiry. It is the only check worth relying on, because a licence card proves nothing about whether the licence is still current.

Sources

Every source below was fetched and its response recorded on the date shown. Where a government site blocks automated clients, that is noted rather than reported as a successful check.

  1. Public Register of licences · NSW GovernmentChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  2. NSW Fair Trading · NSW Fair TradingChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  3. Electricians · NSW GovernmentChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  4. Building or renovating a home · NSW GovernmentChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  5. Refrigerant Handling Licence · Australian Refrigeration CouncilChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  6. About accreditation · Solar Accreditation AustraliaChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  7. ABN Lookup · Australian Business RegisterChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  8. Consumer rights and guarantees · Australian Competition and Consumer CommissionChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK

Read next

Other states and territories: