How to check a handyman licence in Tasmania

Who issues it, and where to search

CBOS publishes both the value threshold for licensed building work and the occupational licences that apply at any value. Tasmania's small market makes word of mouth unusually dominant here, which is exactly the condition in which an unlicensed operator keeps working.

How to check it, in order

1. 1Ask for the licence number and the exact name it is held under. It is often a company rather than the person standing in front of you, and the register searches on the name it was issued to.
2. 2Search Find a licensed tradesperson yourself. A photograph of a card proves that a licence once existed, not that it is current.
3. 3Check the class or category covers this work. A licence that is valid for one kind of work is not a licence for another, and that is the gap that most often matters.
4. 4Check the expiry date and any conditions or disciplinary history recorded against it.
5. 5Confirm the ABN on the quote matches the entity named on the licence, using ABN Lookup. A mismatch between who is licensed and who you are contracting with is worth asking about before you pay a deposit.

What the licence covers

Nothing, in the sense the question is usually meant: there is no such thing as a handyman licence anywhere in Australia. What exists is a boundary. Unlicensed work is permitted below a value threshold and outside the reserved trades, and licensed work is licensed no matter who does it or how small the job is.

What you can legally do yourself

The same boundary applies to you. Fixed electrical wiring and gas work are licensed everywhere with no householder exemption. Plumbing has narrow, jurisdiction-specific exemptions. Building work is permitted below a threshold, and above it needs either a licensed builder or an owner-builder permit.