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Licensing · WA

Trade licensing in Western Australia

The short answer

Building and Energy, part of the WA Government, licenses builders, electricians, plumbers and gasfitters, and runs the licence searches for all of them.

Checked against 7 published sources, listed in full at the end of this page. How we source this

Who regulates what

BuildingBuilding and Energy
Registers builders and building surveyors, and handles building service complaints.Government of Western Australia ↗
ElectricalBuilding and Energy
Electrical contractor licensing and electrical worker licensing, plus electrical safety regulation.Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA) ↗
Plumbing and gasBuilding and Energy
Plumbing contractor and tradesperson licensing, and gasfitting authorisation, sit with the same body.Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA) ↗
Consumer disputesBuilding and Energy, then the State Administrative Tribunal
Complaints about regulated building service work go to Building and Energy first.Government of Western Australia ↗

How to check a licence in WA

  1. Ask for the licence or registration number and the entity name.
  2. Use the Building and Energy licence searches, which cover builders, electricians, plumbers and gasfitters in one place.
  3. Check the class covers the work and the licence is current.
  4. For plumbing, confirm the work will be notified as required.
  5. Confirm the ABN on ABN Lookup matches the quote.

Western Australia consolidates more trades under a single regulator than most jurisdictions. Building, electrical, plumbing and gas all sit with Building and Energy, so one place answers most licensing questions here.

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.

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. Building and Energy · Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (WA)Checked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  2. Building and Energy · Government of Western AustraliaChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  3. National Construction Code · Australian Building Codes BoardChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  4. Refrigerant Handling Licence · Australian Refrigeration CouncilChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  5. About accreditation · Solar Accreditation AustraliaChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  6. ABN Lookup · Australian Business RegisterChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  7. Consumer rights and guarantees · Australian Competition and Consumer CommissionChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK

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