When a licence is needed, and when it is not
| The trade | Licence needed? | The line |
|---|---|---|
| Builder, including owner–builder | Yes | Any value. Class A, B, C or D, by height and building class |
| Electrician | Yes | Any value. No dollar threshold exists |
| Plumber, drainer, gasfitter, medical gas installer | Yes | Any value. No dollar threshold exists |
| Gas appliance worker | Yes | Any value |
| Building surveyor (private certifier), building assessor, works assessor, plumbing plan certifier | Yes | Any value |
| Demolition of a building, or installing a swimming pool | Yes, and more | Specialist building work — the builder needs an endorsement on top of the licence |
| Carpenter, bricklayer, block layer, concreter, glazier, painter, plasterer, tiler, waterproofer | No, not currently | Not licensed occupations in the ACT today. Under review, no change expected before 2027 |
Source: ACT Government, Construction licences, read 3 September 2026.
The ACT asks what the occupation is, not what the job costs
Queensland has a $3,300 line and New South Wales has a $5,000 one. The ACT has neither. Its rule is a sentence long: “To provide a construction service in the ACT, you will need a licence.” A $200 powerpoint and a $200,000 extension are governed by exactly the same words.
Even the builder classes are drawn without money in them. They are set by how tall the building is and what class it is, not by what the contract is worth.
| Builder class | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Class A (unlimited) | Building work of unlimited height on any building class, plus basic building work |
| Class B (medium rise) | Buildings of 3 storeys or lower, any building class, plus basic building work |
| Class C (low rise residential) | Buildings of 2 storeys or lower that are class 1, 2 or 10a — houses, townhouses, garages — plus basic building work |
| Class D | Non-structural basic building work only |
None of those classes covers specialist building work. For that the builder needs an endorsement added to the licence, and there are exactly two kinds: demolishing a building, and installing a swimming pool.
“Basic building work” is a legal term, not a casual one. The Building Act 2004 defines it as erecting a prefabricated class 10a building, erecting a class 10a outbuilding, installing a fireplace or solid-fuel heater, or non-structural work. It is defined by what the work is, never by what it costs.
Sources: ACT Government, Construction licences, and the Building Act 2004 (ACT) s 10, both read 3 September 2026.
The trades the ACT does not licence, and the change coming
This is the part that surprises people, and it is the ACT Government saying it, not us. Carpenters and bricklayers are not licensed occupations here. Neither are concreters, glaziers, painters and decorators, plasterers, tilers, waterproofers or block layers.
The ACT is looking at changing that. Its Trade Licensing Project is exploring extending licensing to exactly those trades, consultation has closed, and the government says implementation of any changes is not expected before 2027, with no final decision until an impact assessment is done.
So for now, if you are hiring a tiler or a painter in Canberra, there is no licence to check. What you can check is whether they are a company in good standing, whether they carry public liability cover, and whether the licensed trades on the same job — the sparky, the plumber, the builder running it — are all on the register.
Source: ACT Government, Extension of trade licensing, read 3 September 2026.
Owner–builders are licensed here too, which is unusual
In most states an owner-builder holds a permit that sits outside the licensing system. In the ACT an owner–builder holds a licence under the same Act as everybody else, and takes on the same responsibility as a licensed builder to supervise the work and make it comply with the Building Act 2004.
An owner–builder licence is tied to a specific building approval and covers class 1, 2 and 10a buildings. It does not authorise specialist building work, so an owner–builder may not demolish a building or construct a swimming pool.
Over $12,000, your contract gets teeth
Here is the ACT’s one dollar figure, and it decides your protections, not who may hold the tools. Part 6 of the Building Act 2004 — statutory warranties, standard contract conditions and residential building insurance — does not apply where the cost of the work is less than $12,000.
Above that line, the builder warrants the work by force of the Act whether or not it is written into your contract. Those warranties run six years for a structural element and two years for a non-structural one, measured from the completion day.
Sources: Building Act 2004 (ACT) s 87 and Building (General) Regulation 2008 (ACT) ss 37–38, current in-force versions, read 3 September 2026.
Check the register before the work starts
Access Canberra publishes the licence registers, and there is a catch worth knowing: there is no single search box. Each occupation has its own register, so you pick the trade first — licensed Builders, Electricians, Plumber, Drainer and Gasfitters, Certifiers, Building assessors, Work assessors, Architects, Gas appliance workers.
They all live on one page: the Access Canberra public registers list. Two others on that page are worth a look before you sign anything — the Disciplinary Register, and the Automatic Mutual Recognition Public Register for tradies working here on an interstate licence.
We have a walk-through of how to search every state’s register: how to check a tradie’s licence yourself.
Three questions worth asking before you say yes
- “What class is your builder licence?” Class D covers non-structural basic building work only. If your job moves a wall, that licence does not reach it.
- “Is anyone demolishing or putting in a pool?” Both are specialist building work and need an endorsement, not just a licence. Ask to see it on the register entry.
- “Who is doing the electrical and the plumbing, and what are their licence numbers?” On a job with several trades the person quoting you is often not the person doing the licensed parts. Those are separate registers, so you need the names.
This page explains the ACT’s published licensing rules. It is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a licence check. Yamate does not issue, assess, endorse or certify any licence, and we do not decide whether a licence is required for your job — the Construction Occupations Registrar does, and no regulator has reviewed this page. Every claim above was read at an ACT Government source or in the current in-force Act or Regulation on 3 September 2026 and is linked beside the claim; rules change, and the trade-licensing review may change this page’s answer, so check the date on this page against theirs. ACT only — none of this applies anywhere else.