The three thresholds, in one table
| The work | Licence needed when | Who licenses it |
|---|---|---|
| Building work generally | Valued over $3,300 | QBCC |
| Building work involving hydraulic services design | Valued over $1,100 | QBCC |
| Plumbing and drainage, drainage on its own, gas fitting, fire protection, termite management (chemical), mechanical services, building design, site classification, completed residential building inspection | Any value | QBCC |
| Electrical work | Any value — no dollar threshold | Not the QBCC. See below |
Source: QBCC, When you need a licence, read 2 September 2026. The QBCC is the authority on its own thresholds — if your job sits near a line, ask them, not us.
Electrical work is not on that list, and that is what catches people out
Queensland does not license electrical work through the QBCC. It sits under separate electrical safety law, and there is no dollar figure in it at all. The Queensland Government's own guidance is blunt about it: “If you are planning certain types of work using electrical equipment, you must hold an appropriate electrical work licence,” and “if the licensed electrical work is carried out as part of a business or undertaking, you must hold an electrical contractor licence.”
So the $3,300 figure tells you nothing about a small electrical job. A job under $3,300 that involves the wiring still needs a licensed electrician, because the QBCC threshold was never the rule that applied to it. Two different laws, two different regulators, one very common mix-up.
Source: Queensland Government, Electrical licences, read 2 September 2026.
The same is true across the country, and the rule is worth reading once: electrical and plumbing work needs a licence whatever it costs.
Find a licensed tradie in QueenslandWhat “hydraulic services design” actually means
It is the design of the pipework, not the laying of it — and the threshold for it is a third of the ordinary one, which surprises people. The QBCC describes the licence as covering the plans, specifications and documents for sanitary drainage, water services, stormwater, gas services, fire hydrant systems and domestic fire sprinkler systems.
In a house-sized job you will meet it on a renovation that moves wet areas around, or on a new build where someone has to draw the drainage. If a set of plans is being drawn for any of those, the $1,100 line applies rather than the $3,300 one.
How the value of the work is worked out
Honestly: the QBCC publishes the thresholds without spelling out, on the page that states them, exactly what goes into the number. Plenty of sites will tell you it is labour plus materials plus GST. That may well be right, but we have not read it at the QBCC, so we are not going to put it in bold and let you rely on it.
What that means for you is simple enough. If a quote lands anywhere near $3,300, treat it as though the threshold applies, and ask the tradie to show you the licence. If it matters — a borderline job, a big deposit, a dispute brewing — ring the QBCC and ask about your specific job. That call is free and it is the only answer that binds anyone.
When nobody needs a QBCC licence
The QBCC lists the exemptions, and a few of them come up in ordinary houses:
- An employee of a licensed contractor — though not where they are responsible for quality control, or doing occupational work in their own right.
- An owner working on their own property, where the work is valued at no more than $11,000.
- An owner-builder working under a permit.
- Handyman work under $3,300 — and this is the one to read twice, because the exemption excludes electrical and plumbing work. A handyman can do a lot under that figure. They cannot do your wiring or your pipes.
- Architects practising as architects, and the installation of home insulation.
The QBCC also points to a long tail of narrower exemptions in Schedule 1 of the QBCC Regulation 2018 and Schedule 1A of the QBCC Act. If someone tells you their job is exempt, that is where they should be able to point.
Check the number yourself before the work starts
A licence you check afterwards is a licence you check too late. Queensland's register is public, free and takes about a minute, and a tradie who is licensed will hand you the number without being asked twice.
We are not going to rewrite the how-to here, because we already have one that covers every state: how to check a tradie's licence yourself. For Queensland it is the QBCC licensee register, and electricians are searched separately.
Three questions worth asking before you say yes
- “What class of licence do you hold, and does it cover this work?” Queensland has a great many licence classes and they are not interchangeable. A builder's licence is not a plumbing licence and neither one is an electrical licence.
- “Is this job over $3,300 all up?” If yes, the QBCC threshold is in play. If it is close, treat it as though it is.
- “Who is doing the plumbing and the electrical, and are they licensed for it?” On a job with several trades, the person quoting you is often not the person doing the licensed parts. Ask for those names too.
This page explains Queensland's published licence thresholds. It is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a licence check. Yamate does not issue, assess or certify licences, and we do not decide whether a licence is required for your job — the QBCC does, and Queensland's electrical safety regulator does for electrical work. Every figure above was read at the regulator's own page on 2 September 2026 and is linked beside the claim; thresholds and rules change, so check the date on this page against theirs. Queensland only — the numbers on this page are Queensland's and do not apply anywhere else.