How to check a builder or tradie licence in the ACT

Canberra runs its own licensing scheme, separate from NSW over the border, and most checks happen on Access Canberra’s free public registers. Here’s how to use them, what the results mean and what to do if something doesn’t add up.

Running a check on the Access Canberra registers

1. Get the details first. Ask for the tradie’s full name or company name and their licence number. ACT builders must show their licence number in their advertising, and a builder’s contract has to state their licence details, so it should already be on the quote.
2. Open the right register. Use the List of licensed Builders, the List of licensed Electricians or the List of licensed Plumber, Drainer and Gasfitters. The rest are on Access Canberra’s public registers list.
3. Search. Type the name or licence number into the search box. The number is quickest.
4. Open Details. The results row only shows the name and number. The useful part sits behind the Details link.

What the Details page tells you

You’ll see the licence number, the ACN for a company, the class, the status, the expiry date and any endorsements, conditions or nominees (the licensed people responsible for a company’s work). Disciplinary action shows here too, and Access Canberra also keeps a separate Disciplinary Register.

Builder licences come in four classes, and the class matters as much as the status:

• Class A: building work with no height limit.
• Class B: buildings up to three storeys.
• Class C: houses, townhouses and other homes up to two storeys, plus garages, carports and sheds.
• Class D: non-structural work only.

For electricians, an unrestricted or electrical contractor licence covers general wiring. The restricted classes only cover disconnecting and reconnecting equipment as part of another trade, such as air conditioning or gas appliances. On the plumbing register, plumber, drainer and gasfitter are separate occupations, so match the one shown to your job.

Red flags worth pausing on

• Any status other than current. Expired, suspended, surrendered and cancelled licences all show up.
• The wrong class. A class C builder quoting a three-storey job, a class D builder quoting structural work, or a restricted electrician quoting new circuits.
• A name or ABN that doesn’t match. The licence holder should be the business on the quote. Run the ABN through ABN Lookup and make sure it belongs to the same name.
• A licence number on the quote that doesn’t match. If it brings up someone else or nothing at all, stop and ask.
• Only an interstate licence. Builders, electricians, plumbers, drainers and gasfitters are excluded from automatic mutual recognition in the ACT until 1 July 2027, so a tradie based over the border still needs an ACT licence to work here.
• No sign on site. Where building work needs a licensed builder, the builder must put up a “Notice about building work” sign showing their name and licence number, and the certifier’s.

When the ACT requires a licence

Electrical, plumbing, drainage and gas work always needs a licensed tradie. Building work that needs building approval, like a new house, an extension, structural changes or a whole new roof, needs a licensed builder or an owner-builder licence. Some small jobs are exempt from approval, including most fences up to 1.8 metres and retaining walls up to 1.2 metres, but a fence that forms part of a pool enclosure is not. A building certifier can tell you where your job sits.

Painters, tilers, waterproofers, carpenters, concreters, landscapers, fencers and handymen don’t need a licence of their own here. The ACT Government has consulted on licensing several of these trades, but says any changes aren’t expected before 2027.

A few trades answer to other regulators. Pest controllers need an Environmental Authorisation from the ACT EPA. Locksmiths who install or service locks need a security licence. Air-con installers need a national ARCtick refrigerant handling licence, plus an electrical licence for the wiring. Asbestos removalists are licensed by WorkSafe ACT, and rubbish removal businesses need a Waste Transporter Registration with City Services. Our guide to tradie licences covers how the rules compare around the country.

Insurance and warranties on ACT building work

For residential building work that needs building approval and costs $12,000 or more, on a house or apartment building of up to three storeys, the builder must take out residential building work insurance or a Master Builders Fidelity Fund certificate before work starts. You should get evidence of it, and the minimum cover is $200,000. Residential building work of $12,000 or more also carries statutory warranties: six years for structural elements and two years for everything else, counted from completion.

Reporting unlicensed or unsafe work

If someone is working without the right licence, or the work looks unsafe, tell Access Canberra through its building and planning complaint form or on 13 22 81. The Construction Occupations Registrar can take disciplinary action against licensees. For a contract or payment dispute, try Access Canberra’s fair trading team or the Conflict Resolution Service first, then the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

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