INSIGHT · LICENSING & COMPLIANCE
Eight jurisdictions, eight different registers.
A licence check is true on the day it ran.
Every state and territory has its own public licence search, and they do not show the same things. The NSW check lists licence categories, expiry dates, conditions and disciplinary items; the Queensland full history adds the licensee's maximum annual revenue; Victoria keeps disciplinary outcomes on a separate register; Tasmania's register shows current licence holders only. None of the register pages we read says its search shows insurance. A check proves what the register showed on the day it was run, so the date and what was seen belong in the record.
Analysed 9 October 2026 · licence search pages of Building Commission NSW, Service NSW, the Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria), QBCC, CBS and SA.GOV.AU, WA Building and Energy, Building Standards Tasmania, ACT Planning and the NT Building Practitioners Board · all pages read 9 October 2026, the Victorian, SA, Tasmanian and NT regulator pages through a rendering proxy because the sites block automated access.
Key takeaways
- Each register answers a different question: NSW's licence check includes conditions, public warnings, cautions, penalty notices and prosecution results where the holder was found guilty. Queensland's full history report adds licence classes, conditions and the maximum revenue for the licensee's financial category. Western Australia's builder register names each contractor's nominated supervisor.
- Disciplinary history is not always on the licence page: Victoria's Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) publishes disciplinary action, prosecutions, suspensions and conditions on a separate Compliance and Enforcement Register, and states that not every complaint or compliance activity appears on it.
- Insurance is a separate check: NSW lists "Check for Home Building Compensation (HBC) insurance" as its own service, apart from the licence check. The Victorian page lists whether the work requires insurance as something to check in addition to registration.
- Registers change and some forget: WA states its registers are updated daily. Tasmania's register "will only display the details of current licence holders", and from 1 October 2026 the Tasmanian regulator's functions moved to two new agencies with new websites.
- We would store the check as a dated event: A system-design recommendation: for each subcontractor engagement, record the register, the date and time of the check, the entity and number seen, the class and conditions shown, and a saved copy of the result.
01
Eight registers,
as each regulator describes them.
As read on 9 October 2026, each regulator describes its own search as follows. Where a page does not say what is shown, that is recorded as not stated.
The SA register asked us to confirm we were not a robot and the Access Canberra register did not render, so we could not read either result screen; both rows rest on the gateway pages.
| Jurisdiction | Register | What the regulator says it shows | Insurance on the register page |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Verify NSW licence check (Building Commission NSW) | Name, number, categories, expiry dates; type and current status; cancellation or suspension; conditions; public warnings, formal cautions, penalty infringement notices, non-compliance with a tribunal order; prosecution results where the holder was found guilty | Not on the licence check; HBC insurance has its own check |
| Victoria | BPC practitioner search, plus Compliance and Enforcement Register | Registration or licence status, type of work allowed, conditions or limits; the second register holds disciplinary action, prosecutions, suspensions, cancellations and conditions | Not stated; listed as a separate thing to check |
| Queensland | QBCC licensee register and full history report | Licence number, name, licence classes, conditions or endorsements, disciplinary record, maximum revenue for the financial category; option to search related entities | Not stated |
| South Australia | CBS Occupational Public Register | Searchable by licence number or surname or trading name; covers builders, plumbers, gas fitters and electricians among others | Not stated |
| Western Australia | Online Licence Search and published registers (Building and Energy) | Builder register: status, registration number, former number, entity, business address, date first registered, nominated supervisor, any conditions | Not stated |
| Tasmania | Licence search (Building Standards Tasmania) | Current licence holders only, in categories including builder, electrician, plumber and gas-fitter | Not stated |
| ACT | Access Canberra public register of licensed construction practitioners | Not described on the ACT Planning page; licences have classes A to D, endorsements and possible conditions | Not stated |
| NT | Public Register of Building Practitioners (Building Practitioners Board) | Search by category, registration number, name, suburb and status (active, cancelled, suspended, expired, inactive) | Not stated |
02
Who is on the register
is not always who you engage.
Several registers separate the business that contracts from the person who supervises, or list a person and a company separately. A check against the wrong one is a check of somebody else.
- WA: contractor and practitioner: The builder register explains that a building contractor (BC number) "is authorised to contract to provide building services to others", while a building practitioner (BP number) may be nominated supervisor "but may not personally contract". Building and Energy adds: "Registered practitioners and contractors may have the same registration number", and it "does not publish business or trading names".
- SA: contractor licence and supervisor registration: SA.GOV.AU states that all building work must be supervised by a registered building work supervisor, that companies nominate a supervisor, and that a person without enough net assets for specified building work can apply for "a restricted licence as a subcontractor".
- Queensland: the person and the company: QBCC's fact sheet advises checking "the individual and any related entities (if there are any such as a company), as both will hold licences", and that the licence class must match the work.
- Electrical work can sit on another register: QBCC states that for electrical work "a licence from the Electrical Safety Office is mandatory". In WA, electrical, plumbing and gas licences are searched through the same Online Licence Search as building services.
03
Disciplinary history
lives in different places.
A licence that is current today may carry a record that only shows up elsewhere. Where each regulator puts that record decides how many searches one check takes.
- NSW: on the licence check: Building Commission NSW lists public warnings under section 23 of the Home Building Act 1989, formal cautions, penalty infringement notices, tribunal-order non-compliance and prosecution results (where the holder was found guilty) as part of the check, and points to clause 69 of the Home Building Regulation 2014 for the full list.
- Queensland: page one of the full history: The fact sheet states the first page of the licensee's full history report shows the disciplinary record, and that a "Yes" next to any item means more detail follows.
- Victoria: a second register: The BPC's Compliance and Enforcement Register may include disciplinary action, prosecutions and court outcomes, and suspensions, cancellations or conditions. The page states: "Not every complaint, enquiry, inspection or compliance activity appears on the register."
- NT: the search shows status, the complaint path is separate: The register's status filter includes cancelled and suspended. The Board's page describes disciplinary complaints going to the Director of Building Control, with possible penalties including suspension or loss of registration.
04
A check is a snapshot,
and some registers do not keep the past.
The register is a view of today. If the question about a subcontractor arrives a year after the engagement, the register may no longer show what it showed on the day.
- Tasmania shows current holders only: "This register will only display the details of current licence holders." Information about former licence holders is by application under the Right to Information Act 2009.
- WA's registers are dated daily: Building and Energy states that its published registers "are updated daily". The builder register PDF we downloaded on 9 October 2026 was headed "as at 08/10/2026". Its notes also record former F and S registration numbers being replaced as each registration is renewed.
- The regulator itself can move: From 1 October 2026, CBOS transitioned to Consumer Affairs Tasmania and Building Standards Tasmania. The notice states "Information is being updated on the new websites." A stored link or regulator name from before that date may already be out of date.
- Accuracy is disclaimed: The NT register states that "every endeavour is made to ensure that the information in this register is accurate, that may not always be possible". A saved copy of what was shown is the only record of what the builder saw.
05
Who needs a licence,
in the regulators' own words.
Thresholds and exempt trades differ by jurisdiction, and each regulator words them differently.
The same QBCC page uses $3,330 in one paragraph about unlicensed handypersons and $3,300 in others. South Australia's 2026 reforms on engaging unlicensed subcontractors are covered in our earlier piece.
| Jurisdiction | As the regulator page states it |
|---|---|
| NSW | A licence is required for "residential building work valued at more than $5,000 (incl GST) in labour and materials" and "all specialist work regardless of its cost". |
| Queensland | "Subcontractors contracted by a builder must hold the appropriate QBCC licence if they are performing building work valued at $3,300 or more." Plumbing, drainage, gas fitting and fire protection need a QBCC licence regardless of value. |
| South Australia | Individuals and businesses must be licensed as building contractors, "including subcontractors if they run a business that carries out or organises building work". |
| Western Australia | "It is illegal for an individual, partnership or company to contract for or carry out a building service without first obtaining the appropriate licence or registration." Maps show the areas where a builder or painter must be registered. |
| ACT | Builders (including owner-builders), electricians, plumbers, drainers, gasfitters, building surveyors, building assessors, gas appliance workers, works assessors and plumbing plan certifiers must be licensed under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004. "Trades like carpenters and bricklayers do not currently need a licence in the ACT." |
What we would put in a system
For each subcontractor engagement, we would test for six fields. Together they turn a search someone once ran into a record that can be shown later.
Where agents help is narrow. An agent can read a subcontractor's licence card, quote or certificate, extract the licence number, entity, class and expiry, prompt the check on the right register, and draft the record with the saved result attached; a person confirms the match. No agent decides whether a subcontractor is licensed for the work, whether a licence is required, or whether an engagement complies. Those are for the regulator and your advisers.
| Field | Why it is load-bearing |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction and register searched | Eight registers show different things; Victoria needs two searches for licence and disciplinary history. |
| Entity and number as shown | The engaging entity has to match: a WA contractor and practitioner can share a number, and a Queensland person and company each hold licences. |
| Class, categories and conditions shown, against the scope engaged | QBCC and NSW both tie the licence class or category to the work; a current licence in the wrong class is not a match. |
| Status and expiry as shown, with date and time of the check | Registers update daily in WA, and Tasmania drops former holders; the check is true on its date only. |
| Saved copy of the result, and who ran it | The register can later show something different, or nothing. A saved page or extract is the evidence. |
| Separate insurance check, where one applies | Licence registers we read do not say they show insurance; NSW runs HBC insurance as its own check. |
- Materials & Labour: Where each subcontractor, their licence record and the dated check sit against the work they are engaged for.
- Compliance: Expiry dates and re-checks surfaced before the next engagement, not after.
- Document intelligence: Reads licence cards, certificates and quotes and drafts the fields; a person confirms the match.
- Trades: How the same record works from the subcontractor's side.
Questions worth asking
of your own records
For a builder: for your last ten subcontractor engagements, can you show what the register said on the day each was engaged?
If the record is a tick in a spreadsheet, the evidence is the register as it is now. In Tasmania, that register would no longer show a licence that has since lapsed.
For a building group working in Victoria: does your check include the Compliance and Enforcement Register?
The BPC keeps disciplinary and prosecution outcomes on a separate register from its practitioner search. A check of the first alone does not see them.
For a project manager in Queensland: does the licence you checked belong to the entity on the subcontract?
QBCC advises checking both the individual and any related company, because both hold licences. The entity on the contract is the one whose licence matters to the record.
For a mid-size subcontractor working across borders: which register is each of your licences on, and does each show the same class?
Classes and categories are defined per jurisdiction. A head contractor checking in another state will see that state's register, not your home one.
Questions people ask
about checking a builder's licence
How do I check a builder or tradesperson's licence in NSW?
Use the Verify NSW licence check. Building Commission NSW states it shows the holder's name, number, categories and expiry dates, plus status, conditions, cancellations or suspensions, public warnings, cautions, penalty notices and prosecution results where the holder was found guilty. Home Building Compensation insurance has its own separate check.
How do I check a QBCC licence in Queensland?
Search the QBCC licensee register, then open the licensee's full history. QBCC's fact sheet (effective October 2025) states the report shows the disciplinary record, licence classes, conditions or endorsements, and the maximum revenue for the licensee's financial category.
Does a licence search show whether a builder is insured?
None of the register pages we read on 9 October 2026 states that its search shows insurance. NSW runs a separate Home Building Compensation insurance check, and the Victorian page lists whether the work requires insurance as a separate thing to check.
How do I check a builder's registration in Victoria?
Use the Building and Plumbing Commission's practitioner search for status, type of work and any conditions, and its Compliance and Enforcement Register for disciplinary action and prosecutions. The BPC page was last updated 30 September 2026.
Can I see a former licence holder on the Tasmanian register?
No. The Tasmanian register "will only display the details of current licence holders". Information about former holders is by application under the Right to Information Act 2009.
What this analysis
does and does not show.
Evidence note
- What it shows
- What each Australian state and territory's public licence register page says its search shows, as read on 9 October 2026; where disciplinary history and insurance sit; which registers keep only current holders or change daily; and what a dated subcontractor licence check record would hold.
- Key facts quoted
- NSW check fields and the separate HBC insurance check; Victoria's separate Compliance and Enforcement Register (page last updated 30 September 2026); QBCC full history with maximum revenue (fact sheet effective October 2025); WA registers updated daily, builder register as at 08/10/2026; Tasmania current holders only and the 1 October 2026 move from CBOS; NSW $5,000 (incl GST) and QBCC $3,300 thresholds as stated.
- Derived
- None.
- We read each regulator's description of its register, not the underlying Acts or Regulations. NSW points to clause 69 of the Home Building Regulation 2014, which we did not read.
- We could not read the SA or ACT register result screens (a robot check and a page that did not render). Fields for those two are not described.
- Victorian, SA, Tasmanian and NT pages were read through a rendering proxy because the sites block automated access.
- Electrical, plumbing and gas licences sit on separate registers in some jurisdictions; we describe them only where the building regulator's page mentions them.
- Nothing here states whether any trade or any particular work needs a licence beyond the regulator's own words, and it does not determine whether any subcontractor is appropriately licensed.
- This is general information, not legal advice. Penalties for engaging unlicensed subcontractors are not covered.
What to watch next
Two published statements bear on what a register will show in future.
- ACT trade licensing: The ACT Government is exploring extending licensing to trades including brick and block laying, carpentry, concreting, glazing, painting and decorating, plastering, tiling and waterproofing. Its page states consultation has closed and "Implementation of any changes is not expected before 2027."
- Tasmania's new websites: Following the 1 October 2026 transition from CBOS, the notice states that information is being updated on the Consumer Affairs Tasmania and Building Standards Tasmania websites. Register links stored before that date are worth re-testing.
Bring us one subcontractor
and the check you ran.
Tell us the state, the register you searched, the date and what you saved. We will show you what that record would prove a year from now, and which field is missing.
General information about Australian public licence registers as their regulators describe them. It is not legal advice and does not determine whether any person or business is licensed for any work, or whether any engagement complies. All pages were read on 9 October 2026; registers change daily in some jurisdictions.
Sources
Suggested citation: the licence register pages of each state and territory building regulator listed, as read 9 October 2026. No figures are derived.
- Building Commission NSW - Checking your contractor or tradesperson is qualified: Page metadata modified 4 September 2025 · read 9 October 2026 · regulator guidance
- Service NSW - Check a business or trade licence: Last published 3 October 2025 · read 9 October 2026 · licence check index
- Building and Plumbing Commission (Victoria) - Find and check a practitioner: Last updated 30 September 2026 · read 9 October 2026 through a rendering proxy because the site blocks automated access · regulator guidance
- QBCC - Checking the record of a QBCC licensee (fact sheet): Effective October 2025 · read 9 October 2026 · regulator fact sheet
- QBCC - Find a licensed contractor: Last published 12 December 2025 · read 9 October 2026 · regulator guidance
- SA.GOV.AU - Check occupational licence holders: Last updated 18 June 2026 · read 9 October 2026 through a rendering proxy because the site blocks automated access · government guidance
- SA.GOV.AU - Building work contractor's licence: No date shown · read 9 October 2026 through a rendering proxy because the site blocks automated access · government guidance
- WA Building and Energy - Building and Energy licence and registration search: Last updated 3 January 2025 · read 9 October 2026 · regulator guidance
- WA Building Services Board - Register of building contractors and practitioners: As at 8 October 2026 · downloaded 9 October 2026 · statutory register (PDF)
- Building Standards Tasmania - Find a licensed tradesperson: Last updated 7 August 2019, with a 1 October 2026 transition notice · read 9 October 2026 through a rendering proxy because the site blocks automated access · regulator guidance
- ACT Planning - Construction licences; Extension of trade licensing: No date shown · read 9 October 2026 · government guidance
- NT Building Practitioners Board - Public Register of Building Practitioners; Board home page: No date shown · read 9 October 2026, the Board page through a rendering proxy because the site blocks automated access · statutory register