How to check a builder’s licence in the ACT and NSW

Before you go any further with a builder, check their licence. It is the single easiest check you can make, it is free, and it is public. It confirms the person you are about to trust is actually allowed to do the work.

It takes a few minutes and it is worth doing every time, even on a builder who came to you by recommendation. Here is how it works in the ACT and in NSW, and what the details actually mean.

A licence tells you the builder has met the qualifications and standards required to build in that place, and that the authority is keeping a record of them. An unlicensed builder is a risk no quote can make up for.

It is also the one check that is completely objective. Reviews can be gamed and photos can be borrowed, but a licence is either current and valid or it is not.

In the ACT, building work is regulated by Access Canberra. You can search the public register of licensed builders on the ACT Government website and confirm a licence by name or number.

What you are checking for is that the licence is current, that it is held by the person or business you are dealing with, and that its class covers your kind of work. A Class A licence, for example, is the unrestricted class and carries a qualification requirement worth knowing about.

In NSW, licences are issued and recorded by NSW Fair Trading. Their public register lets you look up a builder and see the licence, its status and its conditions.

If your project sits near or across the border, which is common around Canberra and the South Coast, it is worth confirming the builder is licensed on the right side of it. A builder working across both should be able to show you a licence in each.

Once you find the record, a few things are worth reading closely.

• Status. The licence should be current, not expired, suspended or cancelled.
• Class or category. It should cover the type and scale of work you are planning.
• The name on it. It should match the person or business you are actually dealing with.
• Conditions. Some licences carry restrictions worth understanding before you commit.
  

A good builder does not wait to be asked. Aspire holds an ACT Builder Licence, number 2024343, in the unrestricted Class A, and a NSW Builder Licence, number 457516C, unrestricted. Both are public and both can be checked using the steps above.

That is the standard to hold every builder to. If a builder is reluctant to give you a licence number, that reluctance tells you something before you have even run the check.

The licence check is the first step in choosing well, not the last. Our For Architects page sets out how we work once the basics are confirmed, and you are welcome to come and have a look at the work and ask us anything.