The ACT licenses by occupation through Access Canberra under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act, runs an NSW-style Security of Payment regime (amended in 2024), arranges workers' comp through licensed insurers, runs the CITCS portable long-service scheme, and applies a "model WHS-plus" inspection focus. Here is what operating in the ACT means. (Figures are indicative 2025-26 — confirm current.)
Licensing (Access Canberra / COLA)
Licences are occupation-based, not a generic builder's ticket, under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004, administered by Access Canberra for the Construction Occupations Registrar. The builder classes: Class A (unlimited — all building types and heights), Class B (medium-rise, up to 3 storeys), Class C (low-rise residential, up to 2 storeys), Class D (non-structural work), plus owner-builder and specialist licences. An entity providing construction services must nominate an appropriately-licensed individual as its nominee and keep written supervision policies, and must display the licence number on contracts and advertising. See Licensing in WA, SA, TAS, ACT & NT.
Getting paid (SOP Act 2009, amended 2024)
The Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT) is modelled on NSW. The 2024 amendments (in force 11 March 2024) removed the old "reference date" concept and set a flat statutory maximum payment term of 15 business days after a payment claim is given (unless the contract is quicker) — and that single cap applies to all contracts, head and sub. So the ACT behaves like the modern NSW model but with a unified 15-business-day maximum. See Security of Payment — WA, SA, TAS, NT & ACT.
Workers' comp (WorkSafe ACT)
Workers' comp is an employer-funded scheme arranged through a licensed insurer (not a central monopoly), with WorkSafe ACT regulating and approving insurers. It covers weekly payments, medical and rehab, and lump sums for permanent impairment. See Workers' Compensation.
Portable long service (CITCS)
The ACT Construction Industry Long Service Leave Authority (CITCS) runs portable long service under the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 2009 — quarterly returns on each worker's gross ordinary wages, with roughly 6 weeks' leave after about 7-10 years of recognised service, portable across registered ACT construction employers (you apply to CITCS, not your employer, at the qualifying period). Confirm the current construction-scheme levy rate with CITCS. See Portable Long Service Leave.
WHS (WorkSafe ACT)
A harmonised Model WHS jurisdiction with a "model WHS-plus" inspection focus: falls and fragile surfaces, mobile plant and traffic management, electrical (temporary supplies, RCDs, safe isolation), silica/dust/asbestos, manual handling, and a notably strong emphasis on psychosocial hazards and mental health — with proactive, not just reactive, inspections even on smaller sites. See Model WHS & PCBU Duties.
Common mistakes
- Applying for the wrong builder class (A/B/C/D) for the height and scale you actually build.
- Forgetting the entity must have a licensed nominee, not just licensed workers.
- Assuming the old reference-date rules still apply to ACT payment claims (the 2024 amendments changed that).
- Underestimating the ACT's psychosocial-hazard enforcement focus.
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