Licensing & Registration

NSW building licensing under the Home Building Act 1989 — contractor vs qualified-supervisor licences, the classes and qualifications, the application process, and mandatory Home Building Compensation cover over $20,000.

Victorian building registration through the VBA — the practitioner categories, Domestic Builder Unlimited vs Limited, the experience rules, and how Domestic Building Insurance (mandatory over $16,000) is wired into your registration.

Queensland building licensing through the QBCC — the builder and trade-contractor classes, the Minimum Financial Requirements (NTA, current ratio, maximum revenue) that you must hold continuously, and the home-warranty scheme over $3,300.

Builder licensing across WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT — the authorities and value thresholds, qualification and experience rules, the NT's $50k net-asset bar, and the Tasmanian trap where mutual recognition does not yet cover builders.

The owner-builder route explained — the permit thresholds by state (NSW $10k, VIC $16k, QLD $11k), what you can and cannot do yourself (reserved trades stay licensed), and the disclosure and home-warranty obligations when you sell.

How the separately-licensed trades work — electrical (UEE30820 + the state authorities and VIC inspector rule), plumbing and gasfitting categories and the Type A gas licence, and the national ARCtick refrigerant scheme with its fee bands.

The support and money side of apprenticeships — what the AASN broker does from sign-up to completion, why ~40% of apprentices don't finish (and what employers can do), how off-the-job training is delivered, and the 2025-26 employer incentives.

The CPC qualification ladder for tradies — the Certificate III trade codes, CPC40120 Cert IV and CPC50220 Diploma, how they map to builder licensing, and how RPL formalises the skills experienced tradies already have.

How a tradie becomes a licensed builder — the apprentice-to-builder arc (~8-12 years), the VIC and NSW experience gates, and the crucial scope difference between a trade contractor licence and a full builder's licence.

The management qualifications and CPD that carry tradies into builder roles — Cert IV (CPC40120) vs the Diploma, the builder CPD now required in NSW and TAS (and being finalised in VIC), project-management quals, and the RPL fast-track.

How a tradie works interstate — the Mutual Recognition Act (a right to apply, not automatic), Automatic Mutual Recognition (and where it does not apply, like QLD electrical/gas), the short-term-job options, and why working before you are recognised is an offence.

The business side of asbestos removal — the Class A (friable) and Class B (non-friable) licences, the training and supervisor experience gates, the independent assessor and clearance process, the asbestos insurance exclusion trap, and why the licence is a moat.