Minor trade work
You must have a licence or certificate to do minor trade work. You need the required qualifications and experience before you apply.
Key information
- In NSW, you need a contractor licence to do any residential building or trade work, including minor trade work, which is valued at more than $5000 in labour and materials (including GST).
- There are different types of licences and certificates available depending on the work you need to do.
- You must have the right qualifications and experience before you can apply for a licence or certificate.
- You can apply for a 1, 3 or 5 year licence or certificate.
What is minor trade work?
Minor trade work is trade work.
Minor trade work means new, repair or replacement work that cannot be easily assigned to a specific trade area.
To learn more about what is considered minor trade work, see the definition in schedule 4 of the Home Building Regulation 2014.
You must have a contractor licence to carry out, advertise or contract for building or trade work that is valued at more than $5,000 in labour and materials (including GST).
You can be fined $22,000 as an individual or $110,000 as a company under the Home Building Act 1989 for doing unlicensed work.
Applying for a licence or certificate
Licence types you can apply for
There are different types of licences available in NSW depending on whether you want to:
- contract to do the work,
- supervise work,
- do the work, or
- do a combination of these roles.
The licence types that apply to this category of work are:
- Individual contractor licence (or endorsed contractor licence)
- Company or partnership contractor licence
- Qualified supervisor certificate
You can apply for these licence types for 1, 3 or 5 years.
You can also get started with applying for your licence or certificate at Service NSW.
Time frames for licensing and registration applications
Find out about the current application processing times for different licence and registration categories.
Qualifications and experience needed
To get a licence or certificate to do minor trade work, you must complete one of the qualifications listed below.
Note: The minor trade work category must have at least one of the following endorsements included on the licence.
When you apply for a licence or certificate, you must make sure you give us your statement of attainment from your training institution showing you have completed the units listed below to be able to get the endorsement you are applying for.
If you complete a certificate without doing these units, you will not qualify.
Complete one of the following:
1. RII20819 / RII20815/ RII20813/ RII20809 Certificate II in Bituminous Surfacing
OR
2. RII30920 / RII30919/ RII30915/ RII30913/ RII30912 Certificate III in Civil Construction, including the Bituminous Surfacing stream
OR
3. RII31009 Certificate III in Bituminous Surfacing
OR
4. CPC10120 / CPC10111/ CPC10108 - Certificate I in Construction, or BCG10103 Certificate I in General Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004 / CPCCCM2004A/ BCGVE1001B Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCVE1011 / CPCCVE1011A/ BCGVE1002B Undertake a basic construction project, and
- CPCCCM1011 / CPCCCM1011A/ BCGVE1004B Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- RIISAM204E / RIISAM204D/ RIISAM204B/ RIISAM204A Operate small plant and equipment, or BCCCM2002B Use small plant and equipment, and
- RIICCM207E / RIICCM207D/ RIICCM207A/ BCCCM2007B Spread and compact materials manually, and
- RIICBS313 / RIICBS201D/ RIICBS201A/ BCCBS2001B Conduct tack coat spraying operations, and
- RIICBS203E / RIICBS203D/ RIICBS203A/ BCCBS2003B Safely handle bituminous materials, and
- RIICBS202E / RIICBS202D/ RIICBS202A/ BCCBS2002B Hand spread asphalt.
You must have both:
- a minimum of two years acceptable practical experience in carrying out ducting or mechanical ventilation work verified in the relevant application form, and
- successfully completed:
- CPCPMS3035 or CPCPMS3035A – Install and test ducting systems, OR
- the Licence Skills Assessment formerly conducted by the Building Industry Skills Centre.
Complete one of the following:
1. MSF20322 Certificate II in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology/ MSF20313/ LMF20309 Certificate II in Furniture Making
OR
2. CPC10120 / CPC10111/ CPC10108 Certificate I in Construction with the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004 / CPCCCM2004A Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCCM1011 / CPCCCM1011A Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- CPCCST2001 / CPCCST2001A Prepare for stonemasonry construction process, and
- CPCCCA2011 / CPCCCA2011A Handle carpentry materials, and
- CPCCCA2002 / CPCCCA2002A or B Use carpentry tools and equipment
OR
3. CPC10108 Certificate I in Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004A Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCCM1001A Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- CPCCST2001A Prepare for stonemasonry construction process, and
- CPCCCA2001A Handle carpentry materials, and
- CPCCCA2002B/ CPCCCA2002A Use carpentry tools and equipment
OR
4. CPC10120/ CPC10111/ CPC10108/ BCG10103 Certificate I in General Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004/ CPCCCM2004A/ BCGVE1001B Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCVE1011/ CPCCVE1011A/ CPCCVE1001A/ BCGVE1002B Undertake a basic construction project, and
- CPCCCM1011/ CPCCCM1011A/ CPCCCM1001A/ BCGVE1004B Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- CPCCST2001/ CPCCST2001A Prepare for stonemasonry construction process / BCF1000A Prepare for construction process stonemasonry, and
- CPCCCA2011/ CPCCCA2011A/ CPCCCA2001A/ BCGCA2001B Handle carpentry materials, and
- CPCCCA2002/ CPCCCA2002B/ CPCCCA2002A/ BCGCA2002B Use carpentry tools and equipment.
Complete one of the following:
- CPC33020 Certificate III in Bricklaying and Blocklaying or CPC32320 Certificate III in Stonemasonry, or
- CPC31611/ CPC31608 Certificate III in Paving.
Complete one of the following:
1. CPC10120 / CPC10111 Certificate I in Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004 / CPCCCM2004A Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCCM1011 / CPCCCM1011A Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- CPCCCO2013 / CPCCCO2013A Carry out concreting to simple forms, and either:
- CPCCCM3003A Work safely around power sources, services and assets, or
- CPCCCM3003 – Work safely around electrical sources, services and assets
OR
2. Complete MSF30919 / MSF30913 Certificate III in Blinds, Awnings, Security Screens and Grilles including mandated electives:
- MSFGN2002 Move and store materials and products, and
- MSFGN3002 Estimate and cost job
OR
3. Complete LMF21108 Certificate II in Blinds and Awnings.
Complete one of the following:
1. MSF10122 Certificate I in Furnishing/ MSF10113 Certificate I in Furnishing including the following electives and additional units:
- MSFGG3039 Manually move glass/ MSFGG2005 Apply basic glass handling, and
- MSFGG2007/ MSFGG2015 Process glass by basic machines / MSFGG2001 Use glass and glazing sector hand and power tools, and
- MSFGG3033 – Install shower screens/ MSFGG3015 Fabricate and install shower screens and wardrobe doors
OR
2. CPC10120/ CPC10111 Certificate I in Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004/ CPCCCM2004A Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCCM1011/ CPCCCM1011A Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- CPCCSH2003/ CPCCSH2003A Apply and install sealant and sealant devices, and
- CPCCJN2001/ CPCCJN2001A Assemble components, and
- MSFGG3033 – Install shower screens / MSFGG3015/ LMFGG3015A/ LMFGG3015B/ LMFGG3015C Fabricate and install shower screens and wardrobe doors.
OR
3. LMF10108 Certificate I in Furnishing including the following electives and additional units:
- LMFGG2005C Move glass sheets by hand, and
- LMFGG2001C Use glass and glazing sector hand and power tools; and
- LMFGG3015C Fabricate and install shower screens and wardrobe doors
OR
4. CPC10108 Certificate I in Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- CPCCCM2004A Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCCM1001A Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- CPCCSH2003A Apply and install sealant and sealant devices, and
- CPCCJN2001A Assemble components, and
- LMFGG1001B Complete a basic glass and glazing project, and
- LMFGG3015B Fabricate and install shower screen and wardrobe doors
OR
5. BCG10103 Certificate I in General Construction including the following electives and additional units:
- BCGVE1001B Handle construction materials, and
- BCGVE1002B Undertake a basic construction project, and
- BCGVE1004B Undertake basic estimation and costing, and
- BCF2018A Apply and install sealant and sealant devices, and
- BCF2013A Assemble components, and
- LMFGG1001A Complete a basic glass and glazing project, and
- LMFGG3015A Fabricate and install shower screen and wardrobe doors.
Complete one of the following:
1. MSF10122 Certificate I in Furnishing/ MSF10113 Certificate I in Furnishing including the following electives and additional units:
- MSFGG3039 – Manually move glass/ MSFGG2005 Apply basic glass handling; and
- MSFGG2007/ MSFGG2015 Process glass by basic machines/ MSFGG2001 Use glass and glazing sector hand and power tools
OR
2. LMF10108 Certificate I in Furnishing including the following electives and additional units:
- LMFGG2005C Move glass sheets by hand, and
- LMFGG2001C Use glass and glazing sector hand and power tools
OR
3. LMF10102 Certificate I in Furnishing including:
- LMFGG2001B Use glass and glazing sector hand and power tools.
‘Minor Trade Work-Other’ only covers residential building work that involves new, repair or replacement work which cannot be easily assigned to an individual specific trade area.
You must complete CPC10120 / CPC10111 Certificate I in Construction, including:
- CPCCCM2004 / CPCCCM2004A Handle construction materials, and
- CPCCCM101 / CPCCCM1011A Undertake basic estimation and costing, and either:
- for installation of solid fuel heaters (fireplaces) - the additional units CPCPCM2043 / CPCPCM2043A Carry out WHS requirements and CPCPMS3041 / CPCPMS3041A Install domestic solid fuel burning appliances,
OR
- complete additional units that support the type of minor trade work you intend to do,
OR
- where there are no relevant units, you must do training with the relevant manufacturer, industry or supplier.
You do not need to show your qualifications if you have
either:
- ever held an endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate in minor trade work that had no restrictions or conditions. If you apply for a new endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate, we will accept your previous licence or certificate in place of the current qualification requirements.
or:
- held an endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate in the last 5 years in minor trade work that had restrictions or conditions. We will assess your application and reissue you a licence or certificate that reflects the scope of work that your licence or certificate covered. This may include some conditions or restrictions.
If your application is approved, you will be issued the same licence or qualified supervisor number you had before.
To find organisations that deliver nationally recognised training, go to https://www.yourcareer.gov.au/learn-and-train/courses and search via the course code or name.
If you are currently an apprentice or trainee, you cannot be issued with a licence or certificate. Once you have completed your apprenticeship or traineeship, you will need to apply for a contractor licence if you intend to do, or contract for, building or trade work.
If you hold a licence from interstate or New Zealand, and want to work in NSW, see Working interstate and mutual recognition.
This category of building and trade work is included under the NSW Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) scheme.
If you trained overseas, see Overseas trained applicants.
Do not make false or misleading claims
Providing false or misleading information is a serious offence.
If your license was obtained based on false or misleading information, you could face criminal prosecution, and your licence or certificate may be cancelled.
What would you like to do now?
Get in touch with Building Commission NSW
Need help with an application or want to know more about training and accreditation? Get in touch with Building Commission NSW.