How to check a tradie's licence in Victoria

Which work needs a licence or registration

Victoria licenses and registers the work, not the job title. So the question isn't whether someone is a “certified” tradie, but whether the work you want done needs a licence, and whether they hold the right one. These are Victoria's rules; other states differ, so outside Victoria see licence checks in every state and territory.

Electrical work needs an electrician licensed by Energy Safe Victoria, even for something as small as changing a power point or light switch. Plumbing, gasfitting and drainage need a plumber registered or licensed with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC). Building work worth more than $10,000, such as a deck or a bathroom renovation, needs a builder registered with the BPC, under a major domestic building contract.

Some single trades don't need builder registration even above $10,000: plastering, wall and floor tiling, painting, glazing, insulating, installing floor coverings, and attaching external fixtures such as awnings, security screens, insect screens and balustrades. That changes once one contract covers more than one trade.

• Electrical work, however small: a licensed electrician, through a Registered Electrical Contractor
• Taps, pipes, drains, gas appliances, gutters and metal roofs: a plumber registered or licensed for that class
• Building work over $10,000: a registered builder and a major domestic building contract
• Painting, tiling or plastering on its own: no registration, so check the business instead
• General handyman work: no licence of its own

Check a builder, plumber or gasfitter

Search the person's name or number on the BPC's Find and check a practitioner tool, and check its disciplinary register too. A plumber is registered or licensed class by class (a licence adds design and supervision, and the right to issue compliance certificates), so check that the class covers your job: roofing (stormwater) for gutters, flashings and metal roofs, gasfitting for gas appliances, drainage for below-ground drains.

Plumbers, gasfitters and drainers also carry a BPC identification card. Ask to see it.

Check an electrician

Energy Safe Victoria advises engaging a Registered Electrical Contractor (REC), which then sends licensed electricians to do the work. Its public registers let you search Registered Electrical Contractors and licensed electrical workers.

Energy Safe also says to always ask to see a tradesperson's licence, and that licensed workers should carry an identification card for electrical work. If a contractor won't show a licence, or doesn't issue a certificate for the work, it asks you to contact Energy Safe.

Check the business on ABN Lookup

ABN Lookup shows a business's legal name and business names, whether its ABN is active or cancelled, whether it's registered for GST, and the state and postcode of its main location.

Check that the name matches the quote, and if the quote adds GST, that the business is registered for it. The ACCC points out that an ABN doesn't by itself mean a business is trustworthy, so treat it as one check among several.

Check the insurance

For an eligible building contract signed on or after 1 July 2026 and worth more than $20,000, the registered builder must take out Home Warranty insurance, paying the premium within 10 business days of signing or before work starts, whichever comes first. Before you sign, ask when you'll receive the Notice of Cover. (Before 1 July 2026, domestic building insurance applied to projects over $16,000.)

For smaller jobs, ask what insurance the tradie holds for the work and for damage to your property, and ask to see the certificate.

The paperwork after the job

A licensed plumber must give you a compliance certificate for plumbing work worth more than $750 (counting materials, appliances, labour and GST), any work on below-ground sanitary drains, and installing, moving, replacing or converting a gas appliance. You should get it within five days of the work finishing. A registered (rather than licensed) plumber can't issue one, so if your job needs a certificate, check the plumber is licensed for that class.

Every piece of electrical installation work needs a Certificate of Electrical Safety. For everyday work such as lights, power points, air conditioning and hot water, the electrician must give you a copy within 30 days. Bigger work, such as a switchboard, consumer mains, solar panels or a battery, is inspected by a licensed electrical inspector first, and you should get a copy within four days of the certificate being completed after the inspection.

What a licence doesn't tell you

A licence says someone is qualified and authorised. It doesn't say they're good, available, or fairly priced. That's what the written quote, the reviews and the questions in the hiring checklist are for.

Before you agree to the job

• Work out whether the job needs a licence or registration
• Search the BPC or Energy Safe register yourself
• Check the class or licence type covers your job
• ABN active, in the name on the quote
• Home Warranty for building contracts over $20,000
• Compliance certificate or electrical certificate after the job

Looking for a handyman? See licensed handyman work in Melbourne. Still finding someone? See find a tradie. Ready to pay a deposit? See paying a tradie.