A company contractor licence is the licence your company or partnership needs in NSW before it can contract, subcontract or advertise for residential building work worth more than $5,000 (including GST), or for electrical, plumbing, gasfitting, air conditioning or refrigeration work of any value. Building Commission NSW issues it, and no company gets one without a nominated qualified supervisor.
Here’s how it usually happens. Business picks up, your accountant says it’s time to incorporate, and you set up a Pty Ltd over a weekend. Then you keep quoting jobs under your own licence number, because surely that covers it. It doesn’t. And the gap between those two moments is where tradies get fined.
- The $5,000 line counts everything. Labour, materials and GST all go into the total. Specialist work like electrical, plumbing and gasfitting needs a licence at any value.
- Your own licence doesn’t cover your company. The company needs its own contractor licence before it quotes, advertises or signs a single job.
- No supervisor, no licence. The nominated qualified supervisor must be a director or a full-time or part-time employee. Casuals and subcontractors don’t qualify.
- Companies with an ABN can apply online. Lodge through Service NSW. A 1-year company building contractor licence costs $1,763 in FY2026-27.
- Lose your supervisor and the clock starts. You have 7 days to tell Building Commission NSW, and after 30 days without a replacement your licence can be cancelled.
When does your business need a company contractor licence in NSW?
Your company needs a contractor licence before it contracts, subcontracts or advertises to do any of the following:
- Residential building work where the reasonable market cost of labour and materials is more than $5,000, including GST
- Any electrical wiring work
- Any plumbing, drainage or gasfitting work
- Any air conditioning or refrigeration work (plug-in appliances aside)
Medical gas work sits in its own box. It needs a medical gas licence regardless of cost, and regardless of whether the job is residential, commercial or industrial.
How the $5,000 threshold actually works
Most people check the labour figure and stop there. Wrong number. The test is labour plus materials plus GST, measured at a reasonable market cost for the job.
Say you quote a deck at $3,200 for labour and $1,950 for timber and fixings. That’s $5,150. You’re over the line, and your company needs a licence to even put that quote in writing.
Discounting doesn’t get you under it either. The test looks at reasonable market cost, so cutting your price to $4,900 for a mate doesn’t change what the work is worth.
The two traps most tradies miss
Trap one: advertising counts. The rule covers advertising and contracting, not only doing the work. A company website listing bathroom renovations is regulated conduct in NSW, even if you never win a job from it.
Trap two: subcontracting is judged on the whole job. If your piece is small but the head contract is over $5,000, you still need a licence. The NSW Government’s own example is a $3,000 dry plastering subcontract inside a $30,000 kitchen renovation. The plasterer needs a dry plastering contractor licence.
If you’re working under someone else’s head contract, it’s worth knowing how your obligations differ. Our guide to contractors versus subcontractors breaks it down.
Quick check: does this job need a licence?
| Job | Value (labour + materials, incl GST) | Licence needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Fence replacement | $4,200 | No (under $5,000) |
| Deck build | $5,150 | Yes |
| Replacing two power points | $350 | Yes (electrical is specialist work) |
| Hot water system swap | $2,800 | Yes (plumbing is specialist work) |
| Dry plastering subcontract inside a $30,000 renovation | $3,000 | Yes (the overall contract is over $5,000) |
| Internal painting only | $10,100 | No (internal painting alone isn’t residential building work) |
That last row surprises people. A contract for internal painting only falls outside the Home Building Act definition of residential building work, so no contractor licence is needed. Add external painting or any repair work to the job and that changes.
Does your individual licence cover your company?
No. Your individual contractor licence belongs to you as a person. When you register a company, you create a new legal entity, and that entity has no licence until it applies for one.
Here’s where it goes wrong in practice. A sole trader incorporates, then starts invoicing in the company name while quoting their personal licence number. On paper, the company is now contracting for licensed work without a licence.
Keep your individual licence, though. You’ll probably need it, because it’s usually what qualifies you to be the company’s nominated supervisor.
Which licence do you actually need?
| How you trade | Licence the business needs | Supervisor rule |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | Individual contractor licence in your own name | You supervise your own work if you hold the right qualifications (a Q endorsement shows this) |
| Company (Pty Ltd) | Company contractor licence | Must nominate a qualified supervisor who is a director or a full-time or part-time employee |
| Partnership | Partnership contractor licence | Must nominate a qualified supervisor who is a partner or employee |
| Employee of a licensed business | None for work done in that job | Side jobs for your own clients need your own licence |
A quick word on that Q. Individuals can have their contractor licence endorsed with a Q, which makes it equivalent to a qualified supervisor certificate. If you’re planning to be your own company’s supervisor, check your licence carries it.
Who can be the nominated qualified supervisor?
This is the part of a company contractor licence that trips up the most applications. The supervisor is the person Building Commission NSW holds responsible for making sure the company’s work meets the building standards, codes and laws.
To qualify, your nominated supervisor must hold an individual contractor licence or a qualified supervisor certificate covering the same categories of work as the company. They must also be one of these:
- A director of the company
- A current or proposed full-time or part-time employee
- A partner or employee, if you’re a partnership
Casual employees, temporary employees and subcontractors can’t be supervisors. Full stop.
That kills the most common workaround we hear: “My mate’s licensed, I’ll just name him and pay him as a contractor.” It won’t pass. An employee, for these purposes, is someone paid through PAYG withholding, covered by the relevant award, receiving super and working under your direction. If your supervisor is going to be an employee, put that relationship on paper with a proper full-time employment agreement.
Your supervisor sets the limits of your licence
This is the bit nobody tells you. Your company can only be licensed for the categories of work its nominated supervisor holds. If your supervisor is a licensed carpenter, your company can’t pick up bathroom waterproofing just because you’d like it to.
Conditions travel too. If your supervisor’s licence restricts the scope of work they can do, the same conditions can be applied to the company licence.
Growing into new trades? You may need more than one nominated supervisor to cover every category. Plan for that before you start advertising the new service.
Can one person supervise two companies?
Only with approval. A person can’t be the nominated supervisor for more than one contractor licence unless Building Commission NSW agrees special circumstances exist. Approval is case by case, and both businesses have to show the supervisor can genuinely oversee all the work.
Worth knowing if you run a building company and a separate trade company. Don’t assume you can sit on both licences.
One more wrinkle. If your supervisor is an employee, they can only supervise work during their hours of employment. A part-time supervisor who works Monday to Wednesday isn’t supervising your Friday jobs.
What happens if your nominated supervisor leaves?
You have 7 days to tell Building Commission NSW. Not telling them is an offence in its own right. Then, if you go more than 30 days without an acceptable replacement (and without prior consent), your company contractor licence can be cancelled.
The supervisor has their own obligation too. They must notify Building Commission NSW within 7 days of leaving the company.
Now think about what that means for a small builder. Your one qualified employee hands in two weeks’ notice on a Friday. Your whole licence now depends on finding a replacement inside a month.
Our view: if your licence rests on one employee, treat it like a key-person risk. Three things help:
- Give the supervisor role a notice period in their employment agreement that’s long enough to find a replacement.
- Write in an obligation to tell you before they notify Building Commission NSW, so you’re never the last to know.
- If a director holds the right licence, nominate them. Directors don’t resign on a Friday afternoon nearly as often as employees do.
How do you apply for a company contractor licence in NSW?
Good news first. Plenty of guides still say every application has to be lodged in person. For companies, that’s out of date. If your company has an ABN, you can apply for a company contractor licence online through Service NSW. Without an ABN, you book an appointment and lodge at a service centre.
Individual licences are different. Those must be lodged at a service centre, with an appointment booked online.
Here’s the order that saves the most back and forth:
- Set up the company properly. Register your company, then get its ABN sorted. If you’re not sure whether you already have one, here’s how to find your ABN.
- Lock in your supervisor. Confirm they hold a licence or certificate for every category the company will do, and that they agree to take the role. The nominated person has to consent.
- Gather what you need. A MyServiceNSW account, a current identity document (driver licence, passport or Medicare card), the company’s ABN, the supervisor’s details and your signed forms and supporting documents.
- Pick your term. Company licences run for 1, 3 or 5 years. More on the costs below.
- Lodge and pay. Scan and attach the documents, accept the declarations and pay online.
- Answer questions fast. Building Commission NSW assesses qualifications, experience and whether the applicant is fit and proper. If they ask for more information, the clock stops until you reply.
Processing times change with demand, so check the current times on the Building Commission NSW website before you promise a client a start date.
Why company applications stall
In our experience, the delays are rarely about the company. They’re about the supervisor. The usual culprits:
- The supervisor’s licence doesn’t cover every category the company applied for.
- The supervisor is engaged as a contractor or casual rather than a director or permanent employee.
- The directors listed on the application don’t match what ASIC has on record.
- The supervisor is already nominated on another company’s licence.
Fix those four before you hit submit and you’ve avoided most of the pain.
How much does a company contractor licence cost in NSW?
Fees depend on whether your company does building work or trade and specialist work, and how long a term you choose. These are the new-application fees for July 2026 to June 2027:
| Company licence | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building contractor licence | $1,763 | $2,821 | $4,928 |
| Trade or specialist contractor licence | $641 | $1,355 | $2,374 |
Two things to watch. First, each fee includes a processing component that you don’t get back if the application is refused or withdrawn. For a company building licence, that’s $972 of the $1,763. A sloppy application is an expensive way to learn.
Second, the maths favours longer terms. A 5-year building licence works out to under $1,000 a year, against $1,763 for a single year. If you’re confident the company will still be trading, 3 or 5 years is the better buy. Fees can rise with CPI each financial year.
For comparison, an individual building contractor licence is $883 for 1 year. So a company licence roughly doubles your licensing cost in year one. That’s before insurance.
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What does your company need to do once it’s licensed?
Getting the company contractor licence is the start, not the finish line. A few obligations run for as long as you hold it.
The 7-day rule applies to more than supervisors
You must notify Building Commission NSW within 7 days of a change to the company’s name or address. The same goes for changes to the directors recorded with ASIC. Bring in a new director or have one step down, and the licence paperwork needs updating too.
Directors also have to tell Building Commission NSW if the company goes into administration, gets a winding up order or has a liquidator appointed.
Renew before it expires
Renewal applications must be in on or before the expiry date. Miss it and you have 3 months to restore the licence, at a higher fee. After 3 months, you’re back to a new application.
While the licence is expired, your company can’t contract or advertise for licensed work. Put the renewal date in the same calendar as your ASIC annual review.
Home Building Compensation cover kicks in at $20,000
If your company is the principal contractor on residential building work over $20,000 (including GST), it must take out Home Building Compensation (HBC) cover. You need the certificate before taking a deposit or starting work.
Here’s the catch for a brand-new company. The insurer runs a risk assessment on each builder and issues a certificate of eligibility that sets how much work you can take on. A fresh Pty Ltd with no trading history and thin financials may get a lower limit than you had as a sole trader. Budget time for that assessment before you sign your first big job.
Written contracts are compulsory over $5,000
Residential jobs over $5,000 need a written contract. Jobs from $5,000 to $20,000 need a small works contract. Anything over $20,000 needs a full home building contract, including insurance details, a progress payment schedule, warranties and a 5-day cooling-off period.
Bringing in other trades? Get a subcontractor agreement in place that covers scope, payment, safety and licensing. Ask for each subbie’s licence number before they start, and check it on the public register.
Moving from sole trader to company: what we see in Lawpath consultations
Lawpath lawyers and accountants speak with business owners making the jump from sole trader to company every week. The licence is one piece of the puzzle. These are the patterns that come up again and again.
Your old contracts don’t move on their own
Registering a company doesn’t transfer your existing jobs into it. Those contracts stay in your personal name until you deal with them. Our lawyers regularly advise owners to check each agreement for an assignment clause first, because many restrict assignment without the client’s consent.
The cleaner path we see recommended: record the internal transfer first, then ask clients to consent, then reissue contracts in the company’s name with its ACN and ABN. A deed of assignment is one way to pass the benefit of a contract across.
For licensed trades, timing matters even more. Don’t move a job into the company until the company holds its own licence.
Moving the ute can cost you at tax time
A pattern our accountants flag more often than expected: selling or transferring a fully depreciated work vehicle out of the sole trader business can land as taxable income. Owners who expected a modest tax bill after restructuring have been caught short by exactly this.
Talk to an accountant before the ute, trailer and tools change hands. And finalise your sole trader BAS and close off the old books properly, rather than running two sets of accounts for months.
A company limits liability. It doesn’t erase it
Most tradies incorporate for protection, and a company does separate business debts from personal assets. But our lawyers are clear with clients on one point. Directors can still be personally liable for breaching their duties, including improper dealings with company money.
Before you register, work through our company registration checklist so the structure suits how you actually plan to run the business.
What are the penalties for contracting without a licence?
Under the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), unlicensed work can cost a company up to $110,000. For an individual, the maximum is $22,000.
The fine is often the smaller problem. An unlicensed contractor can lose the right to enforce the contract or claim damages for a breach, which puts getting paid at risk. You also can’t get HBC cover without a licence, so jobs over $20,000 become a second breach.
Put simply, one unlicensed $30,000 job can wipe out a year of margin. A licence costs a fraction of that.
Can an interstate licence holder supervise your NSW company?
Yes, in many cases. Under automatic mutual recognition, a company can nominate a supervisor who holds an equivalent licence from their home state. That’s handy for businesses near the Queensland, Victorian or ACT borders, or anyone hiring an experienced supervisor from interstate.
Check the specific licence class is covered before you lodge. Not every category lines up neatly across states.
Frequently asked questions
What is a company contractor licence in NSW?
It’s the licence a company needs to contract, subcontract or advertise for residential building work over $5,000 (including GST), or for specialist work like electrical, plumbing, gasfitting, air conditioning and refrigeration at any value. Building Commission NSW issues it, and the company must have a nominated qualified supervisor.
Can I use my individual contractor licence for my company?
No. An individual licence covers you personally, not a company you own. Your company needs its own company contractor licence before it quotes or signs licensed work. Your individual licence stays useful, because it can qualify you as the company’s nominated supervisor.
Can a company get a contractor licence without a qualified supervisor?
No. Every company contractor licence needs a nominated qualified supervisor holding a contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate in the same categories of work. The company can only be licensed for the categories its supervisor holds.
Can my nominated supervisor be a subcontractor?
No. The supervisor must be a director or a full-time or part-time employee. Subcontractors, casuals and temporary employees don’t qualify, even if they hold the right licence.
Can I apply for a company contractor licence online?
Yes, if your company has an ABN. You apply through Service NSW with a MyServiceNSW account. Companies without an ABN lodge in person at a service centre after booking an appointment.
How much does a company contractor licence cost?
For FY2026-27, a new company building contractor licence costs $1,763 for 1 year, $2,821 for 3 years or $4,928 for 5 years. A trade or specialist licence costs $641, $1,355 or $2,374. The processing component isn’t refunded if the application is refused.
Do I need a licence for jobs under $5,000?
Not for general residential building work under $5,000. You still need one for specialist work at any value, and for a subcontract under $5,000 that forms part of a bigger contract over $5,000.
What happens if my nominated supervisor leaves?
You must tell Building Commission NSW within 7 days. If the company goes more than 30 days without an acceptable replacement, and without prior consent, its licence can be cancelled. The departing supervisor must also notify within 7 days.
What if my company contractor licence expires?
You can restore it within 3 months of the expiry date, at a higher fee than renewal. After 3 months you’ll need a new application. Your company can’t contract or advertise for licensed work while the licence is expired.
Can one person be the supervisor for two companies?
Only if Building Commission NSW approves a dual nomination because special circumstances exist. Both companies must show the supervisor can oversee all the work under each licence. Approval is decided case by case.
Your next step
If you’ve read this far and realised your company has been quoting under your personal licence, take a breath. You’re not the first, and it’s fixable. Stop advertising licensed work in the company’s name, lock in your supervisor and lodge the application this week.
And if you haven’t incorporated yet, you’re ahead of most. Get the company set up right first, and the licence application gets a whole lot simpler. If a contract or supervisor arrangement feels messy, one of our business lawyers can look over it before it becomes a problem.
Register your company with Lawpath today, and have your ABN and company details ready for your licence application.
