Edition 78, May 2010

Improved NSW home building licence online service

Improved NSW home building licence onlineNew South Wales Fair Trading has implemented a new and improved online service for checking home building licences.

Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge said improvements to the existing public register on the Fair Trading website have made the search facility faster and easier to use.

Ms Judge said the improvements provided a range of checks to ensure consumers were dealing with a current and appropriately licensed tradesperson.

The register also shows the results of any disciplinary determinations and prosecutions against a person, partnership or company.

Ms Judge said any person who carried out residential building work worth more than $1,000 in labour and materials without an appropriate licence was breaking the law and could be prosecuted.

For specialist work, such as plumbing, electrical, air conditioning and refrigeration, there is no threshold for labour and materials.

Ms Judge said consumers should always do a licence check before entering into a contract with a builder or tradesperson and should only deal with those who are licensed.

Anyone caught operating without a licence or contracting with an unlicensed person can incur fines of up to $22,000 for an individual or up to $110,000 for a company.

For more information visit www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/About_us/Online_services/Home_building_licence_check.html

This page was generated on 31 May, 2010