General building work Licence
Residential building work — construction, alteration, additions, repair, renovation, decoration and protective treatment of a dwelling.
Regulator — New South Wales
Building Commission NSW
What this licence allows
- Residential building work involving the construction of, alteration of, or additions to a dwelling, and the repair, renovation, decoration or protective treatment of a dwelling. A dwelling includes a house, terrace, townhouse, duplex, flat or other building/part used for people to live in.
- The category includes the trade and other building work categories when those works form part of general building work, including garages, carports and sheds; kitchen, bathroom and laundry renovations; swimming pool building and structural landscaping; screened, glass or pool enclosures; atriums and conservatories; house lifting; removal and resiting of dwellings; saunas and steam rooms; and cladding removal and replacement.
- Specialist work may form part of a general building contract, but if the builder does not hold the relevant specialist category it must be subcontracted to an appropriately licensed contractor and supervised by a holder of the relevant endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate.
Qualifications
A new applicant must satisfy one of the following three current qualification criteria.
Criterion 1 - VET qualification plus prescribed units, AND an additional trade/diploma/degree pathway
- Hold one of: CPC40120 Certificate IV in Building and Construction; CPC40320 Certificate IV in Building Project Support; CPC40110/CPC40108/BCG40106 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building); CPC40208/BCG40206 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Contract Administration); CPC40308/BCG40306 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Estimating); or CPC40508/BCG40506 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Site Management).
- The qualification must include CPCCBC4001 plus CPCCBC4053 (or accepted predecessor low-rise code), CPCCBC4002, CPCCBC4003, CPCCBC4004, CPCCBC4005, CPCCBC4006, CPCCBC4007, CPCCBC4008, CPCCBC4009, CPCCBC4010 (or the accepted residential and commercial structural-principles predecessor combination), BSBESB407 (or accepted predecessor small-business finance unit), CPCCBC4012, CPCCBC4018 and CPCCBC4024, including the predecessor unit codes expressly listed on the NSW Government page.
- PLUS one of: a current carpentry or bricklaying contractor licence/qualified supervisor certificate or an approved qualification that would permit issue of that licence/certificate; CPC50220/BCG50206/CPC50208 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building); CPC50210 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) including CPCCBC5004, CPCCBC5005, CPCCBC5007 and CPCCBC5009 (or listed predecessors); or the specified Australian university Bachelor of Housing/degree in civil engineering, structural engineering, architecture, housing, construction, construction management, construction project management, construction economics, applied science (building) or quantity surveying.
Criterion 2 - University degree
- An Australian university degree requiring the equivalent of four years full-time study and mandatory work placement in building, construction, construction management, construction project management, construction economics, applied science (building) or quantity surveying. Associate and honorary degrees do not satisfy this criterion.
Criterion 3 - University degree plus Certificate IV and prescribed units
- A Bachelor of Housing or Australian university degree in civil engineering, structural engineering, architecture, housing, construction, construction management, construction technology, construction project management, construction economics, applied science (building) or quantity surveying; AND one of the specified Certificate IV qualifications (including CPC40120 or listed predecessors); AND the prescribed building units listed under Criterion 1.
Some superseded qualifications may still be accepted if the required commencement, completion or unit conditions are met.
Experience
At least 2 years of relevant industry experience in a wide range of building construction work. The majority of that experience must have been gained within the 10 years before the application date.
Experience must be gained while working for a holder of a contractor licence in general building work and supervised/directed by an individual contractor licence holder or qualified supervisor certificate holder in general building work, who verifies the experience.
The experience must cover a wide range of work and stages of residential construction. Experience limited to a single trade is not sufficient for the full general building category.
Owner-builder experience does not satisfy the practical-experience requirement. Overlapping work at two or more sites is counted as one period when calculating equivalent full-time experience.
Applying for this licence
We manage the whole process on your behalf — see our application process, start a new licence application, or get your documents reviewed first.
Important
This information reflects New South Wales (Building Commission NSW) requirements at the time of writing. Licence classes, scopes, qualification and experience requirements may change. Always verify current requirements with the relevant state or territory licensing authority, or contact us for advice specific to your situation.
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