toon williams

I know I probably being very thick, but there seems to be alot of threads on this site saying that all builders etc have to have a licence to work. Surely if you passed the TRA in your field this is enough evidence to support the fact you are a builder without getting a licence??

Can someone explain in easy step by step instructions what it is all about PLEASE!!

Huge thank you in advance

toon williams

Oh come on I know someone out there can help me!!

Wendy

You have to get your skills re-assessed when you get out there.

Here's the link to the relevant TRA page.

http://www.workplace.gov.au/workplac...oroverseas.htm

toon williams

I keep reading really moany old threads about the timescale it takes to get one of these licences, does anyone know what the timescale should be??

jad n rich

Firstly all your asked to prove is the same as what an australlian trademsan has to provide to get a licence.

The strict licence rules were brough in by state governments to make tradesman liable financially and legally for thier work, to protect the consumer.

The main crux of the licence is proving knowledge and competency within the australian building codes and laws and on site experience.

Usually for a general building licence they can be up to several years experience, plus formal qualifications in construction, one of the most common paths to a builders lic now is a universitiy qual and site experince.

You do need the experience, you are liable for the work performed on anything you put your licence number on for years, some would say in the case of a defect for life. People here can and will come back after you.

Once you have the licence you tender for work, experience in australian projects would be submitted in detail to stand much chance of winning the tender.

Hope that helps. I think the best advice any tradesman coming here could get would be get enough experince to make absolutely sure you know every detail of what your putting your licence number on. It would seem highly unlikely without that experience you would know the volumes of painstakingly long and often changing rules anyway.

Hope that helps.

gobbyjock

I think people get frustrated at the fact that although they have proved to TRA that thet have the quals to get a visa as an electrician for example, they then have to jump through hoops again to get their trade license (fair enough they do have to prove they are actually capable of doing the job) where it falls down is the incisistency and bureacracy that can be met by peopel trying to get the license. Some seem to get one within a few months others can wait up to 6 months, there seems a lot of confusion between TRA and the TAFEs as well. Although they are talking about changes to the licensing system I can`t see it being a dramatic change.

cresta57

The timescale isn't easily defined as you need to have skills assessed on-site trying to gain employment without the licence it's a catch 22 situation.

1st]You will need to go to the DET department of education and training and pay them $300+ just to glance at your qualifications in the chosen trade. You will need 6 yrs experience min. C&G to advance craft or NVQ equiv. and refs from employers/customers. There is now some rule that states your experience must be recent 4 out of the last 5 yrs if I remember correctly.

2nd] If you satisfy the criteria for that trade you will then be appointed a skills assessor another $115 who will come and look at your work [if you can get any without a licence] minimum of 3 different jobs

3rd] You will need to then attend a 3 day business course [prior positive skills assessment necessary]

4th] You then pay another $405 for your licence in your chosen trade

As far as a time scale is concerned I paid my fee to the DET in November and then waited until March when they got back to me with an assessor for tiling. There is only one assessor that deals with applications from Bundaberg down to Tweed Heads. He lives on the Gold Coast and you have to pay his travel expenses. He came to 3 jobs all in a morning on the day before Good Friday. I then waited another month for the certificate to say I was qualified . Presented that to the QBSA to attend a 3 day business course near me on 21-23 June waited another 2 weeks for that certificate to come through [during which time the price of the licence went up] I paid the cheque for the licence and presented all the documents the same day as the Certificate came. The cheque cleared 2 days later and I finally got the bloody thing in my hand the third week in July.
Nothing in the process is rushed and you wait in someones in tray until they get to you. If you ring up and harass it's simple you go to the bottom of the pile again. You could be really lucky and manage to get your skills assessed and get a job in the first couple of weeks of arriving. The delay is then waiting for an assessor to come out to site. Then you have to wait for the three day course I think they are every couple of months. You can't shorten the process by having skills assessed while still in the U.K as you need to be living here with PR as part of the criteria.

pogsy

Hi everyone,
Does anyone know if there is a licence you need to apply for to do renovation work to properties. We will be heading to Melbourne this Nov . Here in the UK I build extensions to houses, fit kitchens etc. Do you need a licence to do this kind of work in Melbourne (forget electrics, plumbing as I know this requires a license) but how about building extensions. ???

Wendy

Yes you will need a builders license.

pogsy

Hi WendyC
Thanks for that, someone told me that you can take on renovation work (not extensions) as long as the job does not exceed a certain amount of $$$. They were not sure of the ceiling limit though. Have you heard of this ???

Swerv-o

Yikes! :scared: Can you do your own tiling? Or do you have to have a licence before you can take on that sort of thing? I don't think I would have ever considered getting somebody in to run some tiles around the kitchen before reading this...

S

ABCDiamond

Yes, I have head of this, but I can't recall the amount either. It may have changed as I haven't seen it recently. Or it may have only been in NSW when I was there ?

I think a question should be worded "Can a builder work for a licenced builder, as an employee, without having a licence of his own, and without going through all the hoops mentioned."

If the answer is YES, then new arrivals can get work, albeit at a lower "assistants" rate of pay, until they pass everything that an Australian must pass to get the full licence being discussed, to employ people, submit for contracts, work for the general public, etc etc.

jad n rich

In NSW over a $1000 in building materials and labour you need a lic.

A builder can work for another builder if the one with the licence is prepared to punt his licence and legal obgligations on the work performed, as you can guess not many would be terribly keen to take that risk :scared:

cresta57

NSW alows small works under 1k inclusive of materials to be carried out by unlicenced tradies, the term tradie is a bit ambiguous here as if they were proper tradies they would have licences.

While it may be technically possible to get work for another licenced tradesman without having your own it's very hard to actually find someone who's prepared to take the risk. I arrived at the hight of the recent boom and touted my services about the local country club where most of the builders seemed to congregate. To a man they all gave me cards and said as soon as I had a licence they would give me as much work as I could handle. Every job that was advertised asked for licenced men or 4th yr apprentices [they can get a special licence apparently] Try looking in the courier mail for brickies chippies and tilers most of the ads require a licenced man. To many builders have been caught by shoddy work done by fly by nights.

You have to have a licence to tile "Wet Areas" i.e bathrooms, en suites, toilets and laundry areas.
No licence is required to tile your own main floors

toon williams

So basically reading everyones answers,

You can only apply for the licence once living in Oz!!
Can take up to 8 months to get it!
You cant get any building work until you get!!
So if above is true how can they come out and check your work, if you cant get any in the first place??

Correct me if I am wrong!!