Painters jobs in Australia

Licensing

Licensing by state

There is no single national painting licence, and requirements differ sharply by state. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia all regulate painting contractors in some form, South Australia captures painting through its general building work contractor licence, while the ACT and Northern Territory do not licence painting as a separate trade.

the Australian Capital Territory

Painting and decorating is not a licensed construction occupation in the ACT. The occupations licensed under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 are builders (including owner-builders), electricians, plumbers, drainers and gasfitters, building surveyors, building assessors, gas appliance workers, works assessors and plumbing plan certifiers. Trades such as carpenters and bricklayers similarly do not currently require an ACT licence.

New South Wales

A contractor licence is required to contract for residential painting work valued above a monetary threshold in labour and materials including GST. Importantly, stand-alone contracts for internal paintwork no longer need a licence unless the paintwork forms part of other home building work. Options are an individual contractor licence, a company or partnership contractor licence, or a qualified supervisor certificate, available in 1, 3 or 5 year terms. CPC30620 Certificate III in Painting and Decorating is an accepted qualification, and individual applicants must supply a National Police Check no older than four months.

the Northern Territory

Painting is not a registered category with the NT Building Practitioners Board, whose categories cover building contractors, building certifiers, certifying architects, certifying plumbers and drainers, and certifying engineers. Confirm with the Building Practitioners Board if the painting forms part of prescribed building work, as the NT introduced registration requirements for commercial building contractors in 2025.

Queensland

Painting is a licensed trade contractor category with the QBCC. Two classes exist: 'Painting and decorating', which includes applying cement render up to 8mm, and 'Painting and decorating excluding applying cement render'. The scope covers applying paint, texture coatings and wallpaper plus surface preparation. A monetary threshold applies to the value of building work. Applicants need a technical qualification — apprenticeship papers, an RTO qualification or recognition of prior learning — and contractors and nominee supervisors must also complete the managerial unit BSBESB402 Establish legal and risk management requirements of new business ventures.

South Australia

South Australia does not issue a painter-specific licence. Painting is classed as building work, so a building work contractor's licence from Consumer and Business Services (CBS) is required where an individual or business carries out building work for another person, or for the sale or lease of land or buildings. A registered building work supervisor must properly supervise the work. Net asset and contract value conditions can apply to the licence.

Tasmania

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) is Tasmania's building and occupational regulator and licenses building services providers, who must hold the qualifications, experience and competencies CBOS requires and must work only within their area of competence as set out in the Occupational Licensing (Building Services Work) Determination. Tasmania's treatment of painting could not be verified directly from the regulator's own site at the time of writing — confirm your position with CBOS before contracting.

Victoria

Victoria does register painters, but through the domestic builder scheme rather than a stand-alone painter licence. Painting and decorating is a class of domestic building work under Domestic Builder (Limited) registration, limited to painting and decorating work for homes and associated class 10 structures — preparing surfaces, applying paint, texture coatings and wallpaper, and colour matching. Registration is required for domestic building work above a monetary threshold. The regulator was restructured into the Building and Plumbing Commission from 1 July 2025, so check current requirements before applying.

Western Australia

Registration is required under the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 to carry out painting work valued over a threshold amount. Two registration types exist: painting practitioner for individual tradespeople and painting contractor for businesses. Qualification pathways include Certificate III in Painting and Decorating plus specified business management and estimating units, a completed painting apprenticeship, or at least the equivalent of four years full-time painting experience; an alternative pathway is the Painters' Registration course plus a practical trades test and five years of experience. Building and Energy within the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety administers registration, and the Building Services Board registers painting contractors.