Applying for a Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) Contractor’s License: Getting Qualified with PCD Training

In Queensland, a trade contractor’s license is essential if you want to run a business involving building work, specifically in the following specialities:

Drainage
Plumbing and Drainage
Gas Fitting
Termite Management – Chemical
Fire Protection
Completed Residential Building Inspection
Building Design – Low Rise, Medium Rise and Open
Site Classification.
Any other building work values over $3,300
Any building work valued over $1,100 involving Hydraulic Services Design

By law, any individual or company wishing to carry out building work in these areas must have a current QBCC trade contractor’s license; a full list of professions requiring this license can be found here. In the case of Hydraulic Services Design valued over $1,100 or other building work valued over $3,300, the value of building work is legally considered to be the reasonable market value of the work, including consideration for materials, labour, and GST. Any other type of business work, including gas fitting, pest control, fire protection, or plumbing and drainage, will require a QBCC trade contractor’s license regardless of the value of the work. An employee of a license holder does not require their own license, unless they become responsible for:

Overseeing and directing building work.
Ensuring the work is of a competent standard, i.e. free of defects.
Ensuring the work complies with the plans and specifications

In order to perform building work involving electrical work, an electrical contractor’s license is required; this license shares some of its managerial requirements with a QBCC trade contractor’s license. In order to get a trade contractor’s license, you will need to provide a number of documents and qualifications to the QBCC proving your technical soundness to perform work to the QBCC’s standards. The standard list of qualifications is as follows:

Documents demonstrating that you hold the technical qualifications required for your licence class (e.g. occupational licence, apprenticeship, skills recognition or formal qualification). If you do not hold such a license, you may be eligible for a recognition of prior learning as described here.
Financial information showing you meet the QBCC’s minimum financial requirements as described here.
Proof of identity, such as a passport or certified copy of your driver’s license.
If contracting under a partnership – proof of the business Partnership or an original or certified copy of QBCC’s Statutory Declaration for Partnership Agreement (PDF).
Importantly, a certificate of completion of an approved managerial course.

While there are several courses that will comply with the managerial certification requirement posed by the QBCC, many of these courses rely on the same course materials produced by third party copywriting suppliers. At PCD Training, we train our applicants a nationally accredited unit of business competency (BSBSMB401 Establish legal and risk management requirements of small business unit of competency) which meets the managerial requirements of a QBCC trade contractor’s license. Further, this course also satisfies part of the business management requirements of the Electrical Safety Office’s (ESO) electrical contractor’s license, as one of three units for a qualified business person course applying for such a license. The ESO’s requirements for an electrical contractor’s license can be found in more detail here.

While many Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) can provide training in this area that is recognised by QBCC and ESO, the issue can be with relevancy. Training with most RTOs involves a wide, unspecialised approach that incorporates elements from multiple different disciplines, regardless of the specifics of the applicant’s profession or the relevant state in which the applicant wishes to do business. Further, many training providers purchase and use only third party materials, which are written as a generic resource not specifically tailored to the building industry, or even to the legal requirements of Queensland. The third party materials used by such training organisations are used to provide the minimum required education and training to all applicants, without taking into account the desired profession, relevant skills, or relevant state authority that and applicant falls under.

In addition, you should also be wary of training providers offering non-accredited courses. Non-accredited means that the course is not regulated in any way by a governing body (such as ASQA with nationally accredited training). With such unregulated training courses, you cannot be guaranteed that the course is of a quality standard, nor that the course will legally satisfy the requirements of the QBCC or ESO to receive a trade contractor’s license or electrical contractor’s licence. Remember, without the meeting the statutory requirements of these regulatory bodies, you will be unable to legally accept contracts in the building industry.

The PCD Training System

Unlike other RTOs, PCD Training has developed and implemented its own training materials that have been specifically tailored to the building industry, and the exacting requirements of the Queensland Government. PCD Training’s learning resources are entirely designed in house, using no third-party materials. This means that the training experience provided by PCD is entirely unique, tried and tested by industry professionals in order to give relevant and effective training. These learning resources have been developed and implemented by current building licence holders, both in Queensland and South Australia. By tailoring our own materials to suit the specific business of our applicants, the process of receiving a trade contractor’s license is streamlined from a generalist boilerplate program into a targeted, refined regimen.

The training provided by PCD is also streamlined to provide the managerial requirements of a trade contractor’s license or electrical contractor’s license in an extremely efficient manner, regardless of the availability of the applicant. A licence applicant can complete PCD Training’s Trade Contractors Business Management Course either online, or in a workshop at our offices in Capalaba and Cabulture. Regardless of which mode an applicant chooses, they will be issued their Statement of Attainment immediately as soon as they have successfully completed the course. This completion certificate will be issued within the hour, unlike the 30 days processing period that other providers can take. Our fees are also very competitive compared to other providers. Some charge upwards of $990, whereas ours are close to half that.

The workshop is an efficient, personalised training service provided over the course of a single day; registration can be booked online 24/7, and is delivered in its entirety in one business day, without the need for post-workshop study or assessment. By the end of the workshop, an applicant will be able to walk out the door with their certificate in hand, having been given the highest quality tailored training for their field. If preferred, the course is also delivered online via a fully supported online digital course. This course can be completed at the applicant’s leisure, while receiving the full assistance of PCD training staff over the course of training. This course can be registered for and completed at any time, and the completion certificate will be emailed to the applicant upon its conclusion.

If you need to get your QBCC trade contractor’s license or ESO electrical contractor’s license and need to do the managerial criteria course, training with PCD will ensure that any applicant will receive only the most relevant and up to date training available. We don’t ask for payment up front, so if you are not satisfied with our course, simply cease studying with no loss out of pocket. We don’t even ask for payment up front for a workshop; your training and satisfaction our utmost priority. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to ensure you receive only the best training the industry has to offer.