Mutual recognition

For the purposes of the information provided below, mutual recognition refers to the ability of a person who is registered in connection with an occupation in a state, territory or New Zealand.

Last updated: 23 October 2024

For the purposes of the information provided below, mutual recognition refers to the ability of a person who is registered in connection with an occupation in a state, territory or New Zealand to carry on an equivalent occupation in Western Australia, subject to the provisions of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth) or the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (Cth). These acts are adopted in Western Australia by the Mutual Recognition (Western Australia) Act 2020 and the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Western Australia) Act 2007.

A FAQs website has been established by the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to provide an overview of mutual recognition of occupational licences, access to relevant material, and the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

What you need to know

Mutual recognition only applies to licensed individuals (not partnerships or bodies corporate).
The licence (or equivalent) you are seeking to have mutually recognised must be current at the time you seek mutual recognition.
You must lodge a completed notice in the form provided, seeking registration for the equivalent occupation, pay the required fee and provide evidence of your existing registration.
Once you have lodged the notice, you are deemed registered and immediately become subject to all of the licensing and other relevant laws of Western Australia while carrying out the occupation.
You will be notified in writing of the outcome and are entitled to seek a review of the decision with the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Deemed registration

Once you have been deemed registered, you can commence work in your licensed occupation in WA, under the same terms as your interstate or New Zealand authorisation but subject to all local laws which apply to the industry until a formal decision has been made. Any trading requirements under the WA licensing laws regarding insurance, fidelity funds, trust accounts and the like that are designed to protect the public, clients, customers or others will immediately apply and you cannot commence trading in WA without them.

You must familiarise yourself with the applicable occupational licensing legislation in Western Australia, to ensure compliance with the laws that apply to your industry.

What happens once the notice is lodged?

The department will make enquiries regarding your licensing history in any state, territory or New Zealand where you are currently licensed or registered.
Conditions may be imposed on the Western Australian licence to achieve equivalency with the scope of your interstate or New Zealand authorisation. If your interstate or New Zealand licence is subject to any special conditions, those conditions will likely apply in WA.
The relevant decision maker may refuse or postpone the grant of a licence or registration if the completed notice is materially false or misleading or if the occupation is not considered equivalent (or able to be made equivalent by the imposition of conditions). If you are aggrieved by the decision, you can apply to the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review.
If granted, registration takes effect from the date the completed notice was lodged and all renewals are pursuant to the relevant WA licensing legislation.

Please refer to the drop-down options relating to your licence or registration for the required form(s), fees, and any supplementary requirements you will need to undertake following deemed registration. For further assistance or questions relating to your application, contact Licensing Services on 1300 30 40 64.

Any further questions you have may be answered by our FAQs.

Lodgement

To lodge a notice, please post it to Locked Bag 100, East Perth WA 6892; or visit Level 1, 303 Sevenoaks Street, Cannington (8:30am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday).

Written Notice of Equivalent Occupation - Building, Painting, Building Surveying, and Building Engineering

Apply in writing to have your registration recognised in Western Australia

Download the form

In Western Australia, the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 registers building services providers as:

Builders;
Painters;
Building Surveyors; and
Building Engineers.

Within each of the four categories of building service provider (i.e. building, painting, building surveying, or building engineering), there are two different types of registration:

Building services practitioner; or
Building services contractor.

A building services practitioner registration is necessary if you wish to be a nominated supervisor for a building services contractor. Registration as a practitioner does not authorise you to contract with others to carry out a prescribed building service. It authorises you to be the nominated supervisor for a building services contractor. As a registered practitioner you may be the nominated supervisor for your own (individual) building services contractor registration, or the building services contractor registration of a body corporate or partnership.

A building services contractor registration authorises you to contract with others to carry out a prescribed building service, as long as you have a registered building services practitioner nominated as supervisor. A building services contractor is not authorised to carry out (or undertake to carry out) any work unless a registered building services practitioner is nominated as supervisor. In other words, if you wish to lodge a notice of equivalent occupation in order to contract with others to carry out a prescribed building service, you must also be eligible for registration as a practitioner in that class of building service. This means you must pay both the building service practitioner and contractor registration fees when lodging the notice. Fees are detailed below.

For more information about the registration scheme for building service providers in Western Australia, go to https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-and-energy/licensing-and-registration-and-owner-builder-approval

Any conditions imposed on your interstate licence will also apply to your building services provider registration.

Fees

Two fees are payable for each registration category: a non-refundable application fee and a registration fee. If you are lodging a notice that entitles you to both practitioner and contractor registration, only one application fee is charged, however, the registration fee for both a practitioner and a contractor is payable.

If the Board refuses your notice on the basis that your interstate licence is not an equivalent occupation, the registration fee only will be refunded.

Building practitioner

Application fee: $271
Registration fee (3 years): $784
Further information

Building contractor (and building practitioner)

Application fee: $271
Registration fee (3 years): $1,309

Painting practitioner

Application fee: $112
Registration fee (3 years): $526
Further information

Painting contractor (and painting practitioner)

Application fee: $112
Registration fee (3 years): $896

Building surveying practitioner level 1 and 2

Application fee: $143
Registration fee (3 years): $1,180

Building surveying contractor (and practitioner) level 1 and 2

Application fee: $143
Registration fee (3 years): $2,007

Building surveying practitioner technician

Application fee: $71
Registration fee (3 years): $614

Building engineering practitioner

Application fee: $143
Registration fee (3 years): $1,180
Further information

Building engineering contractor (and practitioner)

Application fee: $143
Registration fee (3 years): $2,007

All fees listed above are exclusive of GST and effective from 1 July 2024.