You need an owner-builder licence if you build yourself, rather than employing a licensed builder.

Before you apply

Before you apply, you should determine whether you need development approval or if your project has exemptions from development and/or building approval. You should understand your owner-builder responsibilities, which include having building approval issued for the work before the owner-builder licence can be issued. Once you have an owner-builder licence, you need to get a commencement notice to begin building.

What you can build

You can build or renovate your residence or build ancillary structures around the residence, such as decks, pergolas or carports provided the building work is on your main home or ancillary to it. You may not be able to install a swimming pool, demolish a building, handle asbestos (other than stable asbestos) or perform work on a commercial building. Contact us if you are unsure about owner-builder licence requirements.

Eligibility

Only an individual can apply for an owner-builder licence. You must own the land to be developed. Where there is more than one owner, all owners must consent to the application. It is recommended that the owner with the most appropriate skills to carry out the proposed work should be put forward as the primary applicant.

There is also a restriction on the number of owner-builder licences that can be issued. To be eligible for an owner-builder licence, you must not have been granted an owner-builder licence in relation to other land in the previous five years. There is no restriction on the number of owner-builder licences for work on the same site.

Owner-builder qualifications

Mandatory qualifications apply, including the need to demonstrate sufficient experience to do the building work and satisfactory completion of an owner-builder course to demonstrate you have sufficient knowledge of legislative and technical requirements. The experience and qualifications required are relative to the complexity of building work:

• if you apply for an owner-builder licence to build or renovate a Building Code of Australia class 1 building such as a new residence or an addition/alteration to a residence, you will need to have successfully completed an owner-builder course or examination within the last 5 years provided the course or examination was undertaken after 1 September 2004, or you are the holder of a builder licence (class A, B, C or interstate equivalent); or
• if you apply to build a Building Code of Australia class 10 structure such as a deck, pergola, carport, garage or retaining wall, you will need to provide evidence of your skills and experience to demonstrate that you are able to satisfactorily carry out the building work or, alternatively, you have successfully completed an owner-builder course or examination within the last 5 years provided the course or examination was undertaken after 1 September 2004, or you are the holder of a builder licence (class A, B, C or interstate equivalent)

The following organisations are approved by ACTPLA to deliver ACT owner-builder licence courses:

• Access Building Education
• Absolute Owner Builder Online
• CIT Solutions
• Australian Owner Builder Courses Online

Reference documents

• Building Act 2004;
• Building (General) Regulation 2008;
• Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004;
• Construction Occupations (Licensing) Regulations 2004;
• ACT Building and Construction Industry Safety Handbook 2010;
• Building Code of Australia, all sections (volume two Housing Provisions); and
• any relevant Australian Standards where the work relates to it, such as AS 2870 Residential slabs and footings-Construction-1996 and AS 3740 Waterproofing of wet areas within residential buildings-2004.
• The Building Code of Australia can be obtained from the Australian Building Codes Board on 1300 134631 or from their website. Australian Standards can be obtained by phoning Standards Australia on (02) 1300 654 646.
• Application for a Construction Practitioner Licence - Individual form