The checks
- ABN and insurance checked.
- QBCC licence checked where the job needs one, in Queensland.
- Any wiring by a licensed electrician, where an opener or gate motor needs a new power point or hard wiring.
Why Queensland has one more check
Queensland is the only state where garage door work can need a building licence. QBCC says anyone carrying out building work valued over $3,300 must hold a QBCC licence.
QBCC has no licence class with garage doors in its name. Its Carpentry class includes installing doors, framing included, so the class on a business's licence is what tells you the work it may do.
Outside Queensland there is no licence for door work to check. Victoria's builder registration starts at work worth more than $10,000 and WA's at permit work of $20,000 or more, and both turn on the job rather than the trade. That is why no page here describes a door business by a licence it could not hold.
Wiring needs a licence in every state
A new power point near the ceiling, or an opener that is hard-wired, is electrical work, and every state and territory requires the right electrical licence for it. In Queensland, Victoria, NSW and the ACT, the restricted licences some other trades hold do not stretch to new wiring.
That is why the job form asks whether there is a power point near the ceiling: the answer tells the door specialist whether the job has an electrical part before anyone arrives.
What the checks don't cover
The checks are about who the business is, not the job it does for you. The Door Hero never quotes, fits or inspects a door: the door business that takes your job quotes it and does the work, so you agree the door, the price and the timing with them directly.
The Australian Consumer Law expects any service you pay for to be done correctly, with care and skill, and that protection runs between you and the door business you pay.
Checks you can make yourself
Access Canberra suggests three checks before you hire a tradesperson: find them on the relevant public licence register, ask to see a certificate of currency for their public liability insurance, and look up their ABN on the Australian Business Register. The last two work the same in any state.
Where to look up a licence
| Building licence or registration | Electrical licence | |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | QBCC's contractor search or licensee register | Electrical Safety Office licence search |
| New South Wales | Service NSW licence check | Service NSW licence check |
| Victoria | BPC Practitioner Search | Energy Safe Victoria's public registers |
| Western Australia | Building and Energy's licence and registration search | Contractor numbers start with EC |
| South Australia | CBS Occupational Public Register | CBS Occupational Public Register |
| Tasmania | The Administrator of Occupational Licensing's register | The same register |
| ACT | The relevant public register, through Access Canberra | Access Canberra's register of licensed electricians |
| Northern Territory | Ask the Building Practitioners Board | Ask whether the licence is unrestricted or restricted |