Licences for door work in the ACT
No ACT licence is written for garage doors. ACT Planning says corporations and partnerships need a licence to provide or advertise construction services, and that a Class D builder licence covers only non-structural basic building work, leaving out specialist building work such as demolition or putting in a swimming pool.
The ACT's licensing pages don't say whether a straight like-for-like garage door swap is building work that needs a licensed builder. Ask the business which licence it holds, and look it up on the public register.
When a door alteration needs no building approval
ACT Planning says external door, wall and window alterations do not need building approval when the building is class 1, 2 or 10, already has a certificate, has a largest horizontal opening span of 2 m, and meets the other general rules.
Item 16 of schedule 1 of the Building (General) Regulation 2008 sets out the exemption in law: a doorway or window opening with a horizontal span of not more than 2m, on a class 1, 2 or 10 building, as long as the work complies with the building code.
If the job widens the opening or makes a new one, that width is the thing to measure. Over 2 m, ask before anyone starts whether building approval is needed.
Openers and wiring in the ACT
In the ACT, any electrical wiring work must be done by a licensed electrician.
The Electricity Safety Act 1971 says plugging in or unplugging is not electrical wiring work, and nor is fitting or removing a lamp, or fitting or replacing a fuse rated at no more than 30 amps. A new power point for an opener, or a hard-wired opener, is wiring work.
ACT licence classes include electrical contractor and an unrestricted class, plus permit and restricted classes for narrower tasks such as disconnecting and reconnecting appliances, so ask what a licence covers.
Under section 6 of the same Act, whoever does the wiring must test it and, within 14 days of the test, give a report to the Construction Occupations Registrar and to the owner of the installation.
Licence details in ads, and three checks
Section 83 of the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 says anyone who advertises a construction service must include their name as recorded on the licence and the licence number, and a company must add its ACN.
Access Canberra suggests three checks before you hire a tradesperson: find them on the relevant public register, ask to see a certificate of currency for their public liability insurance, and look up their ABN on the Australian Business Register. Licensed electricians are on a public register on the Access Canberra services site.
ACT rules at a glance
| The rule | Who says so | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence to provide construction services | Corporations and partnerships | ACT Planning |
| Building approval for a door alteration | Not needed on class 1, 2 or 10 buildings with an opening span up to 2 m | ACT Planning |
| Electrical wiring | A licensed electrician | ACT Planning |
| Test report | To the Registrar and the owner within 14 days | Electricity Safety Act 1971 |
| Ads for construction services | Licence name and number, plus the ACN for a company | Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 |
| NCC 2025 | Applies from 1 May 2026, with a 12 month transition | ABCB |
Before you book a door job in Canberra
- Ask whether the job changes the opening, and measure it if it does
- Search the business on the public register and ask for its certificate of currency
- Look up the ABN on the Australian Business Register
- If there is any wiring, ask for a copy of the test report
What we would do
Ask for the width of the finished opening on the quote. If the job takes it past 2 m, you can raise building approval before anyone picks up a tool, rather than finding out halfway through.