Looking for a licensed tradie? Think CBS
Occupational Licensing Public Register
This newsletter applies to all South Australian Builders, Electricians, Plumbers & Gas Fitters, Security Guards and Real Estate Agents.
Did you know there’s an occupational (trade) licensing register that’s updated almost every night which lists all workers, contractors and companies that hold or previously held a licence in South Australia? Didn’t think so. Before I started work at CBS (formerly OCBA), I had no idea either!
Scenario 1 – Real Estate
As always, I’ll approach this newsletter with a scenario. Let’s say you contacted a real estate company to have an appraisal on your house ready for sale. An employee or director of that company visits your house and performs an inspection, produces a contract and you both sign to engage the company’s services. Well, the person that performed these tasks must hold a Sales Representative licence as a minimum. If this person doesn’t, they’re breaking the law and this will affect your contract.
So how do you inform yourself before it gets tricky?
Easy, visit http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/wcm/licensing-and-registration/find-a-licence-holder/ and follow the prompts to see if they’re licensed. It will also tell you if they previously held a licence and what conditions they were entitled to.
Scenario 2 – Builders
As a consumer, you find a tiler in the newspaper offering wall and floor tiling services at a price too good to be true. Sorry for picking on the tilers, it was the first trade that came to mind whilst typing this newsletter. The consumers’ next step should be to visit, http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/wcm/licensing-and-registration/find-a-licence-holder/ to see if he holds a licence. If he does, then you’ve got some protection and so does the tiler. If he doesn’t, my advice, stay away because there’s little recourse if anything goes wrong.
What’s the benefits of the CBS Licensing Public Register?
- Displays workers, contractors and companies licensed in SA;
- Up-to-date information regarding any changes to a licence (as long as the licensee has disclosed it in some instances);
- Displays the connection between companies and supervisors; and
- Postal address details of contractors.
What to watch out for:
- The name search is specific and requires their full legal first and/or last name;
- If searching for the trading name, many are not registered so if you don’t have any luck, visit ASIC; and
- Trading names and company names can be completely different so before you search, be 100% sure you know what you’re searching.
Final thought
SA Trade Licensing is here to take the pressure off consumers and your business. If the above scenario happens to your trade business, here’s what we’ll do:
- Complete and submit all government paperwork on your behalf;
- Guarantee an error free process to speed up your licence approval;
- Suggest processes that will avoid these scenarios in the future which’ll safeguard your business; and
- Visit CBS on your behalf to finalise all outstanding paperwork at a fixed price.
Be sure to contact SA Trade Licensing via tradelicencesa.com.au.