Going out on your own as an electrician in NSW
Checked against NSW Fair Trading on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Contractor licence, class "Electrician"
Issued to you as an individual contractor licence and endorsed "(Q)", which means it doubles as your qualified supervisor certificate. That endorsement is what lets you contract in your own name.
- What you need before you apply
- The qualifications and supervised experience Fair Trading requires for the electrician class, plus proof of identity. Fair Trading assesses the application before it issues.
- What it costs
- Trade or specialist contractor licence, individual, new application: $403 for 1 year, $803 for 3 years, $1,235 for 5 years. Fee schedule applies July 2026 to June 2027.
- How long it takes
- Fair Trading publishes 16 weeks for the "Specialist (electrical)" category, from a complete application.
- Who issues it
- NSW Fair Trading
Read this before you rely on it
- Sixteen weeks is not a typo. Get the application in long before you plan to start.
Where this came from
Read off NSW Fair Trading on 8 August 2026. Fees and processing times usually change on 1 July, so check before you budget.
Once you are up and running, we also have a page on what ONARA Ops does for electricians.
When you are ready to take the first job
Once the licence is sorted, you need to look like you have been doing this for years: a website people can book from, and quotes and invoices with your logo that go out the same day you finish. That part is us.
We are not accountants, lawyers or insurance brokers, and none of this is advice. It is what the regulators and the ATO publish, gathered in one place with links to the source, so you know what to go and ask about. Rules and fees change, so check with the authority before you act on anything here. Government fees shown are for the 2026-27 year and are indexed every 1 July.