Going out on your own as an air conditioning technician in NSW
Checked against Building Commission NSW, plus the Australian Refrigeration Council for refrigerant on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Individual contractor licence, air conditioning and refrigeration
Lets you contract and advertise. You can only do the work described on the card.
And underneath it, to do the work
Qualified supervisor certificate, air conditioning and refrigeration
Do and supervise only, no contracting.
This is the one people get wrong: the licence that lets you DO the work and the one that lets you CONTRACT for it are different. Working for a boss you only need the first. Going out on your own you need both.
- What you need before you apply
- One of the accepted qualifications, typically UEE32220 Certificate III in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration or its earlier codes. On top of the NSW licence you need the Commonwealth refrigerant handling licence, and a refrigerant trading authorisation in the business name to buy or store gas.
- What it costs
- Individual specialist contractor licence, July 2026 to June 2027: $403 for 1 year, $803 for 3 years, $1,235 for 5 years. Refrigerant licences are charged separately by the ARC.
- How long it takes
- Published estimate as at 1 August 2026: 15 weeks for an individual specialist licence.
- What you can do without it
- No dollar threshold. Air conditioning is specialist work in NSW, so a licence is needed regardless of the cost and regardless of whether the job is residential, commercial or industrial.
- Insurance the regulator requires
- Home Building Compensation cover where the contract or market cost is over $20,000 including GST.
Read this before you rely on it
- Two government sources disagree on the wait: Building Commission NSW says 15 weeks, the ABLIS entry says around 28 days. Plan for the longer one.
Where this came from
Read off Building Commission NSW, plus the Australian Refrigeration Council for refrigerant 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 hvac technicians.
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.
Other trades in NSW
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.