Going out on your own as an electrician in WA
Checked against Electrical Licensing Board, through Building and Energy on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Electrical contractor's licence
Contractor numbers start with EC. Electrical work must be done by a licensed contractor, who must employ licensed electricians. Going out on your own means you need both.
And underneath it, to do the work
Electrician's licence
Building and Energy calls this both an electrician's licence and an electrical worker's licence, depending which form you are on. Same thing.
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
- You (or someone you employ, called the nominee) must hold a current WA electrician's licence, and complete the Electrical Contractor Training Program modules. Whoever manages the business does the General Legislative Requirements and Establishing a Contracting Business modules. As a sole trader that is all you. You will also need a police check dated inside three months and proof of identity.
- What it costs
- New application, fees effective 1 July 2026 and exclusive of GST: 1 year $795 ($653 registration plus $142 application), or 3 years $2,101 ($1,959 plus $142). The electrician's licence underneath it is charged separately.
- How long it takes
- Building and Energy publishes 6 to 8 weeks on the application page and 8 to 10 weeks in the overview of the same guide.
- What you can do without it
- Almost nothing, and there is no small-job dollar threshold the way there is for building work. The regulations specifically catch people who only do wiring as part of some other business, so a handyman wiring a power point is still caught. A licensed electrician can apply for an exemption to do work on their own home or an immediate family member's, but it has to be applied for.
- Insurance the regulator requires
- Required, and it is a condition of the licence rather than a suggestion. You have to supply a certificate of currency for public liability, issued inside the last 30 days, in the name of the individual, partnership or company. Not a trust or a trading name.
Read this before you rely on it
- The regulations leave the minimum amount of public liability cover to the Board and no figure is published, so ring the Electrical Licensing Board on (08) 6251 2000 and ask what they want before you buy a policy.
- The regulator's own site gives two different processing times. Plan for the longer one.
Where this came from
Read off Electrical Licensing Board, through Building and Energy on 8 August 2026. Fees and processing times usually change on 1 July, so check before you budget.
- https://www.wa.gov.au/government/multi-step-guides/electrical-contractor-licensing/apply-electrical-contractors-licence
- https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/service-delivery/electrical-licensing
- https://www.wa.gov.au/government/multi-step-guides/lgirs-licensing-and-registration-fees-and-charges/building-and-energy-fees
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.