Going out on your own as an air conditioning technician in WA
Checked against Electrical Licensing Board through Building and Energy, plus the Australian Refrigeration Council for refrigerant on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
Usually none, which is the opposite of what most people assume
The regulations say a person is not carrying on business as an electrical contractor if the work they do would be authorised by a restricted licence. So if everything you touch stays inside your restricted scope, you do not need an electrical contractor's licence. The moment a job needs work outside that scope you have to bring in a licensed electrical contractor, because you cannot get one yourself on a restricted licence.
And underneath it, to do the work
Restricted electrical licence, endorsed for refrigeration and air conditioning
Building and Energy also calls this the refrigeration and airconditioning mechanic's licence. WA has no separate refrigeration trade licence: this is it.
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
- Completion of a refrigeration and air conditioning apprenticeship for the restricted licence. Separately, and this is Commonwealth law not state, you need two things from the Australian Refrigeration Council: a refrigerant handling licence to touch the gas, and a refrigerant trading authorisation in the business name to buy, store or dispose of it. A sole trader needs both.
- What it costs
- Restricted electrical licence, effective 1 July 2026, excluding GST: $218 for 1 year, $714 for 5 years. Refrigerant handling licence, from 1 January 2026: $89 for 1 year, $178 for 2, $267 for 3. The trading authorisation is charged separately.
- How long it takes
- Building and Energy's own pages disagree; the refrigeration page says 8 to 10 weeks. Plan for the longer figure.
- What you can do without it
- No dollar threshold anywhere in this trade. WA electrical licensing is scope based, not value based, and the Commonwealth refrigerant rules are absolute. There is no small job exemption to look for.
Read this before you rely on it
- The refrigerant side catches people out because it is federal, not state, and it is two separate things: the licence to handle the gas and the authorisation to buy it in your business name.
Where this came from
Read off Electrical Licensing Board through Building and Energy, 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.
- https://www.wa.gov.au/government/multi-step-guides/restricted-electrical-licence/restricted-electrical-licence-completion-of-refrigeration-and-air-conditioning-apprenticeship
- https://www.arctick.org/refrigerant-handling-licence/licence-fees/
- 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 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 WA
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.