Going out on your own as a roofer in WA
Checked against Building and Energy on 8 August 2026.
To take jobs in your own name
No roofing licence exists in WA, but that is not the same as needing nothing
There is no roofer, roofing contractor or roof plumber licence in Western Australia. We checked the licensing index, the Building and Energy overview and the public licence search: roofing appears in none of them.
- What you need before you apply
- Nothing to apply for to do roofing as such. But roof work is builder-work: the registered builder scope expressly covers the renovation, alteration, extension, improvement or repair of a building. So on a job that needs a building permit, is worth $20,000 or more, and is inside the prescribed area, you need building practitioner registration AND building contractor registration, exactly like a builder.
- What it costs
- Nothing for roofing itself. Where builder registration is triggered, the same fees as a builder apply: about $1,987 all up, effective 1 July 2026.
- What you can do without it
- You can contract for roofing in your own name with no registration whenever any one of the three triggers is missing: no building permit needed, or under $20,000 ($50,000 on a shed or carport), or outside the prescribed area.
- Who issues it
- Building and Energy
Read this before you rely on it
- This is the trap in this trade. Roofers hear there is no roofing licence, assume they need nothing, then sign a $35,000 re-roof and are contracting unregistered. Check the value and whether a building permit is needed on every job, not once.
- Asbestos changes everything. Removal has its own licensing through WorkSafe and none of the above covers it.
Where this came from
Read off Building and Energy 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 roofers.
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.