ACT Tiler Contractor Licence: Australian Capital Territory Scope Check

A bathroom quote in the Australian Capital Territory says tile walls and floor, but nobody has named who handles waterproofing or damaged sheeting. The ACT does not publish a separate wall-and-floor-tiler licence class. The ACT tiler contractor licence question still depends on the exact work being contracted, so confirm mixed bathroom work with the ACT Construction Occupations Registrar before accepting it.

Does tile laying need an ACT tiler contractor licence?

The ACT’s construction licence list does not include a separate wall-and-floor-tiler class. That does not decide whether demolition, substrate repair or wider bathroom work falls within another licensed class.

Do not treat the missing class as approval to contract for a complete bathroom renovation. Split the job before you accept it:

• Waterproofing can form part of wider building work. Check who contracts for that work and who takes responsibility for it.
• Removing tiles is not automatically the same task as demolition that affects building elements. Check the actual removal work.
• Cleaning and preparing a sound substrate is different from replacing damaged sheeting, rebuilding a floor or carrying out structural repairs. Check repair work against the ACT licence classes.
• A tiler working as a subbie may only be laying tiles, while the business contracting with the owner has accepted a wider package of building work. Check the head contract as well as the tiler’s task.

Use the exact work in the contract. If demolition, repair or mixed bathroom work does not fit clearly within the ACT licence classes, give the task description to the ACT Construction Occupations Registrar before accepting it.

Split the job and assign each task before checking ACT tiling licence requirements

Start with a task list. For each line, record the contracting business, the performing business, the licence check and the matching quote line.

That table gives you something concrete to check against the ACT tiling licence requirements. A broad line such as bathroom renovation hides too much. So does complete tiling works.

Separate demolition from tile removal

Write down what will be removed and where the work stops. Removing tiles from a sound surface is not the same scope as opening walls, removing fixtures or dismantling building elements.

Ask what is behind the existing finish. Record what you could not inspect. If demolition may expose work outside your checked scope, exclude that work until the area is open and assessed.

Separate preparation from substrate repair

Cleaning, levelling or preparing an accepted surface is one scope item. Replacing damaged sheeting, rebuilding a floor or correcting structural movement is another.

Do not bury both under preparation. Name the surface you expect to receive and the condition it must be in. Keep the inspection record with the job so the substrate boundary is clear before covering it.

Separate waterproofing from tile laying

The quote must say who supplies and installs the waterproofing system. It must also say who checks the substrate before that work starts.

Do not write waterproofing by others and leave it there. Name the responsible business when known. State what record or hand-off you require before tiling begins. If your business will contract for the waterproofing, include that task in your ACT scope check.

Record who contracts for the work

Write down whether your business contracts directly with the owner, contracts with a builder or works under another contractor.

Being a subcontractor does not make the scope question disappear. Check who signed for the work, who will do it and which licence class covers it. Record the head contractor, your customer and the work covered by your agreement.

Assign responsibility without shifting legal obligations

Write the business name beside every line of work. That contract record does not override ACT licensing obligations.

For tile laying, name who supplies the tiles, adhesives, trims, grout and sealant. Name who measures quantities and carries the risk for ordering mistakes or client-supplied shortages.

For waterproofing, name who inspects the substrate, supplies the system, installs it and hands the area over. Do not let responsibility sit between the tiler, waterproofer and builder.

For repairs, set a hard boundary. If old tiles expose damaged sheeting or an unsuitable floor, stop at the accepted scope. Photograph the condition. Tell the customer or head contractor what has been found. Work out who will repair it and check whether that work falls within an ACT builder licence class before anyone covers it.

This is where ACT bathroom tiling rules must be checked against the real job. A bathroom label does not tell you who owns waterproofing, repairs or wider building work. The written task and the current ACT requirements do.

Put the checked scope into the quote

Write inclusions by room, surface and task. For example:

• Bathroom floor: prepare the accepted substrate and lay the selected tiles.
• Shower walls: lay tiles over a completed and accepted waterproofed surface.
• Tile finish: record the selected tile, layout direction, joint approach and trim locations.
• Materials: name what you supply and what the customer or builder supplies.
• Handover: state what must be complete before your work starts.

Then write the exclusions. Name uninspected damage, substrate replacement, extra demolition, plumbing work, electrical work and any waterproofing that your business is not contracting to perform.

Do not use exclusions to dodge a decision. Use them to make the agreed boundary clear. If a task may be needed, say what happens next: stop, inspect, price the changed work and obtain written approval.

Make licence confirmation a booking gate. Check the scope before ordering materials, allocating licensed work or starting on site. If the customer is still deciding between a rough range and a fixed scope, use the quote versus estimate guide to choose the right document.

Once the scope and responsibility lines are settled, use the quote-writing guide to turn the checked tasks, materials and exclusions into the customer’s document. The tiling job page gives you the practical tools for keeping that quote and the job together.

Check the ACT building work licence class and public register

Use the ACT Planning construction licences page (opens in a new tab) to compare demolition, substrate repair and wider building work with the ACT licence classes. This helps you decide whether work beyond tile laying must sit with a licensed builder.

Use Access Canberra’s building and construction page (opens in a new tab) for the ACT licensing service and instructions. If the job does not fit the class descriptions, ask the ACT Construction Occupations Registrar through Access Canberra to classify the exact task before you contract for it.

Where a builder licence is required, search the Access Canberra public registers (opens in a new tab). Match the legal name, licence number, class and current status to the person or business named in the contract. Read any conditions shown against the licence instead of assuming the class covers the whole bathroom.

Do not ask only whether a tiler needs a licence. Check who signed for the work, who will do it and which licence class covers it.

Save the licence check with the job

Keep a short job-file record. Include:

• Customer and site address.
• The task you checked.
• The business that will contract for it.
• The business or person that will perform it.
• The licence holder’s legal name.
• The licence number and class.
• The current status shown on the public register.
• Any conditions recorded against the licence or its scope.
• The official ACT page checked.
• The date you checked it.
• Any answer received from the ACT Construction Occupations Registrar.
• The matching quote inclusion or exclusion.

Your internal licence and scope note should sit beside the quote. If the scope changes, you can see what was checked and what now needs another decision.

Stop when demolition exposes different work

Old finishes hide problems. The tiles come off. The sheeting is damaged. The floor moves. The preparation allowed in the quote is no longer enough.

Stop before turning the new condition into unapproved work. Compare it with the accepted scope and the job-file record. If the task is different, check whether the business taking it on needs an ACT builder licence for that work.

Then write a variation. Describe the condition found, the added work, who will perform it, the price effect and any change to the booking. Get written approval before proceeding.

A verbal request does not rewrite the quote. Neither does pressure from a builder who wants the bathroom closed up that day.

Worked example: a written exclusion controls the change

Oak Street is an electrical example, but the scope lesson applies to tiling. R. Chen’s job at 14 Oak Street covered a bathroom exhaust fan and four LED downlights.

Quote Q-1847 totalled 1,105 sample currency units. The ceiling was lined, and chasing was excluded. Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 variation, so invoice INV-1847 totalled 1,265.

The exclusion identified the boundary. The written variation moved that boundary before the extra work was finished. Use the same control after an ACT tiler contractor licence scope check when demolition exposes substrate repairs or the client adds waterproofing, preparation or extra tiling.