What a Handyman Can (and Can't) Do Without a Licence in NSW

One of the most common questions we get from Hills Shire homeowners is some version of "can you just do X, even though it's not really a handyman job?" NSW has clear rules here, and a good handyman should be upfront about them rather than taking on work they're not licensed for.

The general rule

In NSW, general home maintenance and repair work — the kind that doesn't involve electrical wiring, gas, plumbing or structural building work — doesn't require a specific trade licence. This covers the bulk of what a handyman does: door and hinge repairs, painting, minor carpentry, fence and deck repairs, shelving, caulking, and garden maintenance.

Anything that touches electrical wiring, gas fitting, plumbing (beyond very minor fixture swaps), or structural work legally requires a licensed electrician, plumber, gasfitter or builder. This isn't red tape for its own sake — unlicensed electrical or gas work is a genuine safety risk, and it can void your home insurance if something goes wrong.

There's also a dollar-value threshold in NSW above which residential building work requires a licensed builder, a written contract and home warranty insurance — the exact figure is set by NSW Fair Trading and does get revised, so check nsw.gov.au/fair-trading for the current threshold rather than relying on a number here. Most single handyman jobs sit well under it, but it's worth checking if you're bundling a lot of work into one project.

What we can do (no licence required)

• Door repairs — hinges, handles, latches, sliding rollers, fly screens
• Plaster patching and touch-up paint
• Interior and low-level exterior painting
• Feature wall installation (VJ panelling, battens, picture rail)
• Fence and gate repairs, deck maintenance
• Letterbox installation
• Shelving, mirrors, curtain rods, blinds, picture hanging
• Caulking and silicone sealing
• Draft-proofing and weatherstripping
• Battery-powered smart locks, video doorbells, Wi-Fi mesh (no mains wiring)
• Lawn mowing, hedge trimming, garden maintenance
• Pressure washing

What legally needs a licensed trade

• Electrical work — anything involving mains wiring, new circuits, or hardwired fixtures (hardwired doorbells and cameras included)
• Plumbing and gas fitting — pipework, gas appliances, anything beyond a simple tap washer
• Air conditioning installation or repair
• Roofing and two-storey exterior work — needs the right harnessing and equipment
• Tiling and waterproofing — waterproofing failures are a common and expensive source of disputes, best left to a specialist
• Structural work — load-bearing walls, extensions, anything requiring council approval

Why a good handyman tells you "no"

It might seem counterintuitive for a business to turn down work, but a handyman who says "that needs an electrician" instead of quietly doing it anyway is protecting you — your insurance, your safety, and the resale value of your home. It's also usually a sign they understand the boundaries of their own trade, which is a decent proxy for how carefully they'll handle the work they do take on.

We publish the specific list of what we don't do on our about page — electrical, plumbing, gas, air-con, roofing, tiling/waterproofing and jobs over our size threshold. If your job needs one of those, we'll say so upfront and, where we can, point you toward the right licensed trade instead of taking the job anyway.