The structural landscaping licence in NSW

Building Commission NSW states the rule in one sentence: “In NSW, you need a contractor licence to do any residential building or trade work, including structural landscaping, which is valued at more than $5000 in labour and materials (including GST).” The same page says a licence is needed to “carry out, advertise or contract for” that work, so it covers advertising and contracting as well as doing the job.

The work the licence covers

Structural landscaping sits in what the Commission calls the “other building” category. It describes the work as “work involved in the construction of external landscape features, and non-habitable structures (structures you cannot live in).”

The Commission’s list of examples, in full:

“A licence is required where work is carried out under a contract for residential building work. Examples include:”

• “retaining walls of any material that do not form part of a habitable building”
• “fencing, driveways, paths and other paving of any material”
• “cabanas, pergolas, decks and non-habitable shelters”
• “ornamental ponds, water features and other structural ornamentation (where development approval is required)”
• “work on concrete tennis courts and the like.”

Read the ponds line with its condition: ponds and water features are listed where development approval is required. The legal definition is in schedule 4 of the Home Building Regulation 2014.

Specialist work inside a garden job

NSW Fair Trading names two kinds of work that need a licence: “residential building work valued at more than $5,000 (incl GST) in labour and materials” and “all specialist work regardless of its cost.” It explains that “Specialist work includes electrical wiring, plumbing, drainage and gasfitting work and air conditioning and refrigeration work (except plug-in appliances).” The wiring, plumbing and drainage in a garden job therefore need a licence whatever they cost.

A structural landscaping contract can include the specialist work the job needs, and a holder of the right endorsed contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate in that category can be brought in as a subcontractor to do it.

Fencing licences

Fencing has a licence category of its own. The Commission defines it as “putting up fences and gates within or on residential property boundary lines, regardless of the materials used,” and the same threshold applies: more than $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST.

Licence and planning approval

Two separate questions about one garden structure

Question	What the official pages say
Does the builder need a licence?	Under Building Commission NSW’s rules, a contractor licence is needed for residential structural landscaping worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST.
Does the structure need planning approval?	Some minor works need no planning or building approval; this is called exempt development, and the planning department’s examples include decks, garden sheds, carports and fences.

Exempt development has conditions. The planning department says approval may not be needed as long as the work meets all of the development standards in the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. Those standards are in that policy.

Licence checks

NSW Fair Trading’s online check covers licences and owner-builder permits.

“The licence check will tell you the licence holder’s:”

• “name”
• “number/s”
• “categories (or types) and”
• “expiry dates”

“The owner-builder permit check will show you if a property had an owner-builder permit issued for residential building work in the last 10 years.” Building Commission NSW says, “You can apply for a 1, 3 or 5 year licence or certificate.”

Quotes and variations

The NSW Government’s advice on quotes is to write a job brief, however small the project, and give the same brief to at least three contractors so the quotes can be compared. A written quotation should include all the work, list every material and reflect your specifications.

Variations can change the final price. The Government’s own example is rock beneath the surface that has to be removed, perhaps with a jackhammer. “All variations to the contract must be in writing and signed by both parties.”

The pool fence has rules beyond the licence, set out in pool barriers in NSW. A wall or path near a big tree may also meet the rules in trees in Sydney and NSW, and the plan of the whole backyard shows where each guide sits.