Victoria Wants Its 20,000 Carpenters Registered or Licensed — and Builders Would Have to Check. MBV and HIA Push Back. Map Your Carpentry Crew Before the Draft Rules Land.

Victoria wants carpenters registered and licensed. Builders would be the ones checking.

Victoria is moving to bring carpenters inside the building regulator's net for the first time. The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) ran a consultation on implementing carpentry registration and licensing from 14 September to 11 October 2026. It is now reviewing feedback (October to December 2026) and plans to report back in early 2027.

Industry has answered loudly. Master Builders Victoria published its submission on 16 October 2026, and the HIA submission is also public. Both say the scheme should not go ahead in its current form.

Nothing has changed on site yet. No start date has been set, no regulations have been drafted, and DTP says a formal Regulatory Impact Statement and exposure draft regulations will be released for public consultation before any new rules are made. But the proposal would put a new compliance step into every builder's subcontractor and hiring process, so it is worth understanding now.

This article summarises the consultation material and published industry submissions. It is not legal advice.

What DTP is proposing

According to the Engage Victoria consultation page:

• Of Victoria's three largest trades (carpenters, plumbers and electricians), only carpenters remain unregulated. Subcontractors and employees can do carpentry work regardless of qualifications or experience.
• The scheme would bring around 20,000 tradespeople into the regulatory framework for the first time.
• Subcontractors doing regulated carpentry work would need a subcontractor registration with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC). To get one they would have to meet minimum qualification and experience requirements, a fit and proper person test and financial probity requirements.
• Employee carpenters working for a registered builder or subcontractor would need an employee licence, with qualification and experience requirements but no fit and proper or financial probity test.
• Apprentices would not need a licence or registration for work done in the course of their apprenticeship. Once qualified, they would need to apply.
• Registered builders whose registration already covers carpentry would not need an extra registration, but they would be required to ensure only appropriately registered or licensed carpenters work on their projects.
• A public register would let builders and consumers check a carpenter's registration or licence status and disciplinary history.

The scope of regulated work has not been decided. One option DTP puts forward covers carpentry with a mandatory standard under the National Construction Code or the Building Regulations 2018: framing, doors and windows, cladding, and formwork and falsework, across domestic and commercial building classes and regardless of the value of the work.

DTP also says the government has identified waterproofing and welding as priorities for a later stage, supported by $16 million in the 2026/27 Victorian Budget.

The legal power to do this is not new. DTP says the scheme would activate amendments made to the Building Act 1993 in 2018 and 2021. Work on a Regulatory Impact Statement was paused in 2024 while other reforms, including setting up the BPC, went ahead.

What the builder groups said

Master Builders Victoria (submission dated 9 October 2026) says it supports trade accountability but argues the subcontractor registration and employee licensing model "does not, in its current form, create clear or effective accountability". It wants the relevant Building Act provisions repealed and a broader review of Victoria's practitioner registration framework, including the ABCB's National Registration Framework.

MBV does not support employee licensing, arguing employees work under their employer's direction and supervision. It reports member feedback that carpentry subcontractor charge-out rates are about $80 an hour, against about $125 an hour for licensed trades. MBV notes actual costs will vary, but says this shows the potential for a significant cost increase. If the scheme does go ahead, MBV wants a "light touch" transition: let experienced carpenters keep working while they are assessed, recognise prior learning, and subsidise application and assessment costs.

HIA (submission dated 11 October 2026) goes further. It asks for the consultation paper to be withdrawn and for the trade registration and employee licensing provisions to be removed from the Building Act. HIA disputes that carpentry is a priority risk when it is supervised by a registered builder and covered by the mandatory frame inspection. It argues that if any trade comes first, waterproofing and weatherproofing have a stronger case. HIA also criticises the timing, with the paper released shortly before the November 2026 Victorian State election.

| Item | Where it stands | | --- | --- | | Consultation | Closed 11 October 2026; DTP reviewing feedback October–December 2026; report back early 2027 | | Who is covered | Around 20,000 carpenters; subcontractor registration and employee licence; apprentices exempt | | Builder duty | Ensure only registered or licensed carpenters work on your projects | | Possible scope | Framing, doors and windows, cladding, formwork and falsework (an option, not decided) | | Start date | Not decided; a formal RIS and draft regulations come first | | Next trades | Waterproofing and welding flagged; $16m in the 2026/27 Budget | | MBV | Repeal provisions; no employee licensing; light-touch transition if it proceeds | | HIA | Withdraw the paper; remove the provisions from the Building Act |

What it means for the builder's desk

• Don't change your hiring or subbie paperwork yet. There is no start date and no regulation. Keep engaging carpenters under current rules.
• Know your carpentry workforce now. List who does your framing, cladding, windows and formwork, whether they are subcontractors or employees, and what qualifications and experience they hold. If the scheme proceeds, that list tells you who might need help with a transition pathway.
• Plan for a register check. The proposal puts the onus on builders to use only registered or licensed carpenters. If it goes ahead, a register check would sit next to your insurance and ABN checks when you onboard a subcontractor.
• Encourage apprentices to finish. Apprentices would be exempt while training but would need a registration or licence once qualified. A completed Certificate III is likely to be the simplest path in any scheme.
• Price with caution. The $80 and $125 hourly figures are MBV member feedback, not modelled rates. Don't build licensing costs into quotes until the scheme and any transition support are known.
• Watch for the RIS. The formal Regulatory Impact Statement and draft regulations are the next real step, and there will be another chance to comment. Make sure your association has your on-site examples.

Sources: Engage Victoria, Registration and licensing of carpenters (Department of Transport and Planning, consultation 14 September – 11 October 2026); Master Builders Victoria, Implementing Carpentry Registration and Licensing (16 October 2026) and MBV submission (9 October 2026); HIA submission, Implementing carpentry registration and licensing Consultation Paper (11 October 2026); SPASA, DTP consulting on registration and licensing for carpenters (1 October 2026).