There has been a great deal of talk about the lack of tradespeople in Lismore and the Northern Rivers given the size and scale of work that needs to be done in the coming weeks, months and years of our rebuild.

The NSW State Government is rolling out the welcome mat to ease construction industry labour shortages to make working in NSW a lot easier for interstate tradespeople.

From 1 July, NSW will recognise a range of interstate building and construction qualifications and registrations, with certain tradespeople no longer needing to apply for a NSW licence, or pay additional registration or renewal fees.

Treasurer Matt Kean said more electricians, plumbers, and building workers coming to NSW would help the Government accelerate the repairs of homes, businesses, and schools damaged by the recent floods.

“We’re making it easier and cheaper for interstate sparkies, chippies, plumbers, and brickies to come to NSW and help with the flood recovery effort,” Mr Kean said.

“We’re cutting red tape to ensure that if you are an eligible qualified and registered tradie from any participating state, you can work in NSW. This means interstate tradies can now come and work in the Northern Rivers regions to help through the recovery phase.”

The changes follow extensive public consultation and form part of a national move to make it easier for tradespeople to work across borders under the Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) scheme.

Mr Kean said it’s expected these changes will allow a more timely response to any future natural disasters.

“Our preference is always for local businesses to fill these jobs first. But improving the mobility of skilled workers across borders is particularly important in building the infrastructure we need to recover from the floods and build resilience to future natural disasters,” Mr Kean said.

“This scheme will deliver an estimated $2.4 billion increase in economic activity over ten years from savings to workers and businesses, productivity gains, and quicker responses to future natural disasters.”

Minister for Small Business and Minister for Fair Trading Eleni Petinos said the NSW Government had worked closely with industry to ensure proper protections for tradies and their customers are in place.

“Industry stakeholders were engaged to ensure that participating interstate tradies meet the necessary qualification standards,” Ms Petinos said.

“We’ve erred on the side of caution when deciding which licenses would be included to maintain the highest standards for consumers in NSW. 

“Recognising interstate registration reduces administration costs faced by tradespeople – many of whom are small business owners – who want to grow their businesses and move to where the work is.

“This will boost competition, which can deliver lower prices, greater choice, and improved service quality for consumers.”

NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory are participating in the Automatic Mutual Recognition Scheme. Western Australia will join the scheme on 1 July 2022.

More information on AMR can be found here: Making it easier for registered professionals to work interstate | NSW Government