Do I Need a Licence? Business Licences and Permits in Australia
Probably, yes — most Australian small businesses need at least one licence, permit or registration beyond an ABN, but which ones depends entirely on what you do and where you do it. A freelance designer in a spare room may need only a quick check of council rules; a cafe serving wine with footpath tables can need a dozen approvals across three levels of government. Here's how to work out which camp you're in, who issues what, and what it costs to get it wrong.
An ABN is not a licence
The most common mix-up is treating registrations as permission. Registering an ABN tells the ATO and your customers who you are. Registering a business name with ASIC stops someone else trading under it. Neither authorises you to wire a house, pour a beer, sell a car or mind other people's children.
A licence is permission from a regulator to carry out an activity the law restricts, usually conditional on qualifications, insurance, a criminal history check or approved premises. A permit is the same idea at council level, tied to a place rather than a person. There's no general "business licence" in Australia; you need the specific ones that match your activity, state and council.
The three layers of approvals
Each tier of government regulates different things, and one business can need something from all three.
| Layer | Who issues it | Typical examples |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth | ATO, Australian Business Register, ASIC, IP Australia, Australian Border Force, TGA | ABN, GST and PAYG, company registration, trade marks, financial services and credit licences, import permits |
| State or territory | Fair trading bodies, building and electrical regulators, police licensing units, liquor regulators, health departments | Trade licences, real estate and motor dealer licences, security and liquor licences, working with children checks, childcare approvals |
| Local council | Planning, health and compliance teams | Development consent, food business registration, signage, footpath dining, home-based business approval, beauty and skin penetration registration |
A Sydney cafe, for example, needs an ABN and GST registration (Commonwealth), a liquor licence to serve wine (state), and development consent, food business registration, a footpath dining permit and sign approval (council).
How to use ABLIS
The Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) at ablis.business.gov.au is a free, joint Commonwealth–state service covering all three tiers, and it takes about 15 minutes.
- Choose Guided Search. It asks about your business type, activities, location (state and council area), structure, and whether you'll employ people, sell food or alcohol, or work from home.
- Answer for what you'll actually do, not your industry label. Tick every activity that applies.
- Read the results by government level. Each item shows the issuing agency, published fees and a link to the application.
- Download the personalised report — a PDF you can hand to your accountant.
Two cautions: ABLIS is a directory, not an approval — you still apply to each agency and pay each fee — and it can't capture every local quirk, so confirm premises-related items with your council's planning and environmental health teams.
Common licensed trades and who regulates them
These are the industries where unlicensed trading is most likely to be picked up and most expensive when it is. The table covers the four largest states; in SA most of these sit with Consumer and Business Services, in Tasmania with CBOS, in the ACT with Access Canberra and in the NT with Licensing NT.
| Licence type | NSW | Victoria | Queensland | WA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Builders and building trades | NSW Fair Trading / Building Commission NSW | Victorian Building Authority | QBCC | Building and Energy |
| Electricians | NSW Fair Trading | Energy Safe Victoria | Electrical Safety Office | Building and Energy |
| Plumbers and gasfitters | NSW Fair Trading | Victorian Building Authority | QBCC | Building and Energy |
| Food businesses | Local council | Local council | Local council (licence) | Local council |
| Liquor | Liquor & Gaming NSW | Liquor Control Victoria | Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation | Racing, Gaming and Liquor |
| Security | NSW Police (SLED) | Victoria Police Licensing & Regulation Division | Office of Fair Trading | WA Police Licensing Services |
| Real estate agents | NSW Fair Trading | Consumer Affairs Victoria | Office of Fair Trading | Consumer Protection WA |
| Motor vehicle dealers | NSW Fair Trading | Consumer Affairs Victoria | Office of Fair Trading | Consumer Protection WA |
Building trades. Dollar thresholds apply to general building work — small jobs are often exempt — but electrical, plumbing, gasfitting and most air-conditioning work needs a licence regardless of value. NSW passed the Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Act 2026 in August 2026, which will change practitioner registration as it commences, so check Building Commission NSW before applying.
Food. Everywhere in Australia, a food business must register with, notify or (in Queensland) be licensed by its council before opening. Since 8 December 2023, Standard 3.2.2A of the Food Standards Code has also required most cafes, restaurants, caterers and takeaways (category one) to have a certified food safety supervisor, trained food handlers and records of their critical controls; retailers of pre-made food (category two) need the supervisor and trained handlers. Our guide to starting a cafe walks through the approvals in order.
Liquor. Selling or supplying alcohol needs a state liquor licence in the right category, a fit-and-proper-person assessment, RSA training and usually council consent for the premises.
Security. Guards, crowd controllers, alarm installers and consultants need individual licences and the business needs a master licence; expect fingerprinting and criminal history checks.
Childcare. Long day care, family day care and outside-school-hours services need a provider approval (recognised nationally) and a service approval for each service, both from your state's regulatory authority under the National Quality Framework, with ACECQA as the national body.
Real estate and motor dealers. Both sit with the fair trading or consumer affairs agency in each state. Agents need approved qualifications and a licence or certificate of registration; motor dealer licences kick in once you sell more than a set number of vehicles a year, which varies by state.
Running a business from home
Home-based businesses are regulated through planning law, so your council and state planning rules — not a licensing body — decide whether you need approval. Every state uses the same shape of test with its own numbers: a cap on non-resident workers, a floor area limit, one small sign at most, nothing stored or displayed outside, and no effect on parking, noise or the neighbours. Stay inside the limits and you generally need no approval at all; go past them and you're into a development application. Strata by-laws and residential leases apply on top, and hairdressing, beauty, tattooing, food preparation and family day care trigger health registration or licensing however small they are. Our home-based business guide has the state-by-state thresholds, along with the insurance and tax consequences of working from the house.
Signage permits
Signs are "development" in planning law, so putting one up can need council consent even if the business inside is fully licensed. In NSW, the Codes SEPP treats business identification signs as exempt development within size and placement limits; anything larger, illuminated or on a heritage building needs a development application. Other states' planning schemes work the same way. Footpath A-frames almost always need a separate permit under council's local law. Before ordering, email your council's planning desk the dimensions, location and whether it's illuminated — five minutes now avoids a removal order later.
Working with children checks
If your business involves child-related work — tutoring, coaching, childcare, school photography, children's entertainment — you and your staff need a check from the state where you work. Each state runs its own scheme: the Working with Children Check in NSW, Victoria, WA and SA, the Blue Card in Queensland, Registration to Work with Vulnerable People in Tasmania, WWVP registration in the ACT and the Ochre Card in the NT.
Self-employed people need one too — owning the business is no exemption. In NSW a check for paid work costs $112 and lasts five years, and it's free for volunteers (as at September 2026); other states follow a similar pattern, with validity of three to five years.
Reform is under way: in November 2025 all states and territories endorsed the Agreement to Deliver National Working with Children Check Reform, "banned in one, banned in all" legislation for negative notices is now in place in every jurisdiction, and in July 2026 attorneys-general agreed a national baseline of barring offences and minimum national standards for risk assessments. Full mutual recognition of checks is still to come, so for now you still need a separate check in each state you work in.
Penalties for unlicensed work
In NSW, contracting to do residential building work (including electrical work) without a licence carries a maximum penalty under the Home Building Act of $22,000 for an individual and $110,000 for a corporation; an individual convicted a second time faces up to $55,000, 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
In Queensland, a first unlicensed contracting offence under the QBCC Act attracts a maximum of $43,175 for an individual and $215,875 for a company, with higher tiers for repeat offences (as at September 2026). Under section 55 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002, performing electrical work without a licence carries a maximum penalty of 400 penalty units — about $69,000 at Queensland's $172.70 penalty unit from 1 July 2026.
Then there's the money you can't collect: in both NSW and Queensland an unlicensed contractor generally can't enforce the contract or recover profit on the job, so the client can refuse to pay. Your business insurance can be voided too, because policies assume you're licensed for the work. Councils can issue stop-work and food prohibition orders, and regulators can bar you from holding a licence for years after a breach.
Key takeaways
- There's no general business licence in Australia — you need the specific licences, permits and registrations for your activity, state and council. An ABN and a business name are registrations, not permissions.
- Start with ABLIS (ablis.business.gov.au): free, all three tiers of government, personalised report — but you still apply to each agency yourself.
- Trades, liquor, security, childcare, real estate and motor dealing are state-licensed; food registration, signage, footpath trading and home-based approvals are council matters.
- Small, quiet home-based businesses usually need no approval — NSW and Victoria both cap non-resident workers at two — but health-related activities need registration regardless.
- Unlicensed work costs more than the fine: up to $22,000/$110,000 in NSW and $43,175/$215,875 in Queensland (as at September 2026), plus unenforceable contracts and voided insurance.
Where to get help
- ABLIS (ablis.business.gov.au) — free personalised licence report across all three tiers of government.
- business.gov.au — Commonwealth registrations (ABN, GST, company, business name).
- Your state's small business agency — Service NSW Business Bureau, Business Victoria, Business Queensland, SBDC in WA and their equivalents offer free advisers.
- Your local council — planning for development consent, home-based business and signage; environmental health for food, beauty and skin penetration registration.
- The regulator itself — NSW Fair Trading, the VBA, QBCC, Energy Safe Victoria and your liquor and police licensing bodies publish eligibility checklists and fee schedules.
- Your accountant or lawyer — for structuring questions (some licences must be held by an individual, others by the entity) and contracts in licensed trades.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to run a small business in Australia?
Most small businesses need at least one licence, permit or registration beyond an ABN, but there's no single general business licence in Australia. What you need depends on your activity (trades, food, alcohol, security, childcare and property all need specific licences), your state, and your local council's rules on things like signage and working from home. The free ABLIS tool at ablis.business.gov.au gives you a tailored list.
Is an ABN a business licence?
No. An ABN is a tax identifier issued by the Australian Business Register so the ATO and other businesses can identify you. It doesn't authorise you to do anything. A licence is separate permission from a state regulator or council to carry out a regulated activity, and usually depends on qualifications, insurance or a fit-and-proper-person check.
How do I find out what licences my business needs?
Use the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) at ablis.business.gov.au. You answer questions about what you do and where, and it produces a free personalised report listing every Commonwealth, state and council licence, permit and registration that applies, with links to the issuing agency. Then confirm anything premises-related with your council's planning team.
Do I need council approval to run a business from home?
Often not, if the business is small and quiet, but it depends on your state's planning rules and your council. In NSW a "home occupation" run only by residents is generally exempt development, while a "home business" with up to two non-resident employees usually needs approval. In Victoria you don't need a planning permit if no more than two non-residents work there and you use no more than 100 square metres or one-third of the dwelling, whichever is less.
What happens if I operate without a licence?
Fines, and often the loss of your right to be paid. In NSW, contracting for residential building work without a licence carries a maximum penalty of $22,000 for an individual or $110,000 for a company, rising to $55,000 or 12 months' imprisonment for repeat offenders. In Queensland a first unlicensed contracting offence can cost an individual up to $43,175 (as at September 2026). Insurers can also refuse claims, and councils can issue stop-work orders.
General information only. This guide doesn't take your personal or business circumstances into account and isn't financial, legal or tax advice. Rates and thresholds change — check the official sources linked in this guide and get qualified advice where your circumstances require it.