In Queensland and NSW, a licensed tradie's website counts as advertising, so your licence number has to be on it. The details differ by state and trade, so this guide covers what the two regulators say, how to build the rule into your site, and what else a trade website needs to bring in work you own.
Yes, according to the regulators in Queensland and NSW. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) lists websites, social media pages and online service directories as advertising, and applies the same rules to them as to a ute sign or a flyer. NSW Fair Trading's guidance on building trade advertisements says the internet is covered alongside print, television and radio.
The practical consequence is that a one page brochure site, a Facebook page and your listing on a directory all need the correct licence details, not just the homepage you built last year. If a rule applies to the medium, it applies to every page that sells your work.
In Queensland, the QBCC says a licensee's ad must show the name you are licensed under. A trading name can be used only alongside your licensed name, and the QBCC warns that an ad showing only a trading name will most likely be non compliant. The ad must also state that you are licensed under the QBCC Act and show your licence number, and those details must be easy to read and reasonably prominent. As of October 2026 the QBCC lists a maximum penalty of 35 penalty units for licensees who get this wrong, shown on its page as $6,044 for individuals and $30,222 for companies. Penalty unit values change, so check the QBCC page for current amounts.
In NSW, the rule on the NSW Government's building trade advertising page is that the licensee's name and licence number must be shown in all advertising, with the licence number shown against the correct category of work. A registered business name can stand in for the licensee's name. The business telephone number is also required. The same page asks you to keep a system that identifies who placed each ad, and says you should not advertise a partial price unless the full single price is also stated.
Note the wording on category. An electrician and a plumber on the same site, or a builder who also holds a specialist licence, should show each number against the work it covers rather than one generic number in the footer.
This guide covers only Queensland and NSW. Other states and territories set their own rules through their own regulators, so do not assume the rule is identical everywhere.
The sensible approach is to treat the strictest wording above as your minimum (licensed name, licence number, category, prominent placement) and then confirm your own state and trade with the licensing body that issued your licence. Electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, builders and air conditioning installers can each answer to a different body, and some trades also have registration numbers rather than licence numbers. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the current rule with your regulator or a professional.
Put it where it cannot be missed and where it does not depend on a visitor scrolling. A site wide footer or header line with your licensed name and number works well, repeated on the contact page and on any landing page you send ads or Google Business Profile traffic to. If you run separate pages per suburb or service, each one is its own advertisement in practice, so build the line into the page template rather than pasting it by hand.
Use real text, not text baked into an image, so it is legible on a phone and readable by screen readers. Keep the number current: when a licence is renewed, upgraded or has a category added, a single template edit should update the whole site. The same details should match your quotes, invoices and vehicle signage so the public record of who you are is consistent.
Lead marketplaces such as hipages, ServiceSeeking and Oneflare are useful for finding jobs, but a profile there is rented space. The terms, lead pricing and visibility rules are the marketplace's to change, so read their current terms before building a business around them. The advertising rules above apply to your marketplace profile too, because it is still advertising your licensed work.
A website you own gives you a place that ranks for your suburb and trade, a reviews page, photos of finished jobs and a contact form that goes straight to you. It does not need to be elaborate. It needs a fast mobile page, clear service areas, your licence details, and a way to ring or request a quote in one tap. If you are weighing a designer against a site builder, our guides on web designer versus website builder and choosing a web designer cover the trade-offs.
Email is the quiet one. A tradie answering quotes from a personal webmail address loses credibility and mixes business with family mail. Setting up professional email on your own domain takes a short time, and business email hosting explains where that mail should live. Quote request forms that send to a mailbox also need correct sending records, which our contact form email guide walks through.
If you use WordPress, run it on hosting with HTTPS, regular backups and security updates, and keep to the basics in the WordPress hosting checklist. HostBible includes a free SSL certificate on every hosting plan, and our Australian business hosting guide covers the wider decisions for a local business. Job management software such as ServiceM8 or Tradify handles scheduling and invoicing, but it does not replace a public website.
HostBible hosting includes a free SSL certificate, and our team will migrate an existing site for you at no charge, with the old site staying live until you switch over.
See website migration