Does a fencer need a licence in NSW, and how do you check it?

Published 28 October 2026

When fencing needs a licence in NSW

The Home Building Act 1989 treats "fences and gates", retaining walls and swimming pools built for use with a home as part of the dwelling (Sch 1 cl 3(2)). Building, repairing or replacing them is residential building work once the reasonable market cost of the labour and materials passes $5,000 (Sch 1 cl 2(3)(a) and Regulation cl 12).

The test is the whole job, so a long boundary fence doesn't drop under the limit by being invoiced in parts. Jobs of $5,000 or less don't legally need a licence.

Which licence categories cover fences, pool fences and gates?

A licence lists the categories its holder can contract for. These are the ones that cover fencing work, from the Regulation's Schedule 4 and the NSW Government's licence pages:

• Fencing: "the erection of fences and gates, irrespective of the construction materials used, within or on residential property boundary lines".
• Carpentry: timber, brushwood, metal and prefabricated glass fencing, and the concrete footings for them.
• Glazing and joinery: glass fencing, including glass pool fences.
• Metal fabrication: metal fences, gates and balustrades.
• Swimming pool building: includes the safety fencing that goes with a pool installation.
• Bricklaying and stonemasonry: freestanding brick or stone fences and their footings.

Retaining walls are a different category: structural landscaping, or bricklaying, carpentry, general concreting or stonemasonry for walls that need no council approval. A fencing licence on its own doesn't cover a retaining wall under a new fence.

How to check a fencing contractor's licence

Ask for the licence number and the name on the licence, then look it up on the home building licence check, which the NSW Government's guide to checking a tradesperson links to. Check that:

• the name matches the business quoting you, or the business name registered to the licensee
• the status is current, and the expiry date is after the job
• the categories include fencing, or the category that covers your fence (glass, pool, brick)
• the same name and number appear on the written quote and contract

Contracts, deposits and insurance for a fence job

The Home Building Act sets these rules for residential building work, explained in the NSW Government's guide to home building contracts:

• Over $5,000, up to $20,000 (incl. GST): a written, dated and signed small works contract with the licensee's name and licence number, a description of the work and the price (s 7AAA).
• Over $20,000: a full home building contract, a 5 clear business day cooling-off period (s 7BA), and home building compensation cover from icare before work starts or any payment is taken.
• Any size: the deposit can be no more than 10% of the contract price (s 8).

For most single-boundary fences the small works rules apply. Larger pool fences or several boundaries at once can pass $20,000, where icare's home building compensation cover is "required for most residential building projects over $20,000 (including GST)".

Can you build your own fence without a licence?

Usually, yes. Regulation cl 24 exempts an owner doing residential building work on their own land from the licence requirement, as long as it isn't specialist work, such as the electrical wiring for a gate motor, and doesn't need an owner-builder permit.

A permit is needed only when the work costs more than $10,000 including GST and also needs development consent or a complying development certificate (s 29 and Regulation cl 19). An ordinary fence that meets the exempt development rules needs neither. A pool fence still has to meet the Swimming Pools Act standard, whoever builds it.

Questions about checking a fencer's licence