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OK here's what you need in Queensland as a Painter & Decorator. A blue card, and thats about it, nearly'
If you want to work for a boss fine, just the blue card.
If you want to go out and work for yourself you will need a BSA license, which is Building Services Australia. It usually takes a 3 day weekend to complete it. Cost about $500+ They take you mainly through the business side of running a business.
You will need your trade certificates or if you don't have them be able to prove you have been on your own account by producing tax returns etc. Then quite often they will send an Inspector out to visit you on site to check your skills.
The idea of all this is to keep out incompetent painters, but it doesn't. It really serves for a client to be able to make a claim against shoddy workmanship.
Don't be put off by the procedure, if you are a competent person you will fly through it.
Now if you work on wages there are several ways, each with their pitfalls!
Working for a boss on normal wages, you get holiday pay, sickness pay, superannuation, long service leave, this is mainly in repaints, but the pay is only just over $20 odd dollars per hour.
If you can get on a large construction site the pay is much better, with all the above perks plus others like site and height allowance, rostered days off, sickness income protection, and redundancy payments. In the long run this is the best option, as all your tax is deducted, and you don,t have any worries. Although unionism is not compulsory, it is hard to get on site without it!
The other way is to work as a sub-contractor, eg you work for maybe $30 dollars or so an hour with no holiday pay, usually responsible for your own tax [the contractor won't deduct it and pay it on your behalf], and having to claim GST and forward it to the Government { a real hassle].
Some contractors will sub let a job to you and provide the materials and pay you regular progress payments, this way with a bit of hard work and working smart you can make $2000 per week!![I have done this many times]
Also the contractor is supposed to pay 9% superannuation into a fund for you, but not many do. Then you have a fight to claim it by going to taxation with a complaint. Also this method you are called a sub contractor, but in the eyes of the Taxation you re not unless you provide your own equipment and materials!! Tell that to the contractor and he will laugh at you!
Hope I haven't put you off, but my advice would be to get any work thats going to start with, look around and decide what you think is best for you. There is plenty of work around in most area of Queensland.
I have been in this trade for 50 years, in oz 39 of them, most spent in Victoria where there doesn't seem to be the strictness we have in Queensland, but you get used to all the crap!
I wouldn't swap Queensland now for anything. Being a pom you can overcome any of these small snags.
Best of luck to you all trying in this trade, and if you need any help please ask.
Also someone mentioned about a lot of wallpapering here in Queensland! I have been up here 6 years now and yet to hang a roll yet.
Regards kernow
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If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.
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