The NSW Government has releases the Digital Individual Contractor Licence in the NSW Services app to make qualifications more readily accessible and visible to contractors and consumers.
Individual Contractor Licence holders now have the option of making those credentials digital for free, which makes it the second trade licence to become digitised, following the launch of the digital white card in April 2021.
The release of the digital licence follows a trial of more than 1400 tradespeople and focuses on facilitating ease and security of accessing credentials, according to NSW Customer Service and Digital Government Minister Victor Dominello.
“This is about a smart NSW making it easier for people to do business across the state and for consumers looking to check a tradie,” Dominello said.
“Security is baked into the digital licence, which includes an animated NSW Government logo, auto-refreshing date and time, QR code that expires and reloads, and a Waratah hologram.”
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“But for those who want to keep using their existing card that will always be an option.”
NSW Small Business and Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos said the new licence app will increase the consumer safeguards against prospective tradies.
“Digital contractor licences will make it convenient for consumers to assess the qualifications of a tradesman prior to entering into a contract,” she said.
“The digital contractor licence is a quick and secure way for contractors to display their credentials on-site and for consumers to check a licence when engaging a tradie.”
The Digital Contractor Licence does not replace the physical copy of the card, which still must be carried when engaging in work, and there are plans to release more licences through the NSW Services app.
“And we have heard loud and clear from tradies during the trial that they also want access to digital qualified supervisor and tradesperson certificates,” Dominello said.
“We are planning to roll these out in late April.”