How to Get a Painters Licence in NSW?

Click_It on 11/02/2020 - 18:23
Last edited 11/02/2020 - 18:48 by 1 other user

Bit of an oddball topic for OB and I haven't really done my own research yet so I might put on the flame suit in advance for those google comments coming my way :) What can I say, I enjoy the OB community :)

I'm renovating my house to sell in March. I just finished respraying the external brick from a mission brown to a modern grey colour, first time with a spray gun and it looks great. I got some professional advice and didn't just 'wing it'. It's come up great and among the many neighbours who've stopped to compliment me, 2 genuinely asked if they hire me to do their houses!

Considering my house is 2 stories with some difficult slopes and access and some hot summer weather, I got the whole house done in about 12 days. A professional could probably do the same job in 1/4 of the time but I am fussy and the finish is good. I reckon I could do 1 story homes in under a week easily.

I should point out - I have a career and have no interest in getting into the painting industry by trade, I'm fortunate in that my job allows me a lot of free time through the year so I could easily do this as a side hustle if I wanted. I wouldn't mind doing a couple a year. Keeps me fit and I actually enjoy painting, it's just the prep I hate.

A quick look revealed 2 ways to obtain this license.

  1. Do a 4 year apprenticeship <— forget it
  2. If I have 4 years experience I can apply to RPL it <— well I have painted several of my own homes over the years so I have plenty of experience but no industry recognised experience so I assume that's out.

Is there another way to get this licence? Can I just do the Certificate III course and then apply to Fair Trading for a licence?

Education & Work

Comments

  • apsilon on 11/02/2020 - 18:35
    +1

    Yes you can do the course (there's at least 3 different TAFE courses that qualify) and then apply through Fair Trading.

    • Click_It on 11/02/2020 - 18:48

      That's awesome, thanks for the reply. I will look up TAFE and the other RTO's to see what my best options are.

  • EightImmortals on 11/02/2020 - 18:51
    +4

    "How to Get a Painters Licence in NSW?"

    Step one, get the painter REALLY drunk.
    Step two, nick his license when he passes out.
    Step three paint stuff for profit!

    • Click_It on 11/02/2020 - 22:42

      I like your style

  • ego22 on 11/02/2020 - 20:58
    +2

    u think u did good. no one would ever tell you your place looks like crap. "looks good" is usually what people say even though it dosent. when your working off a price and painting another persons house, they expect ALOT. if your inexperienced, eventually you goal will just be "how can i get out of this because im now working for $10 a hour"

    casually doing up your own place stress free, in your own time and to your own standards is a complete other world to doing it commercially.
    painting for someone else is alot more complicated and frustrating than u think.
    my advice will be to squash this life long dream you just came up right now.

    • RockyRaccoon on 11/02/2020 - 21:21

      Love the neg vote tendency. Rather than voice an opinion, its the current trend here at OzBargain. Just vote negative.

      Point is, why did they vote you down, because you poo pooed your "Looks Good" which is frankly irrelevant, where as your "expect ALOT" is pretty accurate, as most painters find out.

      Or is it the other way

      or maybe they just dont like those with ego

      • canyoudoitcheaper on 11/02/2020 - 21:56
        +2

        LOL… found the two painters!

        • ego22 on 11/02/2020 - 23:54

          we are a grumpy bunch.

        • RockyRaccoon on 16/02/2020 - 11:25

          Not me, my BIL was one, that gave me the insights.

          Fantastic detailed old school tradesman who taught me a lot about painting, although I hated it when he checked my work.

          But he still had customers take him to the tribunal and he lost.

          Gave it away

    • Click_It on 11/02/2020 - 22:39
      +3

      Your $10/hr and high expectations comment triggered a deja vu moment…

      I remember years ago in an IT job, being excited because I was making $500/day. Over time I was spending more and more of my own time fine tuning things, then one day I did the math. Instead of making around $71/hr (7hr day), towards the end I was closer to $27/hr as I was giving it 18hrs a day, 11 unpaid. So intent to establish myself I hadn't put any value on my own time. These days I still contract out, but I now understand what my time is worth. Trading time for money is a simple process which many don't understand and you just reminded me of a valuable lesson.

      You've twisted my arm. Logic checks out. I'll stick to my day job and keep this for my own reno's. Well done. 👍

  • TheBilly on 12/02/2020 - 06:47
    +1

    Painting is a very competitive trade and easy trade. Alot of painters are unlicensed and the risk for not checking is very low to the end consumer, so not alot of people care about that. I.e. if you quote a job at 10k and an unlicensed but knows how to paint guy quotes it at 5k I can assure you nobody will pay your price.

    • HighAndDry on 12/02/2020 - 08:13

      I think this makes it a good field for OP to get into as a side hustle based purely on word of mouth and referrals then, if it's so hard for a customer to check via any official channels the standard of the painter.

      Conversely this probably makes it hell for full time professional painters who're good but face pressure to get n number of jobs a month, and can't reliably and credibly differentiate themselves from lower standard, cheaper competitors.

  • onetwothreefour on 12/02/2020 - 10:22
    +1

    Are you sure you'd feel happy about painting other people's houses? I painted mine a couple of years ago and found it pretty boring staring at a wall all day and fairly stressful when having to climb a 5m high ladder. However, I did enjoy the sense of accomplishment after completing the job and it made me happy to come home to a house that wasn't an old faded/peeling brown colour and looks a bit more modern. I don't think I'd get that same feeling from painting someone else's house.

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