Important notice
- DTLs are an electronic version of a physical contractor licence, supervisor certificate or tradesperson certificate under the Home Building Act 1989 (“Trade Licence”). They can be used to show that you hold a current Trade Licence.
- A DTL is optional and will only be issued in addition to a Trade Licence.
- NSW is the first jurisdiction to offer a DTL, so you should always carry your Trade Licence when working outside of NSW, as your DTL may not be recognised within the other jurisdiction.
- It is your responsibility to ensure that your phone or other electronic device is working and the battery is charged. The screen must not be unable to be read due to cracking, dimming, dirt or any other fault, damage or obstruction, otherwise your DTL will not be accepted.
Use of a DTL is conditional upon the Terms and Conditions set out below. Please read the following Terms and Conditions carefully.
1. Scope
1.1. The following Terms and Conditions form an agreement between you and Service NSW, including each party’s obligations, the use and misuse of the DTL, and relevant liabilities and indemnities.
1.2. These Terms and Conditions are in force from 21 February 2022.
2. Definitions and interpretation
2.1. In these Terms and Conditions, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Act” means Home Building Act 1989.
“DTL” means Digital Trade Licence, which is the term used in these Terms and Conditions to refer to the digital form of the following licences:
- Contractor Licence granted under s19 of the Home Building Act 1989*
- Supervisor Certificate granted under s24 of the Home Building Act 1989
- Tradesperson Certificate granted under s24 of the Home Building Act 1989.
* Only available to individual licence holders on release pending further development.
“Fair Trading” means staff of the Department of Customer Service who exercise functions on behalf of the Commissioner for Fair Trading.
“NSW” means the State of New South Wales.
“Trade Licence” means any one of the following physical licences:
- Contractor Licence granted under s19 of the Home Building Act 1989
- Supervisor Certificate granted under s24 of the Home Building Act 1989
- Tradesperson Certificate granted under s24 of the Home Building Act 1989.
“DTL Webpage” means Service NSW Digital Trade Licence webpage.
“You” means a person who has been issued with a DTL.
2.2. Unless the context requires otherwise, the singular includes the plural and vice versa, reference to a gender includes all genders, reference to “person” includes a natural person, company, body corporate or other form of legal entity, and reference to “including” and “includes” and “for example” is to read as if followed by “without limitation”.
2.3. If a word or phrase is given a defined meaning, any other part of speech or grammatical form of that word or phrase has a corresponding meaning.
3. Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions
3.1. By applying for a DTL, you agree to abide by these Terms and Conditions when you use your DTL.
4. DTL Eligibility
4.1. You are eligible for a DTL if you:
- 4.1.1. Have or are able to obtain a MyServiceNSW Account; and
- 4.1.2. Have or will link your MyServiceNSW Account to your Trade Licence; and
- 4.1.3. Hold a valid Trade Licence; and
- 4.1.4. Have applied for a DTL.
4.2. Your DTL is only valid for as long as you hold a current Trade Licence that has not been surrendered, cancelled or suspended.
4.3. Service NSW reserves the right to disable your DTL and terminate any access granted to you if:
- 4.3.1. You have breached these Terms and Conditions;
- 4.3.2. Your Trade Licence has been surrendered, cancelled or suspended.
5. Privacy
5.1. Service NSW handles your personal information in accordance with all applicable privacy laws (including the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998), its privacy management plan (available on its website), Privacy Statement for Digital Trade Licences and Credentials, and in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. This includes the collection, security, use and disclosure of your personal information.
5.2. Service NSW will obtain information about your Trade Licence from Fair Trading in order to issue your DTL. For more information about how Service NSW will handle that information, please see the Digital Trade Licence and Credentials Privacy Collection Notice, which is available on the Service NSW website. For information on how Fair Trading manages your personal information in connection with the Trade Licence and DTL, please see the Fair Trading Privacy Statement.
5.3. When you show your DTL to anyone or allow the QR code on your DTL to be scanned, then you are choosing to share your personal information with that third party and you may wish to first ask to see their privacy collection notice or privacy policy.
5.4. Your DTL contains important personal information and Service NSW recommends that you do not provide screenshots of your DTL to anyone. Third parties can check DTL without taking a copy.
5.5. When the QR code on your DTL is scanned, the scanner may choose to send an email record of your DTL to themselves or others. That record will comprise the same information as that which appears on the public register under the Home Building Act 1989. The scanner may send that email record on to any other party. By obtaining and using a DTL, you understand and agree that an email record of your DTL may be sent on to other parties.
6. Use of the DTL
6.1. It may take some time before everyone will be ready to accept a DTL. During this time, you may wish to continue to carry your Trade Licence, especially if you are working interstate.
6.2. You understand and agree that at all times:
- 6.2.1. You must ensure your phone screen or other electronic device is not cracked, shattered or otherwise affected by any damage that may prevent your DTL from being viewed clearly when presented;
- 6.2.2. You must ensure your phone or other electronic device is working and sufficiently charged so that your DTL can be viewed; and
- 6.2.3. You must not fraudulently use or allow another person to use your DTL.
6.3. You must immediately cease using your DTL upon:
- Your Trade Licence being cancelled;
- Your Trade Licence being confiscated;
- Surrendering your Trade Licence for any reason;
- Your Trade Licence being suspended; or
- Having your DTL disabled by Service NSW.
6.4. You are not required to give or hand over your mobile phone or other electronic device on which your DTL is displayed to a person who requires your Trade Licence to be produced. However, you must enable a person to properly inspect your DTL.
7. Variation to form and content of a DTL
7.1. The form and content of a DTL may be varied at any time and for any reason at the discretion of Service NSW and Fair Trading.
7.2. You may or may not be notified of any variations to the form and content of a DTL, prior to or after any variations to the DTL.
7.3. While the DTL is being varied, it may be unavailable for a period of time.
7.4. When the DTL is unavailable, you agree to use your Trade Licence when required.
8. Costs
8.1. Obtaining a DTL is free; however, you bear all other associated costs (including any data or internet costs incurred in accessing your DTL).
9. Limitation of Liability and Indemnities
9.1. Service NSW is not liable in the event that you cannot produce a DTL (for example, network connectivity problems) or anyone refuses to accept your DTL as proof of identity.
9.2. Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, Service NSW and Fair Trading (including their officers, employees and agents) will not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever that is suffered or sustained (including, but not limited to, indirect or consequential loss) or for any death, illness, personal injury, financial loss or property damage suffered or sustained (even caused by negligence) as a result of, or in any way connected with, using the DTL, including the unavailability of the DTL or the refusal of a third person to accept your DTL.
9.3. To the extent permitted by law, you agree to release, fully indemnify and keep fully indemnified Service NSW and Fair Trading (including their officers, employees and agents) from and against all liability, cost, loss, damage, expense, claim or other right of action arising out of, or in connection with, your use of a DTL, including the unavailability of the DTL or the refusal of a third person to accept your DTL.
10. Contact
10.1. Any enquiry or complaint is to be directed to Service NSW via NSW Service Centres or by calling 13 77 88.
11. General
11.1. You are responsible for obtaining your own independent legal and financial advice regarding these Terms and Conditions.
12. Variation
12.1. Service NSW reserves the right to amend, vary, delete or supplement these Terms and Conditions at any time. If these Terms and Conditions change, you will be asked to confirm your agreement to those changes the next time you access your DTL.
12.2. These Terms and Conditions, as varied, deleted or supplemented from time to time, apply to any future version of, or update to, the DTL software.
13. Waiver
13.1. Failure by Service NSW to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
14. Severability
14.1. If any term in these Terms and Conditions is, becomes or is declared illegal, invalid or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever, it shall be severed from these Terms and Conditions, and the remaining Terms and Conditions shall continue in full force.
15. Governing Law
15.1. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws in NSW. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of NSW and any Court competent to hear appeals from those Courts.
16. Survival
16.1. Any and all provisions or obligations contained in these Terms and Conditions which, by their nature or effect, are required or intended to be observed, kept or performed after termination of these Terms and Conditions will survive the termination of these Terms and Conditions and remain binding upon, and for the benefit of, the relevant persons.