Get your cabinet making licence.
In NSW, cabinet makers are licensed under the joinery class. It covers making and installing built-in cupboards, wardrobes and kitchen units in homes. We help you get qualified and apply.
- What NSW asks for
- A Certificate III in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology (MSF30322), or a joinery qualification on Building Commission NSW’s list
What the licence lets you do.
When you make cabinets for a builder, they set the price and keep the client. With your own licence, you can make and install a kitchen for the owner directly.
- Contract residential joinery over $5,000 in labour and materials, in your own name.
- Make and install kitchen cupboards, wardrobes and entertainment units.
- Fit doors, windows, stairs and internal timber cladding.
- Work toward the kitchen, bathroom and laundry renovation class, which builds on a joinery licence.
Your name on the sign.
It stays on your screen. Nothing is sent or saved.
Who qualifies.
Building Commission NSW issues joinery licences, which cover cabinet making. It asks for a qualification from its list and a police check. No set years apply.
A Certificate III in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology (MSF30322), a Certificate III in Joinery (CPC31920), or another qualification on the list.
Cabinet work an RTO can assess: kitchens, wardrobes and units you’ve built and fitted, with photos and references.
A National Police Check, no more than four months old.
A completed apprenticeship, if you began one. The licence isn’t issued while you’re still an apprentice or trainee.
Worth knowing: The same class covers shower screens and prefabricated glass fencing.
Other states and territories set their own rules. Tell us where you work, and we’ll check them for you.
Ask about your stateYour documents.
Tick off what you already have. We’ll help you with the rest.
0 of 10 ready
From your first call to your licence.
How it usually goes. Your case may skip a step, or need one we’ll explain at the start.
Free eligibility check
Tell us what you make and install. We’ll explain how the joinery licence fits your work, whether you’re ready now, and what it costs.
Your evidence pack
We help you gather photos, drawings, references and pay records, and fill the gaps before the RTO sees them.
Assessment by an RTO
A registered training organisation assesses you for the Certificate III in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology. Some units may need a practical task or a short interview.
Your licence application
We prepare your joinery application to Building Commission NSW, with your police check and forms in place.
Licensed
Once it’s approved, you can contract joinery work in your own name, on a one, three or five-year licence.
Questions people ask us.
Something else on your mind?
Ask us on WhatsAppWhy is it called a joinery licence?
NSW puts cabinet making in one class with doors, windows, stairs and other built-in timber work, and calls that class joinery. So when you apply, you ask for joinery.
When do I need a licence?
For residential joinery worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST. Board, benchtops, hardware and your labour all count toward that total.
Can I take on a full kitchen renovation?
Renovating a whole kitchen, bathroom or laundry is a separate class in NSW. A joinery licence is one way in, and you add a set of extra units on top. Ask us what that would take for you.
Does overseas cabinet work count?
Overseas cabinet work can count as evidence for the Australian Certificate III. NSW doesn’t issue licences on overseas qualifications alone. Send us photos of what you made and we’ll talk you through it.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take?
It depends on which units your evidence covers and what you already hold. The free check gives you the full cost and a realistic timeframe up front.
I work in another state. Can you help?
Yes. Every state draws the lines around joinery and cabinet work its own way. Tell us where you work and we’ll check.
Check your cabinet making experience for free.
Tell us what you’ve built and for how long. We’ll tell you where you stand, what’s missing, and what it costs.