Should you be an owner-builder?
Thinking of building your own home in NSW? What an owner-builder takes on, who can apply, and how the Owner Builder course gets you started.
Written byEdway
The short answer
Being an owner-builder means holding a permit and taking on a licensed builder's responsibilities for work on your own home.
In New South Wales you need a permit for building work worth more than $10,000, and from $20,000 you also need the approved owner-builder education.
Getting your hands dirty as an owner-builder can be an exciting and rewarding experience. By taking on the role a licensed builder normally would, you can manage your own residential build.
What an owner-builder is
An owner-builder is a homeowner who holds a permit and takes on the role a licensed builder normally would.
That means ordering materials, engaging and coordinating contractors, and managing a construction project on your own residential property.
The rewards are real. You can choose the materials, negotiate with suppliers and hire trades directly yourself, which puts you in charge of your costs. You have full control over the design of your home, so you can make decisions that suit your taste, lifestyle and budget.
Building your dream home armed with your owner builder certificate is one of the most satisfying projects you can be personally involved in. Managing your project from start to finish offers a sense of achievement that is hard to match, and you gain hands-on experience along the way.
When NSW requires a permit
There are two thresholds, and they are different numbers.
You need an owner-builder permit for building work worth more than $10,000 on a dwelling where development consent is required.
From $20,000, NSW also asks for the approved owner-builder education, or an approved equivalent, before it will grant the permit. Below $20,000 the permit requirement still applies; the education requirement does not.
Generally you can hold one owner-builder permit every 5 years.
Who can apply
NSW sets conditions on who may hold a permit. You must:
- be at least 18
- own the residential land where the work will be done, or hold a prescribed interest in it
- intend to live in the completed home
- not have started the building work
- not be building on a property that is part of a multi-dwelling strata complex
What you take on
As an owner-builder you are responsible for the building work just as a fully licensed builder would be. That covers overseeing and supervising every tradesperson, ordering materials and managing the building site.
You will be involved in every stage of the project, from sourcing materials to coordinating tradespeople.
One of the big jobs you will have is engaging professionals and trades at key stages of the project. An architect or building designer at the start helps turn your vision into viable building plans. Hiring your trades early helps the project run smoothly and keeps every stage on track.
Some work stays off-limits. Electrical wiring, plumbing, draining and gasfitting, and air-conditioning and refrigeration work must be done by an appropriately licensed tradesperson. A permit does not cover that work.
Is being an owner builder worth it?
It is if you want control. You choose the materials, hire the trades yourself and make the design calls, so the build suits your taste, lifestyle and budget.
It also takes real commitment. You are responsible for the work just as a licensed builder would be, and you will be involved in every stage. The owner builder course gives you the skills to plan, cost and run it with confidence.
If you sell the home later
If you sell within 7 years and 6 months of the permit being issued, the contract for sale has to include a consumer warning stating that an owner-builder permit was issued for the land, and the date it was issued.
The Owner Builder certificate is not the permit
The education and the permit are two separate steps.
Edway Training (RTO 91401) delivers the owner-builder course and issues the Statement of Attainment. NSW Fair Trading runs the permit scheme, and you apply for the permit yourself through Service NSW.
You can do the NSW Owner Builder course online, self-paced, so you can fit your study around work and family. It covers the skills you will use on site, from reading plans and specifications to estimating costs and planning the work.
The course is built for the NSW scheme. It is not a portable national qualification — other states and territories run their own owner-builder schemes and set their own education rules.
Why apply for the owner builder certificate?
Once your work in NSW is worth $20,000 or more, the approved owner-builder education comes before the permit. Your owner builder certificate is the evidence that you have done it.
It also sets you up for the build. You learn to read plans and specifications, estimate costs and plan the work, so you can take control of your project from the start.
Next step
For the units, delivery and what you need before enrolling, see the Owner Builder Course (NSW). There are no course prerequisites; you will need a current White Card when you apply for the permit itself.
Ready to build? Get your owner builder certificate and take control of your build. Our team is happy to help with any questions about the course through the site's contact page.
Sources
- Service NSW — Apply for an Owner-Builder PermitThe $10,000 permit threshold, the $20,000 education threshold, and the documents and steps in a permit application
- Building Commission NSW — Working as an owner-builderOwner-builder responsibilities, the licensed-trades exclusions, and the disclosure rule when selling within 7 years and 6 months
- NSW Fair Trading — owner-builder permit schemeThe regulator responsible for the NSW owner-builder permit scheme
