A Certificate of Compliance is the document that says the work you did meets the standards and regulations for your trade. In Tasmania, licensed electrical and plumbing work generally requires one, and lodging it is the licensed practitioner’s responsibility — not the customer’s.
Here’s what tradies actually need to know, without the regulator-speak.
What is a Certificate of Compliance?
A Certificate of Compliance is a formal record that a piece of licensed work — electrical or plumbing — was carried out to the required standard by a licensed person. It protects you, the customer, and anyone who works on the property later. It’s proof the job was done right.
Who has to lodge it?
The licensed practitioner who did the work lodges the certificate. If you’re the sparky or the plumber on the job, that’s you. You can’t hand the responsibility to the customer, and “the other bloke was going to do it” won’t stand up if there’s ever a question.
When does it need to be lodged?
Certificates are time-sensitive — they’re meant to be lodged promptly after the work is completed, not months later when you’re catching up on paperwork. Leaving them stacked up is one of the most common ways tradies fall behind on compliance, and it’s the kind of thing that only becomes a problem when it’s already a problem.
How do you actually lodge one?
Traditionally: fill out the certificate with the job details and your licence information, then submit it through the relevant authority’s process. For a busy tradie, this usually means a pile of forms waiting for a night at the desk — which is exactly why so many fall behind.
The modern way is to let your job software do it. When your system already knows the job details and your licence number, generating and lodging the certificate becomes automatic — you finish the job, and the certificate takes care of itself.
Stop lodging them by hand
This is the single biggest paperwork drain for licensed tradies, and it’s completely automatable. TradieO generates your signed Certificate of Compliance the moment you mark a job complete and lodges it straight to the authority — no forms, no desk night, no falling behind. It’s the one thing most trade software still leaves you to do by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Certificate of Compliance the same as a Certificate of Electrical Safety?
The terminology varies by state and trade, but they serve the same purpose — formally certifying that licensed work meets the required standard. In Tasmania, check the exact certificate type for your specific trade and work.
Can the customer lodge it instead of me?
No. Lodging the certificate is the licensed practitioner’s responsibility.
What if I’ve got a backlog of certificates to lodge?
Lodge them as soon as you can — a backlog is a compliance risk. Going forward, automating the process means you never build one up again.