You know your trade. What’s less obvious is everything that stands between doing the work well and running the business that sells it.
That’s why you’ll need to get a licence from the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) before you start contracting. To get one, you’ll need to show you understand the legal and financial side of running a business on top of your trade skills. That’s what BSBESB402 covers, and you’ll need to complete it before you submit your application.
The course is online, self-paced, and most people knock it over in a day. This guide covers what you need to start working under your own name and how to get your BSBESB402 qualification.
What you need to start your own trade business in Queensland
Before you take on your first job under your own name in Queensland, you’ll need to clear a few requirements:
Your trade qualification: You’ll need the relevant qualification for your trade, which most people already hold by the time they start thinking about going out on their own.
A QBCC licence: Queensland requires either a Trade Contractor licence or a Nominee Supervisor licence depending on how you plan to operate.
A managerial qualification: Your QBCC licence application requires BSBESB402, the unit behind what most people call the QBCC Managerial Course.
Business setup: You’ll need an ABN, the right insurance, and a decision on whether to operate as a sole trader or set up a company before you start quoting work.
What is BSBESB402 (the QBCC managerial course)?
The formal unit code is BSBESB402 Establish Legal and Risk Management Requirements of New Business Ventures, but everyone in the industry calls it the QBCC Managerial Course. It’s a QBCC-approved managerial course delivered online, which means completing it satisfies the qualification requirement on your licence application.
The unit itself is nationally recognised, so it will appear on your training record anywhere in Australia. The licensing requirement it satisfies is Queensland-specific, since QBCC only regulates building and construction work in this state.
Completing the course alone doesn’t hand you a licence. You’ll earn a Statement of Attainment covering one of the requirements QBCC asks for when you lodge your licence application. You’ll still need your trade qualification and a separate application to QBCC itself.
The QBCC Managerial Course costs $420, or $0 if you’re eligible for Construction Skills Queensland funding.
Do you need it?
If you’re applying for a QBCC licence, then yes. The managerial qualification is a standard part of the application process for anyone taking on legal responsibility for building or construction work in Queensland.
These four groups need to complete it:
Applicants for a Trade Contractor licence
Applicants for a QBCC Nominee Supervisor licence
Applicants for an Electrical Contractor’s licence through the Electrical Safety Office
Anyone applying for Qualified Business Person status
If you’re planning to keep working as an employee and not contracting under your own licence, then you don’t need it.
Doing BSBESB402 online: what you'll need
The course is delivered entirely online and is self-paced, so you can fit it around work without taking time off. Most people finish in around a day, though your enrolment gives you 90 days to complete it if you’d rather spread it out.
There are no formal entry requirements. What you will need is basic computer skills and internet access, enough language, literacy, and numeracy to work through the assessments, and a valid Unique Student Identifier. If you don’t have a USI yet, you can apply at usi.gov.au or we can sort one out for you.
Once you’ve completed all assessments, you’ll get your Statement of Attainment in around three to five business days.
What the course covers
The course works through the legal and practical side of running your own business, using scenarios you’ll recognise from real jobs. Here’s what you’ll learn:
Business structures: You’ll work out which legal structure suits your operation and what each one commits you to.
Rules and regulations: Different structures come with different legal obligations, so this section covers what applies to yours.
Business practices and compliance: You’ll learn how to build the workplace processes that keep your business compliant in the way you operate day to day.
Record-keeping: Storing and maintaining legal documents properly matters when QBCC or the ATO comes asking.
Spotting compliance issues: You’ll learn to recognise when something isn’t right before it turns into a problem you have to fix.
Procurement and contracts: This section teaches you to negotiate agreements, understand your rights when sourcing goods, and complete contracts properly.
Risk management: You’ll learn to identify the risks most likely to hit a new trade business and put practical protections in place.
The course covers the compliance basics you need to get licensed, but plenty of business owners keep going from there. A Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping goes deeper on the financial side if record-keeping is where you feel least confident, while a Certificate IV in Project Management Practice suits anyone planning to take on multi-stage jobs rather than single-trade work.
Open for business with Civil Safety
Civil Safety (RTO 32381) offers the QBCC Managerial Course fully online and self-paced, so you can finish it around your current work and move on to your licence application. Eligible Queensland workers can complete it at no cost through CSQ funding.
Contact us if you want to check your funding eligibility or ask about the enrolment process.
Frequently asked questions
No. The course delivers BSBESB402, which is one of the requirements for a QBCC Trade Contractor or Nominee Supervisor licence application. You’ll still need your trade qualification and a separate application to QBCC.
The course costs $420 or $0 if you’re eligible for Construction Skills Queensland funding.
Most people finish it in around a day. The course is self-paced and delivered fully online, so you can complete it whenever you have time. You must finish the course within 90 days of enrolment.
Anyone applying for a QBCC Trade Contractor licence, a QBCC Nominee Supervisor licence, an Electrical Contractor’s licence through the Electrical Safety Office, or a Qualified Business Person status.