As a tradie in Australia, your wallet will be packed to the brim with various licences for all your building qualifications. Some tradies may even need to have up to 15 cards on them at any one time!
If you’re caught empty-handed during a site inspection, the consequences can be serious. You may need to do further training or pay fines of up to $11,000. That’s why we know you’ll be stoked to hear that the NSW Government is doing away with hard-copy licenses and creating the option to carry these licenses digitally.
The NSW Government has started with the white card – you can now apply for your digital version on the Service NSW website. Not only will it make compliance with legislation much easier, but it will also declutter your wallet and make this part of the job a lot more convenient. No need to remember to bring the white card wherever you go – it’ll be right on your smartphone, ready to go whenever and wherever you need it.
1. More reasons to go digital
Real-time updates
No more waiting around for a new white card to be posted to you — your digital white card will update automatically when you renew it, or if you change any personal details.
Better security
Because it’s digital, your white card will be protected by smartphone security – think PIN, fingerprint, and facial recognition. There’s also no chance of theft or fraud — even if your phone is lost or stolen, your card will always be safe.
Remote access
The digital white card can be used on-demand, even if you’re not connected to the internet – perfect if you’re on a job where there’s no service.
Strong authentication
The digital card comes with features to prove it’s authentic: an animated NSW Government logo, the last refreshed date and time, a QR code that expires and reloads, and a Waratah hologram that moves when the phone is tilted.
2. Will the digital white card work?
The white card isn’t the first digital initiative that the NSW Government has worked on. They've already had huge success digitising NSW drivers’ licences, with over 3 million users already since its launch — that’s half of all licence holders in the state. Internationally, NSW is way ahead of the digital curve, so we know the technology works well.
3. What about the other certification cards?
According to Kevin Anderson, the State Government has started with the white card but will swiftly move to digitise the licence cards for the rest of Home Building and SafeWork licences (that's around 30 categories).
“We’re building a strong, safer NSW, and these digital licences will make it easier than ever to verify that the tradie you’re hiring has the right skills to do the job,” says Anderson.
4. The future industry standard in Australia
Using physical white cards and other licences costs tradies time and money. It’s time to start going digital. There are 1.5 million tradies in NSW who’ll be walking around with lighter wallets, but there’s no sign of digitised building licenses coming for other states. However, with the success of this digitisation, it will surely influence other states to follow suit in the not-too-distant future.
Builders who want to get organised use Tradify. Sign up for a free 14-day trial, or jump into one of our live weekly walkthroughs.
