Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

Proposed Changes To Registration Requirements For Professional Painters in WA


The WA painting industry is known for its high level of professionalism and changes to registration requirements are uncommon. But with the announcement of proposed changes from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, many professional Perth painters welcome the opportunity for industry improvements to be made.

However, concerns have been raised that the proposed changes are not aimed at improving standards, qualifications, or safety. Instead, red tape, costly reassessments, and inadequate training pathways are being put forward.   

The cost to small business

Small business owners within the painting industry could feel the impact of the proposed changes in a number of ways. 

Painting and decorating apprentices could be forced to study the estimating unit twice, resulting in unnecessary costs for business owners and tax payers.

Employing fully qualified and highly experienced painters from interstate will also be affected. Mandatory trade certificates will see some tradespeople being forced to be reassessed for nationally recognised qualifications they already have. Requiring "approved TSA providers" to have existing qualifications recognised as legitimate is onerous, an unnecessary expense, and will deter experienced painters from accepting attractive positions in WA. This could result in workers being without suitable supervision and may restrict the scope of work smaller businesses could compete for. 

The problem with Pathway Set 2

Of most significant concern, the proposals have wholly ignored the glaring danger of the Set 2 pathway which allows painters to become registered in the industry without training in these crucial areas:

  • Working At Heights
  • Lead Paint Removal
  • Asbestos Encapsulation

Without adequate training in these high risk activities, the safety of painters, their customers, and the wider public is compromised.


What should be considered in any proposed changes

Proposed changes to the requirements for painters’ registrations should focus on strengthening the industry. Raising technical skill requirements and removing registration pathways that compromise safety is essential.  And in light of the ongoing issue with WA’s skills shortage, red tape obstacles that require duplicate qualifications should be removed to attract highly skilled painters from interstate.

The Future of Wealth Technology

“You shouldn’t need a large account balance to experience real-time investing. Technology should make that kind of access universal.” For decades...

Thryv wins national accolade at 2025 Australian Service Excellence Awards

  Thryv® (NASDAQ: THRY), Australia’s provider of the leading small business marketing and sales software platform, announced that Greg Nicolle, G...

pay.com.au unveils first-of-its-kind FX rewards feature, becoming the most flexible rewards solution for Aussie businesses

pay.com.au, the end-to-end payments and rewards platform, today announced the launch of International Payments, Australia’s first foreign exchange...

Yellow Canary partners with Celery to bring pre-payroll assurance technology to Australia

Wage underpayment headlines continue to put pressure on employers of all sizes, revealing how costly payroll mistakes can be for small and medium bu...

Brennan Bolsters Leadership to Accelerate Next Growth Chapter

In a move to further embed cybersecurity at the heart of its business strategy and deliver sovereign secure-by-design solutions for its customers, A...

How to Be Investable: Insights from Richelle Nicols, CEO of Pollinatr

Richelle Nicols is the CEO of Pollinatr, a pioneering investment and business development program designed to support and accelerate the growth of s...