Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) is a national scheme allowing individuals to use their home state or territory occupational registration or licence to work in other participating Australian states and territories.
It allows individuals who hold registration or licences in an Australian state or territory to perform those same permitted activities in another part of Australia, subject to some exceptions. This is known as Automatic Deemed Registration (ADR).
Building and plumbing practitioners who wish to operate in Victoria under ADR must complete the required online Automatic Deemed Notification form through the BPC Portal prior to commencing any work in Victoria.
A worker’s home state or territory is their primary place of residence or work.
Interstate practitioners
A practitioner intending to rely on AMR to work in Victoria must be registered for the relevant occupation in a state or territory that has also adopted the AMR scheme.
At present, that is limited to the following States and Territories:
New South Wales
Tasmania
South Australia
Australian Capital Territory
Northern Territory
Western Australia.
Check this web page regularly for updates on the availability of AMR for your state.
AMR Insurance Tool
Use the tool to enter your interstate accreditation details below to assist in understanding your insurance or MFR requirements in Victoria.
Victorian practitioners who wish to practice in another state or territory under AMR should contact the relevant interstate regulator to check if AMR has commenced in that jurisdiction, and to confirm which activities are permitted to be undertaken under AMR.
Mutual Recognition Scheme
AMR does not replace registration with the BPC via Mutual Recognition. AMR is an alternative to the Mutual Recognition Scheme. More information about mutual recognition and how to apply can be found on the Mutual Recognition for builders webpage.
Individual building practitioners (except building surveyors and building inspectors) were entitled to participate in AMR in Victoria from 1 January 2022.
AMR commenced for the following practitioners on 1 July 2022:
All classes of building inspector
All classes of registered plumber, except for registered plumbers in the Gasfitting, Fire protection, Mechanical Services, Roofing (Stormwater), Type A Appliance Conversion, Type A appliance Servicing, Type B Gasfitting and Type B Gasfitting Advanced classes.
Please note the Notification and insurance requirements outlined below.
Occupations exempt from ADR in Victoria
States and territories can exempt occupations from AMR for a temporary period as a transitional measure. The Victorian Government has excluded the following occupations from AMR until further notice:
All classes of building surveyor
All classes of licensed plumber
Plumbers registered in the following classes (including restricted)
Gasfitting
Fire Protection
Mechanical Services
Roofing (Stormwater)
Type A Appliance Conversion
Type A Appliance Servicing
Type B Gasfitting
Type B Gasfitting Advanced
Other exclusions
The following are ineligible to participate in the AMR:
Practitioners with a Queensland home state registration.
Companies holding accreditation in building or plumbing occupations.
Individuals holding New Zealand accreditation in building or plumbing occupations.
Fee Exemption
As a transitional measure, we will exempt Mutual Recognition application fees where the person cannot participate in the AMR scheme due to the AMR exemption in place until further notice. This is for interstate practitioners who have an occupation that is exempt from ADR in Victoria and who intend to work in Victoria for up to six months.
This exemption will be reviewed at the end of the AMR exemption period.
What activities can be undertaken in Victoria under AMR?
A person who has ADR is entitled to carry on an activity in another state or territory which has adopted the AMR scheme to the same extent that they are authorised to carry on the activity in their home state or territory. Any condition applicable to a home state or territory registration also applies in the other state or territory.
There is no circumstance in which an AMR practitioner can undertake more activities in the other state than they are permitted to do in their home state. This is the case even if the occupation in Victoria allows licensed or registered workers to perform a wider range of activities.
Notification requirements
Eligible interstate practitioners seeking to work in Victoria under ADR are required to notify us by completing the online Notification form prior to the commencement of any work in Victoria.
To start a new application, follow the steps outlined in our Building practitioner guide.
We will contact you if we require further details or there is an issue with you working under AMR in Victoria.
You will not be issued with a second registration or licence card, and you will not have to pay any fee.
Significant penalties apply for unlicensed or unregistered work in Victoria.
You must also notify us if your home state or territory changes.
Once you notify us of your intent to work in Victoria, some of the details provided in your ADR Notification Form will appear on our public register of practitioners, the Check license and registration webpage.
You must comply with all Victorian regulatory requirements relating to your authorised activities.
This includes maintaining any required insurance and, where applicable, meeting the Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR). The BPC may request supporting evidence of compliance, including an Assessment of Maximum Construction Capacity (AMCC) or other relevant information.
To determine the insurance you must hold or MFR you must meet in Victoria, and supply with your AMR Notification form if required.
It is an offence to work as a building practitioner in Victoria and not be covered by the required insurance or meet MFR requirements.
It is an offence to work as a building practitioner in Victoria and not be covered by the required insurance.
Eligibility to work under AMR in Victoria
To be eligible to carry on an activity in Victoria under AMR, you must:
Hold a substantive current registration or licence in your home state or territory. Your home state or territory must be participating in AMR.
Provide us with an ADR Notification Form, including evidence of:
your substantive registration
your home state or territory outside of Victoria
the required insurance.
Not, as a result of disciplinary, civil or criminal action in any state or territory in relation to the occupation that covers the activity:
have a suspended or cancelled licence or registration
have conditions on your registration or licence
be personally prohibited from carrying out the activity or occupation.
Not be subject to disciplinary, civil or criminal action in any state or territory in relation to the occupation that covers the activity.
Not have been refused registration in any state or territory for an occupation that covers the activity.
Meet public protection requirements required in Victoria to carry on the activity and provide evidence of this to the BPC (for example, holding the required insurance to undertake the activities allowed in your home state or territory registration in Victoria).
While undertaking an activity in Victoria under AMR, you are subject to Victorian disciplinary arrangements. If you fail to comply with Victorian laws regulating your activity, this can result in a range of penalties, including your ability to work in Victoria under AMR being suspended or cancelled.
Suspension or cancellation of your ability to work in Victoria under AMR will also result in your registration or licence in your home state or territory being suspended or cancelled. This may also affect your access to AMR in the future.
Practitioner Guide
We have developed a Building practitioner guide that provides end-to-end guidance with a series of accompanying illustrations to describe an interstate building practitioner’s experience of creating a Portal account and submitting an Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) Notification.
AMR differs from the Mutual Recognition scheme in several important ways:
A person can use their home state occupational registration or licence to work under AMR in participating jurisdictions. Under the Mutual Recognition scheme, you need to apply and pay for a new occupational registration or licence in each jurisdiction.
You can carry out the same activities authorised under your home state registration or licence, even if you would normally need two or more registrations or licences in the host state. Under the Mutual Recognition scheme, you received a separate registration or licence from the host state that is equivalent to your home registration.
Under AMR, unless you are required to provide a Notification of intention to work or satisfy public protection requirements under the laws of a host state, you can work in a host jurisdiction immediately. Under the Mutual Recognition system, you need a registration or licence from the host state before you could commence work.
The registration scheme most suitable to you depends on your individual preferences and circumstances.
You must use your ‘home state’ registration as defined by section 42A(3) of the MRA. This means your home state registration is either your registration from the state that is your principal place of residence or principal place of work. If the state of your principal place of residence and the state of your principal place of work are different, your home state is the one chosen by you.
When using AMR, the laws applying to that activity in the host state will apply to you. In the Victorian building industry, this means that people from interstate seeking to carry out building work will need to ensure they comply with all laws governing building work in Victoria, including the Building Act 1993, the Building Regulations 2018 and the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995.
Importantly, host state laws apply equally to all people carrying out the activity irrespective if the person is a local practitioner or comes from interstate. Similarly, a host state cannot predicate your entitlement to AMR on the attainment or possession of additional qualifications or experience, meaning you will not be required to undertake any further training or CPD even if practitioners in the host state a required to do so.
If your home state does not require registration to carry out your occupation and, as a result, you are not registered, you will not be eligible to access AMR in Victoria and you will need to apply for a Victorian registration. More information about architect, building practitioner registration and plumbing practitioner registration.
Only registration granted by a state’s local registration authority (LRA) are within scope of AMR. The LRA must have this function conferred on it by legislation. A state’s LRA is usually a government regulator or department. You should check with your professional association if it is given this function under your state’s legislation.
The MRA defines local registration authority as:
Local registration authority of a State for an occupation means the person or authority in the State having the function conferred by legislation of registering persons in connection with their carrying on that occupation in the State.
No. AMR is available for individual registration only. If you wish to operate as a company, you will need to register you company in line with requirements under the Building Act 1993. For more information about company registration, visit our Building companies and partnerships webpage.
Company registration is not available under AMR. You will need to register your company under Victorian company registration processes before you can enter into a major domestic building contract under your company’s name.
Under AMR you will be allowed to carry out the same activities in Victoria as those authorised by your home state registration (provided AMR has commenced for those activities). As such, there is no need to determine equivalency between your home state registration and Victorian registrations.
It may be possible that you need a registration to carry out activities connected to your occupation in your home state, but that no registration requirement exists in Victoria. In these circumstances you will not need a registration to carry out those activities in Victoria at all.
If you are not sure whether you need a registration to carry out certain occupational activities in Victoria, contact us or the ARBV.
No. If Victoria permanently becomes your new principal place of residence or principal place of work, and you no longer live or work in the state where you obtained your substantive occupational registration, you will need to obtain a Victorian registration via the existing Mutual Recognition pathway. For more information, see the Mutual Recognition information on the ARBV website or our Mutual Recognition webpage.
If AMR Notification is denied, the practitioner cannot practice in Victoria. If it is denied due to something that is rectifiable, then if the Notification is rectified, the practitioner can resubmit.
Practitioners are only added to the Publicly available register once ADR is confirmed.
If a practitioner is suspended in their home state (substantive state), then they cannot practice in Victoria. The Home State will inform other states of this via the Inter Jurisdictional sharing arrangements under AMR. We will update the public AMR register and the practitioner will be removed from the publicly available AMR register provided for consumers.
If a practitioner's AMR is suspended in another state (Victoria or another state) the state suspending is required to inform the Home State immediately and will be suspended in the Home State. Where the practitioner is registered under AMR in further states, the home state will advise these states via the Inter Jurisdictional sharing arrangements under AMR and the practitioner will be suspended in all states.
Queensland practitioners are not eligible to practice in under the AMR scheme as the state is not participating.
Victorian practitioners are also not able to practice in Queensland under AMR. However, practitioners are able to practice under Mutual Recognition for builders and plumbers.
Fee waiver for Mutual Recognition fees is only available for interstate practitioners who intend to work in Victoria for up to six months.
This exemption applies to practitioner’s equivalent in the following classes of plumbing and building practitioners:
All classes of building surveyor
All classes of licensed plumber
Plumbers registered in the following classes (including restricted):
Gasfitting work
Fire Protection work
Mechanical Services work
Roofing (Stormwater) work
Type A Appliance Conversion work
Type A Appliance Servicing work
Type B Gasfitting work
Type B Gasfitting Advanced work
This is as a transition measure for exempt AMR classes where the person cannot participate in the AMR scheme due to the AMR exemption in place until further notice.
This exemption will be reviewed at the end of the AMR exemption period.
Requirements
If you apply via Mutual Recognition
if you notify via Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR)
Fee
You need to pay an application fee.
You don't need to pay a fee.
Victorian registration/ operation
If successful, you will be issued with a Victorian registration.
The registration is valid from the date of issue of the registration.
If your Notification results in confirmation of AMR 'in effect', you can operate in Victoria immediately.
BPC registration card/interstate registration or licence
You will be issued with a BPC registration card.
The registration is valid in Victoria only.
You will not be issued with a BPC registration card, but must present your interstate registration or licence, if required.
Your interstate registration or licence is valid in your home state and in Victoria.
Annual fee and renewal requirements
You will be required to meet the annual fee and renewal requirements applicable for the Victorian registration.
There are no annual fee or renewal requirements for AMR, but you must maintain current interstate registration or licence to retain your entitlement to work in Victoria under AMR.
Insurance requirements
You will be required to meet the initial and ongoing insurance requirements to work in Victoria, depending on your class/es.
You will still be required to meet the initial and ongoing insurance requirements to work in Victoria depending on your interstate registration or licences.
Suspension or cancellation imposed by the BPC will affect your Victorian registration only, and not any other registrations or licences you may hold in other states.
Suspension or cancellation of your interstate registration or licence will not affect the status of your Victorian registration.
Suspension or cancellation imposed by the BPC while you are working in Victoria under AMR will be reported toyour home state regulator. This willaffect both your home state registrationor licence and your entitlement tocontinue to work under AMR in Victoria.
Suspension or cancellation of your interstate registration or licence will result in loss of your entitlement to work in Victoria under AMR.
