Hand 1 · The one who authorised or arranged for the distribution
Some flyers carry lines the law writes
Some flyers must carry a line the law writes: a licence number, a total price, an authority number. The line follows the trade and the state, and this guide sets them side by side.
General information about Australian law, not legal advice. Each rule above comes from the body that issued the licence: NSW Fair Trading, the QBCC, Energy Safe Victoria and WA's Building and Energy.
Which flyers must print a licence number
| The flyer | The line it must carry | Where that is written |
|---|---|---|
| A New South Wales contractor | The licence number on all advertising, stationery and signage; only the contractor licence holder can advertise for work | NSW Fair Trading, "What are you offering" |
| A Queensland licensee | The name and QBCC licence number in advertisements, easily legible and reasonably prominent | QBCC, Advertising, and "As a QBCC licensee" |
| A Queensland business without a contractor licence | The value of work it may undertake without a licence, stated in its advertising for building work | QBCC, "When you don't hold a contractor licence" |
| A Victorian registered electrical contractor | The REC registration number on all promotional materials, including advertisements, notices and statements | Energy Safe Victoria, "You must" |
| A WA licensed plumbing contractor | The licensed plumbing contractor's licence number, in advertising and business documents | WA Building and Energy, Advertising |
| A WA building service contractor | The registration number in any advertising of the availability to carry out prescribed building services | WA Building and Energy, Advertising rules for builders, painters and building surveyors |
| Any flyer that shows a part price | The total price, as a single figure, at least as prominent as any part price | ACCC, Price displays, "Prominence of prices" |
| A competition flyer in New South Wales | The authority number for the gaming activity, clearly displayed on the advertising | Community Gaming Regulation 2020 (NSW), cl 27 |
The rule follows the trade and the state. In New South Wales, a contractor's licence number must be on all their advertising, stationery and signage, and only the person who holds a contractor licence can advertise for work (NSW Government). Queensland requires licensees and unlicensed persons to comply with its advertising rules: a licensee's advertisement carries the name and the QBCC licence number, a trading name must be accompanied by the QBCC licence name, and a business without a contractor licence must state the value of work it can undertake (Queensland Building and Construction Commission). Victoria's rule for a registered electrical contractor is the REC registration number on all promotional materials (Energy Safe Victoria). WA asks for the licensed plumbing contractor's licence number in all advertising and business documents, and when a building service contractor advertises that it is available to carry out prescribed building services, the advertising must contain its registration number (WA Building and Energy).
Prominence is part of the rule in Queensland: any advertising a licensee organises or publishes for their business must keep the licence details easily legible and reasonably prominent in written or visual material. Under the QBCC Act, a licensee faces a maximum penalty of 35 penalty units, or $6,044 for an individual and $30,222 for a company, and an unlicensed contractor who fails to state the value of work faces $17,270 for an individual and $86,350 for a company (Queensland Building and Construction Commission).
Queensland's rules have edges worth knowing before a flyer is drawn. A value statement is not required for an advertisement limited to pastoral and agricultural fencing, which is exempt building work, and an advertisement by a person without a licence that does not refer to any building work needs no value statement either. The licence-number rules also do not reach everything a business prints: high vis shirts and vests do not have to display a QBCC licence number (Queensland Building and Construction Commission).
A flyer with a price on it
A flyer that shows part of a price has to show the whole of it. If a business promotes a price that is only part of the total price, it must also include the total price as a single figure, at least as prominently as the part price, and it is illegal to represent the price of a component as the total price (ACCC).
The total price is the minimum total cost, the lowest amount a customer could pay, including any taxes, duties and unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees (ACCC). A prominent single total price is one that is clear and stands out, so that it is easily noticed by a consumer (ACCC).
The Australian Consumer Law carries the same test in its own words: a person is taken not to have specified a single price in a prominent way unless the single price is at least as prominent as the most prominent of the parts of the consideration for the supply (ACL s 48).
A competition on a flyer
A flyer promoting a competition can need a number on it. In New South Wales, if a business needs an authority for its gaming activity, all its advertising material must clearly display the authority number (NSW Fair Trading), and the holder of an authority to conduct a gaming activity must take all reasonable steps to ensure that advertising material associated with the activity clearly displays the number (Community Gaming Regulation 2020 (NSW), cl 27).
How to check the line your flyer needs
Each rule above comes from the body that issued the licence: NSW Fair Trading, the QBCC, Energy Safe Victoria and WA's Building and Energy.
The first question is which licence the business holds, and the second is where it advertises: the rules above attach to the advertisement or the material.