Searching for a painter in Canberra brings back a long list, and most of them look the same from the outside: a logo, a gallery of finished rooms, a promise of quality workmanship. The difference between a good repaint and an expensive disappointment is rarely visible on a website. It shows up in the questions you ask before you sign.
Here is what we would check if we were hiring a painter for our own home, based on years of quoting houses across Canberra, Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong.
1. Understand what licensing actually applies to your job
This trips up a lot of Canberra homeowners, because the rules change depending on which side of the border your house sits on.
In New South Wales, which covers Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra and Googong, a painter must hold a NSW contractor licence to carry out, advertise or contract for residential building work valued at more than $5,000 in labour and materials including GST. Stand-alone interior painting contracts have been exempt since 2015 unless the paintwork forms part of other home building work, but exterior residential painting over that threshold sits squarely inside the licensing regime. You can check any NSW licence number for free on the NSW Fair Trading public register.
In the ACT, painting and decorating is not currently a licensed construction occupation in its own right. Trades like electrical and plumbing are licensed, painting is not, and the ACT Government has publicly flagged that it is exploring extending trade licensing to painting and decorating among others. That means in Canberra, anyone can legally call themselves a painter.
Which makes the next few checks matter far more on the ACT side than they would in most other capitals.
2. Ask for the certificate of currency, not just the word "insured"
Every painter says they are insured. Very few are asked to prove it. A certificate of currency is a one-page document from the insurer that shows the policy holder's name, the cover amount and the expiry date. Ask for it by name and check three things: that the business name on it matches the business quoting you, that public liability cover is at least $10 million, and that the policy has not expired.
If a painter puts a ladder through your window or a drop sheet fails over a hardwood floor, that certificate is the difference between a phone call and a legal problem.
3. Ask who stays accountable once the job starts
Most painting businesses use a crew, and there is nothing wrong with that. A good painter with a good team will finish a house faster and no worse than one person working alone. What matters is not whether the owner is personally holding a brush on day three. It is whether one named person stays responsible for the result from quote to handover.
So ask it directly: who quotes the job, who will be on site, and who do I ring if something is not right? The answer you want is a single name for the second and third question. Where problems creep in is when the person who quoted disappears after the deposit and you are left explaining the scope to someone who was not there when it was agreed. Preparation standards and cutting-in quality vary between individuals, so someone has to be checking the work against what was actually quoted.
4. Read what the quote says about preparation, and be suspicious if it says nothing
Preparation is where paint jobs are won and lost, and it is the easiest place for a cheap quote to hide. A quote that lists "paint walls and ceilings, two coats" and nothing else is telling you nothing about the 70 percent of the labour that determines how the finish looks in three years.
A proper scope should spell out washing or sugar soaping, filling and sanding, caulking gaps, spot-priming bare or patched areas, and how existing damage will be handled. If the quote is vague, ask for it in writing. A painter who intends to do the preparation has no reason to be shy about listing it.
5. Count the coats and check the products are named
"Two coats" over a primer is standard for most repaints. Over bare plasterboard, new render or a dramatic colour change, you should expect a sealer or primer plus two topcoats. Colour changes from dark to light routinely need three.
The quote should also name the actual products, for example a specific low sheen acrylic for walls and a named enamel or water-based enamel for trims. "Quality trade paint" is not a product. Named products let you compare quotes properly and let you hold someone to the specification later.
6. Ask about lead paint if the house was built before 1970
Homes painted before 1970 are likely to contain lead-based paint, and there are plenty of them across the older parts of Canberra and central Queanbeyan. Sanding or scraping lead paint without containment spreads lead dust through the house and garden, which is a genuine health risk for young children in particular.
Ask whether the painter will test before disturbing old coatings and what containment they use if lead is found. A painter who looks blank at the question should not be preparing an old weatherboard.
Free quote, no obligation. Jason quotes every job personally and gives you an honest price. Most quotes come back the same business day.
7. Read reviews for detail, not for the star rating
A five-star average tells you very little on its own. What is useful is the texture of the reviews. Do people mention the site being left clean each day? Turning up when promised? Coming back to fix something small without an argument? Those specifics are hard to fake and they describe what it is actually like to have this person in your house for a week.
Recency matters too. Twenty reviews from four years ago says less than eight from the past twelve months.
8. Treat the cheapest quote as information, not as a bargain
If three quotes come in around a similar figure and one is 40 percent below them, something has been left out. Usually it is preparation, coat count, or the fact that the price excludes materials. Occasionally it is that the painter has misread the scope and will discover the problem halfway through, which is when variations start appearing.
Put the outlier quote side by side with the others and find the difference. Sometimes there is a legitimate reason. More often the gap explains itself.
9. Get the payment terms in writing before work starts
Be cautious about large deposits. A painter asking for 50 percent up front on a domestic repaint is asking you to fund their business. Materials deposits on large or unusual colour orders are reasonable, but the bulk of the money should follow the work, not lead it.
Our own terms are simple: payment is due in full on completion of works unless otherwise agreed in writing. You see the finished job before you pay for it.
10. Ask what happens in twelve months if something goes wrong
Paint faults rarely show up on handover day. Flashing, sheen inconsistency, filler that shrinks back and adhesion failure on poorly prepared surfaces all appear over the following months and seasons.
Ask what warranty covers the workmanship, how long it runs, and whether it is written into the quote. A verbal "we'll look after you" is worth exactly as much as the relationship is at the time you call. We set our workmanship obligations out in writing in our terms, because we would rather fix a rare problem than argue about one.
A short checklist to take into your next quote
Before you accept anything, make sure you can answer these: Does this job need a NSW licence, and if so have I checked the number on the register? Have I seen a current certificate of currency? Do I know who will be on site, and who stays accountable if something is not right? Does the written scope describe the preparation? Are the products and coat counts named? Is there a written workmanship warranty? Are the payment terms clear and weighted to completion?
Seven questions, about ten minutes of your time, and they will separate the quotes far more reliably than the price at the bottom of the page.
Read next: what house painting actually costs in Canberra →
Common questions
Do painters need a licence in Canberra?
Painting and decorating is not currently a licensed construction occupation in its own right in the ACT, unlike electrical or plumbing work. The ACT Government has flagged that it is exploring extending trade licensing to painting. Because there is no licence to check in Canberra, insurance certificates, written scopes, warranties and reviews carry more weight.
Do painters need a licence in Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra or Googong?
Yes, for most exterior work. Those suburbs are in New South Wales, where a contractor licence is required to carry out, advertise or contract for residential building work valued over $5,000 in labour and materials including GST. Stand-alone interior painting contracts have been exempt since 2015 unless the work forms part of other home building work. Licence numbers can be checked free on the NSW Fair Trading register.
How many quotes should I get for a house repaint?
Three is the usual advice and it works well. It gives you a sense of the going rate without dragging the process out for weeks. Compare the written scopes rather than just the totals, because a cheaper quote often carries less preparation or fewer coats.
How much public liability insurance should a painter carry?
At least $10 million is the standard expectation for domestic painting work in Australia. Ask for the certificate of currency and check that the business name matches the one on your quote and that the policy has not expired.
Should I pay a deposit before painting starts?
A large up-front deposit on a domestic repaint is a warning sign. Materials deposits on big or custom colour orders can be reasonable, but most of the payment should follow completed work. Our terms are payment in full on completion of works unless otherwise agreed in writing.
Read next: what changes on the NSW side of the border →
Premier Painting & Maintenance ACT is a veteran-owned painting business servicing Canberra, Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra, Googong, Bungendore and surrounds. Rated 5.0 on Google. Free quotes.