Short answer
Check the licence first — glaziers need a licence for some work and not other work. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 1,145 Australian glaziers in this directory, only 21.9% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 4.3% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Glaziers handle broken window and door glass, shower screens, splashbacks, mirrors, balustrades and emergency glass repairs. This is what to check before you let one into your house, and what the evidence says about the category as a whole.
Glaziers are licensed for some work and not others
Glazing is a licensed class of work in some states and falls under general building licensing in others. The rule that applies everywhere is the Australian Standard for glass in buildings, which says where safety glass is mandatory — doors, low windows, bathrooms and balustrades — and a glazier who fits ordinary float glass in those places has done dangerous work however neatly it was done.
There is no national licence register in Australia — each state and territory runs its own. The regulator for your state is listed at the bottom of this guide, and checking a number takes about a minute.
What 1,145 Australian glaziers actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For glaziers:
| What we checked | Glaziers | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 21.9% | 21.2% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 71.2% | 59.2% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 4.3% | 7.7% |
| Website responded when we checked | 84.3% | 81% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 80.9% | 81.1% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 27 | 39 |
What goes wrong with glaziers
- Ordinary glass fitted where the standard requires toughened or laminated safety glass
- An emergency call-out fee that is never mentioned until the invoice
- A balustrade installed without the fixings and certification its height requires
What to ask before the work starts
- What licence do you hold for this work, if the state requires one?
- Will this be safety glass, and how will I know?
- What is the call-out fee, and does it come off the repair?
A glazier who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median glazier in this directory has 27 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the glaziers are
Melbourne (126), Sydney (58), Brisbane (47), Perth (40), Adelaide (34), Gold Coast (26). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best glazier in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do glaziers need a licence in Australia?
- Sometimes. Glazing is a licensed class of work in some states and falls under general building licensing in others. The rule that applies everywhere is the Australian Standard for glass in buildings, which says where safety glass is mandatory — doors, low windows, bathrooms and balustrades — and a glazier who fits ordinary float glass in those places has done dangerous work however neatly it was done.
- How do I check a glazier's licence?
- There is no national register. Each state and territory has its own regulator — NSW Fair Trading, the Building and Plumbing Commission and Energy Safe Victoria in Victoria, QBCC in Queensland, Building and Energy in WA, Consumer and Business Services in SA, CBOS in Tasmania, Access Canberra in the ACT, and the NT Government. Search the licence number the business gives you on the regulator for the state the work is happening in.
- What percentage of Australian glaziers have a verifiable ABN?
- 21.9% of the 1,145 glaziers in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 21.2% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a glazier have?
- The median glazier here has 27. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare glaziers near you
1,145 glaziers, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
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