Short answer
Check the licence first — graphic designers are not licensed in Australia, so check qualifications and public liability insurance instead. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 428 Australian graphic designers in this directory, only 41.4% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 0% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Graphic Designers handle logos, brand identity, print and packaging design, illustration and marketing artwork. This is what to check before you commission the face of your business, and what the evidence says about the category as a whole.
There is no graphic designer licence — so check something else
Design is unlicensed and quality is in the portfolio. The commercial risk is ownership: unless the contract says otherwise, the designer may keep the copyright in what they create and licence it to you, which matters the day you want to register the logo as a trademark.
No register. The portfolio and the copyright clause are the two things to read before you pay a deposit.
What 428 Australian graphic designers actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For graphic designers:
| What we checked | Graphic Designers | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 41.4% | 21.5% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 85.7% | 59.2% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 0% | 7.7% |
| Website responded when we checked | 63.6% | 81% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 81.8% | 81.1% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 19 | 39 |
What goes wrong with graphic designers
- No assignment of copyright, so the brand you paid for is not legally yours
- Final files delivered only as flattened images with no editable source
- Stock imagery licensed for one use and reused everywhere
What to ask before the work starts
- Will the copyright be assigned to me in writing?
- Will I get the editable source files and the fonts used?
- How many revisions are included, and what does another cost?
A graphic designer 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 graphic designer in this directory has 19 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 graphic designers are
Sydney (34), Melbourne (31), Brisbane (19). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best graphic designer 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 graphic designers need a licence in Australia?
- No. Design is unlicensed and quality is in the portfolio. The commercial risk is ownership: unless the contract says otherwise, the designer may keep the copyright in what they create and licence it to you, which matters the day you want to register the logo as a trademark.
- How do I check a graphic designer's licence?
- No register. The portfolio and the copyright clause are the two things to read before you pay a deposit.
- What percentage of Australian graphic designers have a verifiable ABN?
- 41.4% of the 428 graphic designers in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 21.5% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a graphic designer have?
- The median graphic designer here has 19. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare graphic designers near you
428 graphic designers, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
Read next
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- When a tradie's phone number doesn't match their own website10,300 Australian trade businesses list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website. Sometimes it is a …