No, you don’t need a licence to be a travel agent in Australia. State licensing ended in 2014, and the only formal credentials left are ATIA accreditation, which is voluntary, and IATA accreditation, which you only need if your business issues airline tickets in its own name.

If you’ve been searching this, you’ve probably found old regulations and pages written for different businesses, which is why it’s confusing. I’ve been in travel since 2004, owned an agency since 2009 and run it as a host agency for independent advisors since 2013, so I’ve worked on both sides of the 2014 change.

State travel agent licensing ended
2014
ATIA application fee, one-off
$250
ATIA annual fee under $1 million turnover
$750 + GST
Of consumer-facing staff must hold recognised training or have 2 years of front-line selling
50%

Do you need a licence to be a travel agent in Australia?

No. Consumer Affairs Victoria says on its travel agents page: “You no longer need a licence to be a travel agent; however, you must continue to comply with other laws, such as the Australian Consumer Law.”

The same is true in every state and territory. There’s no government registration, exam or licence fee, and you can start a travel business with an ABN.

What happened to travel agent licensing and the Travel Compensation Fund?

Until 2014 travel agents were licensed under state law, with the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF) alongside.

  1. June 2014 30 June The Travel Compensation Fund stopped taking claims
  2. July 2014 1 July ATAS, the Australian Travel Accreditation Scheme, started as a voluntary industry scheme
  3. 2015 31 December The Travel Compensation Fund was wound up
  4. 2024 November ATAS was renamed “ATIA Accredited”, after the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA)
  5. 2026 3 February The current ATAS Charter (Revision 9) took effect

There’s no longer a government compensation fund behind travel agents. Travellers are protected by the Australian Consumer Law and by the accreditation scheme’s rules, which include keeping client money separate and holding insurance.

Why do some websites still say you need a licence?

Old and off-target pages still rank. On 20 October 2026, page one of Google Australia for “travel agent licence australia” included a New South Wales regulation from 2011 that’s no longer in force, and a Queensland page about registering as an inbound tourism operator, which is a different business. If you read either of those and thought you needed a licence, you don’t.

What is ATIA accreditation?

ATIA accreditation is the industry’s own quality and financial scheme, with its rules in the ATAS Charter. In short, an accredited business has to be fit and proper, submit yearly financial statements from a certified accountant, keep client money in a separate client account, hold insurance, have a complaints policy, meet a staff training rule and pay an annual fee. The full list is in the details at the end.

What does ATIA accreditation cost?

ATIA’s schedule of fees, checked 20 October 2026:

Annual turnover (TTV)Annual fee
Under $1 million$750 + GST
$10 million to $100 million$3,100
Application fee (one-off)$250

Say you’re a small agency turning over less than $1 million. Your first year costs $250 to apply and $750 + GST in fees. On top of that you pay an accountant for the yearly financial statements, insurance premiums and bank fees on a separate client account, plus the time the compliance work takes.

Is ATIA accreditation compulsory?

No, it’s voluntary in law. In practice it’s the standard the Australian market works to, and every home-based network I’d consider joining holds it. When a member of the public asks “are you accredited?”, this is what they mean.

Do I need my own ATIA accreditation if I work from home?

Usually not. If you join a host agency or home-based network, you sell under the host’s accreditation. The ATAS Charter’s definition of an accredited “Entity” expressly does not include independent contractors or sub-agents, and the networks say so on their own pages. Your Travel Centre answers “Do I need my own accreditation?” with “No. Our accreditation covers you”.

Your host carries the accreditation obligations for bookings made under its name, so expect rules about how client money is handled and how you trade. Because the host has to meet the 50% training rule, some networks ask newcomers for a Cert III or a minimum period of experience. Home-based and solo operators can also apply for accreditation in their own right.

Do I need a Cert III to be a travel agent?

Not by law. It matters to employers who prefer it, networks that require it for newcomers, and ATIA’s training rule for accredited businesses, where two years of front-line selling counts instead. I’ve covered the courses, providers and prices in Cert III vs Cert IV in Travel.

What is IATA accreditation, and do I need an IATA number?

IATA accreditation is the airline industry’s, separate from ATIA. It lets an agency issue airline tickets and settle the money with airlines through IATA’s settlement system (BSP). The agency whose IATA number issues a ticket is liable for paying the airline and for any agency debit memos (ADMs) the airline raises afterwards, which is why hosts take ticketing rules seriously.

You need your own IATA accreditation only if you run your own agency and want to issue tickets yourself. Home-based advisors normally ticket under the host’s IATA number, and if you don’t sell air at all, you may never need one.

What laws apply to travel agents now?

The general laws for any small business that sells to consumers: the Australian Consumer Law, ABN and GST rules, the Fair Work test for whether you’re really a contractor, the Franchising Code where it applies, the unfair contract terms rules and privacy law. If you’re a home-based advisor, the arrangement should look like a business: your clients, your hours, your costs. Apart from the scheme rules of whichever agency you sell through, these are the same rules a bookkeeper or a florist works under. There’s more on each in the details below.

Can I start my own travel agency without a host?

Yes, with your own ATIA accreditation and, if you want to issue airline tickets, your own IATA accreditation. That involves:

  1. Set up the business (sole trader or company) with an ABN, and register for GST.
  2. Open a separate client account for customer money.
  3. Arrange professional indemnity insurance, plus public liability if you’ll meet clients in person.
  4. Engage a certified accountant for yearly financial statements.
  5. Write a complaints and dispute policy to the Australian Standard (ATIA provides a model procedure).
  6. Meet the 50% training rule for consumer-facing staff, which may just be you.
  7. Apply to ATIA ($250 application fee, then $750 + GST a year under $1 million turnover).
  8. Arrange supplier agreements, booking tools and, if you ticket air, IATA accreditation.

Should you get accredited yourself or join a host?

If you’re starting out, or you have a client base but no interest in running compliance, sell under a host. It already carries the accreditation, the client account, the supplier agreements and the airline settlement risk, so you can start selling much sooner. You pay for that through a split or fees. I’ve written up how to choose a host agency and the maths of 100% commission versus a split.

Your own accreditation makes sense when you turn over enough that the fixed costs are small next to what a host takes, you want your own supplier agreements and overrides, and you’re happy doing the financial reporting every year. Plenty of good agencies run that way.

The details

What ATIA requires

The current ATAS Charter took effect on 3 February 2026. To be accredited, a business must:

  • be a “travel intermediary” based in Australia (a travel agent, travel management company, online agency, tour operator, wholesaler or consolidator);
  • hold an ABN (or an ARBN for a foreign company);
  • sign a deed poll agreeing to the ATAS Code and Charter and to comply with the Australian Consumer Law;
  • be “fit and proper”, which includes solvency tests and a look back 10 years for bankruptcies, failed companies and cancelled accreditations;
  • submit financial statements (balance sheet and profit and loss) prepared by a certified accountant, each year as soon as they’re available;
  • keep client funds in a separate client account, unless it is a publicly listed company or a sole trader (sole traders follow separate rules set by the ATIA Board);
  • hold insurance: professional indemnity only if it operates exclusively without face-to-face dealings, or professional indemnity and public liability if it deals with customers in person;
  • have at least 50% of its consumer-facing staff holding Recognised Industry Training, which may include a Certificate III in Travel, with at least 2 years in a front-line selling role accepted as recognition of prior learning;
  • have a complaints and dispute policy that meets the current Australian Standard for complaint management;
  • pay the annual accreditation fee.

Accredited businesses carry an accreditation number. Travel Associates, for example, shows “ATIA - Travel Accredited No. A10412” in its footer, Travellers Choice is A10430 and Global Travel Network in Perth is A15955. ATIA fee bands between those in the table scale with turnover.

The pages that still rank

The New South Wales Travel Agents Regulation is from 2011. The Queensland Government page is about registering as an inbound tourism operator, meaning operators selling Queensland tours to overseas buyers, and has nothing to do with licensing travel agents.

What the networks say about accreditation

The Charter’s accredited “Entity” is a sole trader, partnership, trust or company, so contractors who sell under a host aren’t accredited separately.

  • Your Travel Centre says “No. Our accreditation covers you”, and requires a Cert III for applicants with no industry experience.
  • MTA and TravelManagers include accreditation for their advisors. TravelManagers’ three-day induction hands over licences “such as ATAS, IATA, and ATIA membership”.
  • Global Travel Network lists AFTA/ATAS and IATA in what its monthly fee covers, and Travel Crafters advertises “Full IATA, ATAS and AFTA accreditation”.
  • ATIA says it offers membership options for home-based and mobile agents, and runs a division for independent agents.

IATA

IATA publishes a checklist of 29 requirements for Australian agents across its accreditation models. TravelManagers’ advisors use TravelManagers’ IATA accreditation, Your Travel Centre’s accreditation covers its agents, and Global Travel Network lists IATA in its package.

The laws in more detail

  • Australian Consumer Law. No misleading claims about price or inclusions, honest advertising, and consumer guarantees on services. ATIA’s deed poll makes compliance with the ACL a condition of accreditation.
  • ABN and GST. You need an ABN to trade as a contractor, and networks often require GST registration as well. MTA, for example, requires its advisors to hold an ABN and be registered for GST.
  • Contractor rules. Since 26 August 2024 the Fair Work Act uses a “whole of relationship” test to decide whether someone is really a contractor or an employee, and sham contracting is illegal. A contractor paid wholly or mainly for their labour can also count as an employee for superannuation.
  • Franchising Code. It applies by substance, whatever the arrangement is called. MTA describes its agreement as compliant with the Franchising Code of Conduct, which brings disclosure documents and cooling-off rights.
  • Unfair contract terms. Since 9 November 2023, unfair terms in standard-form contracts with small businesses (fewer than 100 staff or under $10 million turnover) are prohibited, with large penalties. That protects you when you sign a host agreement.
  • Privacy. Businesses with turnover of $3 million or less are generally exempt from the Privacy Act unless an exception applies. Treat client passports and payment details carefully anyway, because your host will expect it.

Buying groups

Once you’re accredited you can also join a buying group or co-operative. Travellers Choice is a co-op for owners of accredited agencies (members buy shares, a minimum of 200 at $5 each, and need Board approval), and ATAC is a co-op for accredited independent agencies.

Next step

If you’re weighing up the home-based route, how Niftrip works sets out what the platform does, what you pay and what stays yours.