Hi there,
I am a WIRES member in NSW and have a Tiger snake (Notechis Scutatus) and a Copperhead (Austrelaps Superbus) in care at the moment and they are almost ready for release.
I am qualified to handle and care for venomous snakes and other than having these qualifications you can only hold elapids if you hold a Class 2 licence put out by National Parks And Wildlife Services.
If you go to their website you will find a section on licencing which will explain to you the process of obtaining such a licence.
I am not sure about your state, however in NSW you have to have held a Class one licence for two years before obtaining your class two category one licence which will allow you to keep mildly venomous snakes such as red bellies and yellow face whip snakes.....category two takes another year to obtain and you need to prove via references that you have held in captivity category one reptiles. On category two you can keep elapids such as Death Adders.
After another year and more references you can obtain categoy one which will allow you to keep eastern browns and inland taipans among the few including the rough scaled snake.
Joining an organisation such as WIRES can benefit you at reference time and is a very rewarding job especially when you can save the life of a sick or injured animal.
I hope this information helps.