How We Vet Tradies

Six checks. Every applicant goes through all of them before they're listed. We currently say no to about 60% of applications, mostly at the rating step or the insurance step.

This page is deliberately specific so you (the customer) can see what "vetted" actually means — and so tradies considering applying know exactly what we'll ask for.

Check 1 — ABN + business identity

We verify:

• ABN active and ≥12 months old (no shell companies, no brand-new sole-trader registrations)
• ABN matches the trading name they're applying under
• No active ASIC alerts or fair-trading complaints in the last 24 months
• Director / sole-trader identity matches a photo ID (driver's licence or passport)

Why: an ABN under 12 months old has no track record. A shell ABN with a brand-new name might be hiding a previous failed business. Both fail at this step.

Check 2 — Public liability insurance

We verify:

• Current certificate of currency for public liability of ≥$5m coverage
• Insurer is a registered Australian insurer (not an off-shore certificate from an unregulated broker)
• Policy includes the trade they're applying under (some policies exclude electrical or plumbing if it's not listed)
• Policy expiry is at least 60 days out (so we have time to re-verify before lapse)

We store the certificate. We re-check 30 days before expiry. If the renewal doesn't come through, the listing pauses automatically.

Check 3 — Google Business Profile rating

We verify:

• Live Google rating ≥4.5★ at time of application
• Review count ≥20 (smaller samples are too noisy to trust)
• No more than 2 unresolved 1-star or 2-star reviews in the last 12 months
• All recent reviews are real Google accounts (we spot-check for known fake-review network patterns)

Why ≥4.5★? Because below that, the data shows half the recent jobs had a meaningful problem. Tradies sitting at 4.2★ — 4.4★ are often technically fine but communicate badly. We'd rather match you to someone in the top 25% of the field than the top 50%.

Check 4 — Photo portfolio of recent work

We verify:

• Minimum 8 photos of recent jobs (last 6 months) in the specific trade they're applying for
• Photos are original (we EXIF-check + reverse-image-search to catch stolen portfolios)
• Photos show work consistent with the trade (a handyman applying with photos of decking is matched to handyman jobs, not decking jobs)

Why photos and not just descriptions: descriptions are easy to fake. Original photos of real recent jobs aren't.

Check 5 — Response time test

We send a fake-customer inquiry from a clean phone number during business hours and measure:

• Time to first response (target: <60 minutes)
• Quality of the quote (specific question, specific answer, fixed number)
• Follow-up if we don't reply (target: one polite follow-up within 24h, no more than two total)

Tradies who don't respond, who quote vague ranges, or who chase aggressively all fail this step.

Check 6 — Background check

We verify:

• No major fair-trading or VCAT decisions against them or their business in the last 5 years
• No active media coverage that's reputationally damaging (we Google their business name + their personal name)
• Reference check with two recent customers (we call, ask 5 standard questions, take notes)

What happens after the 6 checks

Passed all 6 → listed on the platform. Tradie pays the platform fee + starts receiving matched leads. We re-vet quarterly (rating + insurance) and annually (full 6-point check).

Failed any check → rejected. We send a one-line explanation. They can re-apply in 6 months.

The 60% rejection rate — why so high?

Most failures cluster at:

• Check 3 (Google rating) — 32% of applicants. Most under 4.5★ or under 20 reviews.
• Check 2 (insurance) — 14% of applicants. Lapsed certificates, off-shore policies, or wrong trade not covered.
• Check 5 (response time) — 9% of applicants. Didn't respond to our test inquiry within 24h.
• Other — 5%.

These aren't unreasonable bars. They're the same standard an enterprise B2B customer (council, real estate agency) would expect from any contractor. We just apply it to residential jobs too.

How often we re-vet

• Insurance — automatic check 30 days before expiry, every year
• Google rating — quarterly, manual review
• Recent jobs feedback — continuous (every job triggers a customer-feedback email at 48 hours)
• Full 6-point re-vet — annually

If a tradie's rating drops below 4.5★ between quarterly checks, they get a written warning + 90 days to recover. If recent-jobs feedback shows ≥3 unresolved complaints in 90 days, they're suspended pending review.

For customers

If you've used a vetted tradie and want to provide feedback (good or bad), use the contact form or reply to the 48-hour-post-job email. Feedback flows into the tradie's platform record.

For tradies

If you've read this far, you know exactly what to provide. Apply via /for-tradies/.