Tradiesonline.com.au is Australia’s directory for all tradesman. We acknowledge that finding the right tradesman can be difficult therefore we allow visitors to select the right professional for the right job.
As the client, you determine who is the right professional based on their experience, qualifications and feedback provided from previous clients.
There are certainly bad trademan out there but also many good, honest, hard working tradies who do fantastic work. Here are the things you should do when hiring a contractor.
Questions to ask
- Do you have the right licence for my job?
- Do you have an ABN? Run it via the ABN Lookup website.
- Do you have the appropriate insurance cover?
- Can I see recent examples of your work?
- Can I get a written quote for my job?
Get quotes from several tradesman
Three quotes is considered the minimum number, but a half dozen will give you a clearer picture of how these businesses stack up against each other. Not only will you get more perspective on appropriate costs, but also you’ll get an idea of the caliber of work that each tradesman will provide. For example, one contractor may offer a bargain rate and marginal work; another’s high bid could indicate quality.
Itemized Quotes
Some tradesman will try to give you one bottom line price as their estimate. This means you don’t know what they are charging for each part of the project, making it impossible to compare quotes from other tradesman and cut costs that you determine to be unnecessary. Have them itemize everything involved in the job.
Facts you should know
Insurance
Each tradesman needs to be covered by an insurance policy. Public liability insurance is compulsory and gives liability protection against third party injuries and property damage caused by the contractor. This will protect you as the consumer should anything go wrong with your home improvement project. Insurance certificates need to be current and valid for the duration of the project works.
Licensing
In Australia, many professions in the building sector are required to hold a licence to perform work on a site. Each state’s licensing policy differs, therefore an online search will determine if your contractor needs to hold a licence. We advise that you ask to see their licence upon commencing work.
ABN
An Australian Business Number (ABN) is a unique 11 digit number that identifies your business to the government and community. And while it is not mandatory for a tradie to have an ABN, it makes it easy for anyone to verify their business. A quick visit to http://abr.business.gov.au/ will enable you to see when the business was registered and whether the registration is still valid.