Guides
How to hire a tradie without getting burnt
29 guides to choosing, checking and paying an Australian tradesperson — each backed by what 20,703 trade businesses actually publish about themselves.
WhoToHire publishes 29 guides on hiring Australian tradespeople, covering how to check a licence in each state, what an ABN does and does not prove, how to read reviews, how to compare quotes, your rights under Australian Consumer Law when work goes wrong, and measured data on 20,703 trade businesses.
There is no cost guide here, and that is deliberate. “How much does a plumber cost” is the most-asked question in this space and we hold no price data, so anything we published would be a guess dressed as research. Everything below is something we can actually show you.
Choosing a tradie
- How to read tradie reviews without being fooledThe median Australian trade business has 18 Google reviews. Here is why a five-star rating from a handful of them tells you less than a 4.6 from three hundred.
- How to compare tradie quotes properlyThree quotes is standard advice and half the job. What matters is whether the three are quoting the same work — and usually they are not.
- Red flags when hiring a tradieThe warning signs that show up before the work starts — door-knocking after storms, cash-only pricing, large deposits, and a licence number nobody will give you.
- How to find a good tradie near youDistance matters more than most people admit, and less than proximity-ranked directories imply. How to use location properly when hiring, across 169 Australian locations.
- How to choose a builder in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a builder, and what 4,960 Australian builders actually publish about themselves — 11.4% a checkable ABN, 5.2% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a roofer in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a roofer, and what 835 Australian roofers actually publish about themselves — 16.2% a checkable ABN, 5.1% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a tiler in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a tiler, and what 475 Australian tilers actually publish about themselves — 7.2% a checkable ABN, 3.6% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a painter in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a painter, and what 877 Australian painters actually publish about themselves — 13% a checkable ABN, 5.6% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a fencing contractor in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a fencing contractor, and what 793 Australian fencing contractors actually publish about themselves — 11.1% a checkable ABN, 5% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a garage door installer in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a garage door installer, and what 476 Australian garage door specialists actually publish about themselves — 17.9% a checkable ABN, 7.8% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose an electrician in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire an electrician, and what 2,959 Australian electricians actually publish about themselves — 14.8% a checkable ABN, 4.5% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a plumber in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a plumber, and what 1,923 Australian plumbers actually publish about themselves — 15.7% a checkable ABN, 6.7% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose an air conditioning installer in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire an air conditioning installer, and what 1,585 Australian heating & cooling actually publish about themselves — 14.8% a checkable ABN, 6.3% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a solar installer in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a solar installer, and what 1,212 Australian solar installers actually publish about themselves — 13.6% a checkable ABN, 6.3% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a locksmith in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a locksmith, and what 570 Australian locksmiths actually publish about themselves — 15.3% a checkable ABN, 6.1% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a landscaper in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a landscaper, and what 1,418 Australian gardeners & landscapers actually publish about themselves — 9.2% a checkable ABN, 3.5% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose an arborist in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire an arborist, and what 630 Australian arborists actually publish about themselves — 13.3% a checkable ABN, 4.4% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a pest control company in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a pest control company, and what 827 Australian pest controllers actually publish about themselves — 11.5% a checkable ABN, 8.6% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
- How to choose a pool service in AustraliaWhat to check before you hire a pool service, and what 1,163 Australian pool services actually publish about themselves — 8.8% a checkable ABN, 6.6% a phone number that contradicts their own website.
Checking a tradie
- How to check an Australian tradie's licenceThere is no national licence register in Australia. Here is the regulator for every state and territory, what each one covers, and what to do when a trade isn't licensed at all.
- What an ABN tells you about a tradie — and what it doesn'tAn ABN is free, public and takes a minute to check — and only 12.9% of 20,703 Australian trade businesses publish one. Here is what it proves, what it doesn't, and how to look one up.
- When a tradie's phone number doesn't match their own website1,139 Australian trade businesses list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website. Sometimes it is a stale listing. Sometimes it is a lead reseller between you and the person doing the work.
Your rights
Our data
- How we check every business, and what we get wrongThe five checks run against all 20,703 businesses in this directory, how often each one actually succeeds, and the things this method cannot see.
- Only 12.9% of Australian trade businesses publish a checkable ABNWe checked 20,703 Australian trade businesses. 12.9% publish an ABN that can be confirmed against the national register — from 17.9% of garage door specialists down to 7.2% of tilers.
- 5.5% of Australian tradies list a phone number that contradicts their own websiteOf 20,703 Australian trade businesses, 1,139 publish a phone number that contradicts the one on their own site. 44.3% match. The rest could not be checked.
- The median Australian trade business has 18 Google reviewsReview volume across 20,703 Australian trade businesses, by trade and by state — from a median of 74 for locksmiths down to 8 for builders.
- Australian trade businesses by state: what the evidence looks likeHow 20,703 Australian trade businesses compare across 8 states and territories on ABN registration, contact accuracy and review volume.
- Which Australian trades are best and worst documentedRanking all 15 published trades on how much verifiable evidence they publish about themselves — ABN, contact accuracy, website reachability and corroboration.