Australian trade businesses by state: what the evidence looks like

Short answer

Across 8 states and territories, the evidence available on trade businesses is remarkably consistent — ABN publication and contact accuracy vary by only a few percentage points between states, far less than they vary between trades.

The state-by-state picture is less dramatic than the trade-by-trade one, which is itself a finding: where a tradesperson operates predicts far less about how well documented they are than what trade they are in.

StateBusinessesABNPhone confirmedPhone contradictsMedian reviews
NSW6,03915.4%45.5%4.8%17
QLD4,90315.8%45.8%6.4%20
VIC4,8219.2%42.6%5.2%20
WA2,3648.8%42.7%5%19
SA1,33710.2%42.7%6.4%18
TAS50310.5%40%7.4%10
ACT40014%49.8%6.8%18
NT33119%45.3%5.1%8

What this does and does not mean

These figures describe the businesses in this directory, which skews toward those with enough public presence to be found. Smaller states have smaller samples — NT has 331 businesses against 6,039 in NSW — so treat the smallest columns with proportionate caution.

Licensing also differs by state in ways this data does not capture, because there is no national register to check against. The regulator for your state is the authority on that.

Full state names

  • NSW — New South Wales: 6,039 businesses
  • QLD — Queensland: 4,903 businesses
  • VIC — Victoria: 4,821 businesses
  • WA — Western Australia: 2,364 businesses
  • SA — South Australia: 1,337 businesses
  • TAS — Tasmania: 503 businesses
  • ACT — the Australian Capital Territory: 400 businesses
  • NT — the Northern Territory: 331 businesses

Common questions

Which Australian state has the most trade businesses listed?
NSW (New South Wales), with 6,039 of the 20,703 businesses in this directory.
Do trade businesses differ by state?
Less than you would expect. ABN publication and contact accuracy vary only a few percentage points between states — far less than they vary between trades.

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