What an ABN tells you about a tradie — and what it doesn't

Short answer

An ABN confirms a business exists as a registered entity and tells you its legal name, its type, and how long it has been registered. It does not mean the business is licensed, insured, or any good. Only 12.9% of the 20,703 Australian trade businesses in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm.

An Australian Business Number is free to obtain, free to publish and free to check. 18,032 of the 20,703 trade businesses we hold — 87.1% — publish one nowhere a customer can find it.

What an ABN actually proves

  • The business exists as a registered entity, with a legal name you can compare against the name on your quote.
  • Its entity type — sole trader, partnership, company, trust. A sole trader and a company give you different recourse if things go wrong.
  • How long it has been registered, which is a rough proxy for how long it has traded.
  • Whether it is registered for GST, which tells you whether GST on your invoice is legitimate.

What it does not prove

This is where people over-read it. An ABN is a tax registration, not a competence check. Anyone can get one in minutes, for free, with no qualifications whatsoever.

  • It is not a licence. A tradesperson can hold an ABN and be completely unlicensed for the work.
  • It is not insurance.
  • It is not a quality signal. A twenty-year-old ABN belonging to someone who does poor work is still a twenty-year-old ABN.

How to check one

Search the number on ABN Lookup, the national register run by the Australian Business Register. It is free, needs no account, and returns the entity name, status, registration date and GST registration.

Which trades publish one

It varies more than you would expect between trades doing similar work for similar customers:

TradePublish a confirmable ABN
Garage Door Specialists17.9%
Roofers16.2%
Plumbers15.7%
Locksmiths15.3%
Electricians14.8%
Heating & Cooling14.8%
Solar Installers13.6%
Arborists13.3%

Common questions

Does a tradie need an ABN?
A business operating in Australia generally needs an ABN to invoice properly, and without one a customer may be required to withhold tax from payment. But holding an ABN is not the same as being licensed for the work.
How do I check a tradie's ABN?
Search the number free on ABN Lookup, the national register. Compare the registered entity name against the name on your quote — a mismatch is the thing worth asking about.
What percentage of Australian tradies publish an ABN?
12.9% of the 20,703 trade businesses in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register.

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