Checking a business before you book
A few useful checks, the right registers and better questions before you commit to a service.
Before booking a service or paying a deposit, take a little time to check the business and the offer. Public registers and a consistent business footprint can help you verify details, although none guarantees the quality of future work. Here are a few useful places to start, with worked examples of what each register actually shows.
Verify the business is registered
Ask for the business's Australian Business Number where applicable, or look for it on its website or quote. ABN Lookup is the free public search of the Australian Business Register. It needs no login, and it describes itself as a tool the public can use to check a business before buying. A worked example: a quote arrives from a trading name you do not recognise, with an ABN in the footer. Search the number rather than the name, because ABN Lookup says a number search is the most efficient and usually returns a single result, while a name search returns a ranked list split into an active ABNs tab and an all ABNs tab. The record shows the ABN and whether it is active or cancelled, the entity name that appears on official documents, any registered business names, the state and postcode of the main business location, the entity type and whether the entity is registered for GST. Compare three things with your quote: the entity name or a listed business name should match the name you were given, the status should be active, and a quote that adds GST should come from an entity shown as registered for GST. Trading names collected before 28 May 2012 still appear on records but have no legal status, so a name that only exists as an old trading name deserves a question. ABN Lookup is updated from the register every hour but depends on businesses updating their own details, and it never shows a street address, email or phone number, so contact details on a quote cannot be checked there. An active ABN is useful evidence of registration; it is not a guarantee of quality or a recommendation. Ask the business to explain any mismatch before you commit.
Free public search of the Australian Business Register by ABN, ACN or name.
ABN LookupExplains number and name searches, the active and all ABNs tabs, and entity, business and trading name types.
ABN Lookup: search tipsLists what a record contains, what active and cancelled mean, how often data updates and why no contact details are shown.
ABN Lookup: frequently asked questionsCheck licences for regulated work
Many services legally require a licence: building work, plumbing, electrical, gas fitting, and credit or financial services among them. Each state and territory runs licence registers through its fair trading or building authority, and you can search most of them online using the tradesperson's name or licence number. Two worked examples show what to look for. In New South Wales, the government's Verify service brings more than 20 public registers together, including contractors and tradespeople, conveyancers, property and real estate agents, motor dealers, recyclers and repairers, design and building practitioners, and home building compensation cover. It is designed for checking a business or individual before you engage them, and the records cover licence validity, conditions and compliance history, so look past the status line to any conditions attached. In Queensland, the Building and Construction Commission says every licensed contractor is listed in its licensee register, which you can search by licence number or name and which shows a complete licence history. The commission adds that licensed contractors must show in their advertising a contractor name that matches the name on the licence and their QBCC licence number, that building work valued at $3,300 or more needs a licence, that plumbing, drainage, gas fitting and fire protection work need one regardless of value, and that electrical work needs a separate licence from the Electrical Safety Office. If you cannot find someone on the register, the commission says there is a chance they are not licensed. For anyone offering credit or financial services, ASIC's professional registers let you check licensing. Professions with their own registers, such as tax agents and health practitioners, have separate AusIndex guides linked below. Whichever register you use, confirm the licence covers the specific type of work you are booking, not just a related category, and that the name on the licence is the name on the quote.
The NSW Government's combined search across more than 20 public licence and registration registers.
Verify NSWExplains the licensee register, the licence thresholds and the details Queensland contractors must show when advertising.
QBCC: find a licensed contractorHow to search the Tax Practitioners Board register and read a tax agent's entry.
Checking a tax agent's registration before you lodgeHow to use the Ahpra register and what conditions and registration types mean.
Checking a health practitioner's registration before you bookLook at the business's own footprint
Review the business's website for basics: a real service description, service area, and a way to contact them beyond a mobile number. Cross-check that details are consistent between the website, invoices and quotes. Reviews on independent platforms can help, but read them critically; look for patterns across many reviews rather than reacting to a single glowing or scathing one, and note how the business responds to complaints.
Protect yourself when paying
Avoid paying large amounts before work begins, and be wary of requests for payment by bank transfer to an account name that does not match the business. Get the agreed scope, price and timing in writing before paying a deposit, and keep records of every payment. Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre, publishes current warning signs for false billing and phony tradespeople; if something feels rushed or evasive, pause and verify before committing.
Your quick checklist
Tick these off as you go. This checklist resets when you leave.
Useful starting points
General information to help you ask questions. Check requirements for the particular service and your state or territory.