The Essential Checklist to Starting a Trade Business in Australia

Before Anything: Decide What You're Actually Selling

This sounds obvious. It's not. Most new tradies think "I'm an electrician" or "I'm a plumber" and stop there. But your client doesn't hire a trade — they hire a result. They want the lights working, the hot water fixed, the bathroom renovated.

Before you register anything, get clear on: - Your main services — specifically, not "general plumbing" - Who your ideal customer is — residential, commercial, strata, builders - Your coverage area — which suburbs or regions - How you'll price — fixed, call-out plus diagnostic, hybrid

The trap is trying to do everything for everyone when you've got a ute, some tools, and no reputation yet. Pick a lane. You can widen it later.

Legal and Setup — The Non-Negotiables

Business structure

Sole trader, company, or trust. Most start as sole traders because it's simplest — but talk to an accountant before you commit. The wrong structure set up early can cost you significantly at tax time, and switching later is paperwork you don't need.

ABN and GST

Register for an Australian Business Number. GST registration depends on your expected turnover — confirm with your accountant whether you need it from day one or can wait until you hit the threshold.

Licences and tickets

Your trade, your state, your specific licence requirements. If you need a contractor licence, an electrical licence, a plumbing registration, a builders licence — get it sorted before you quote a single job. Working unlicensed isn't a shortcut. It's a liability that'll find you at the worst possible moment.

Insurance

At minimum: public liability. Beyond that, consider tools and equipment insurance (most policyholders discover they weren't covered after something gets stolen, not before), professional indemnity if your work involves design or advice, and income protection if you're the only person generating revenue.

Driving around uninsured or underinsured won't feel like a problem until something goes wrong — and then it's the business that pays, not just you.

Pricing and Cash Flow — Where Most New Businesses Struggle

Build a pricing model you can run consistently

You need a system, not a gut feel. Include your labour rates, your call-out and diagnostic rules, your material markup approach, and how you'll handle variations. The model doesn't have to be perfect on day one, but it does have to exist — otherwise you're making it up per job and you'll underprice yourself regularly.

Use deposits when the job commits you

Deposits aren't about not trusting clients. They're about covering costs when you're turning down other work to hold a slot, or ordering materials to a specific job that can't be returned. Frame it as standard business practice, because it is.

Write payment terms onto the quote

"Payment due on completion," "30% deposit to book, balance on completion," or "progress payments at milestones." Whatever your terms are, put them on the quote so there's no ambiguity later. The time to discuss payment expectations is before the job starts, not after the invoice is overdue.

Operations — How You Actually Deliver Work

Booking and scheduling

Start simple: appointment windows, text confirmations, at least one buffer per day for travel and unexpected overruns. A calendar that's packed solid with no slack is a calendar that'll break by Wednesday.

Quoting

Your quoting workflow should include: standard questions you ask every enquiry, photos or measurements where needed, scope and exclusions stated clearly, timeline, and next steps. Don't make clients work to understand what they're buying.

Job documentation

Every job should produce a record: photos, notes on what was done, any variations approved, handover details. If you can't prove what you did six months later — for a warranty claim, a dispute, or just your own reference — you didn't really document it.

Compliance and Risk

Compliance looks different for every trade and every state, but the common threads are: - Correct licences and tickets, current and appropriate for the work you're taking on - Documentation records for any high-risk or regulated work - Proper PPE and plant for your job types - A system for job documentation that goes beyond "I'll remember what I did"

If your compliance system is your memory, you don't have one. Write things down. Take photos. Keep records. The time you'll need them is never the time you'll be able to reconstruct them from scratch.

Marketing — Get Found Without Burning Money

Google Business Profile

Set it up properly from the start. Right category. Service descriptions. Suburbs you cover. Photos monthly. Reviews requested after every job. This is your single most important local marketing asset and it costs nothing to maintain properly.

A basic web presence

You need one place that explains what you do, where you do it, why someone should trust you, and how to contact you. A simple website or even a well-built landing page is enough to start. You don't need a $4,000 custom build.

Referrals

Ask after successful jobs. Keep a simple script. Make sure every client who's happy with your work knows you'd appreciate them passing your name along. This is the highest-converting lead source you'll ever have, and most tradies never ask.

The First 90 Days

Month 1 — Stability

Month 2 — Systems

Month 3 — Growth

The Rule That Makes Everything Else Work

Don't try to do all of this at once. Pick the next smallest action in each category — legal, operations, marketing — and execute. Then the next one. Momentum builds from completed actions, not overwhelming to-do lists.

Key Takeaways

• ✓Get clear on what you're actually selling before you register anything — services, customers, coverage area, pricing approach
• ✓ABN, insurance, licences, and payment terms are non-negotiable setup items — don't start without them
• ✓Build a pricing model and stick to it; inconsistency is how you undercharge yourself regularly
• ✓Compliance is a documentation system, not a memory exercise
• ✓Marketing starts with GBP, reviews, and a simple web presence — not ad spend
• ✓Run a 30/60/90-day plan so your progress is measurable, not a feeling