The twelve, from the regulator
These are Building Commission NSW's questions, word for word. What sits beside each one is what a straight answer sounds like — and what it means when the answer wanders.
| Ask | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| What is your contractor licence number? | A number, said without pausing, that you can read back. If it arrives as “it's on the van” or “my mate holds it”, stop here. |
| Where can I see reviews of your work? | Two or three recent customers you may ring, in the same suburb, on the same kind of job. |
| What other jobs have you got on at the moment? | A real number, and how yours fits around them. “Nothing on” in a busy trade is worth a second question. |
| Who will supervise the work? | A name, and whether that person is on site daily or dropping in. |
| What insurance do you have? | The policy types by name, and an offer to send certificates. Not “yeah, we're fully insured”. |
| How much deposit do you need? | A figure under your state's cap, tied to what it buys — materials, a booking, a made-to-order item. |
| When can you start the work and how long will it take? | A start date and a finish date, with the weather and material delays already allowed for. |
| What sort of contract will be used? | The name of the contract, and who sends it. Above your state's threshold this is not optional. |
| How much will it cost? | A total, plus which items are estimates and what would move them. |
| When should progress payments be made? | Payments tied to stages of work finished, never to weeks elapsed. |
| What happens if the work is defective? | An unbothered answer. Somebody who has fixed their own work before will tell you how. |
| Who cleans the site? | Whoever it is, written down. It is the cheapest argument to prevent. |
Source: Building Commission NSW, Questions to ask before hiring a tradesperson or builder, read 3 September 2026.
The licence question, and why it is first
Building Commission NSW is direct about it: “You should only deal with a properly licensed contractor. Check their details and credentials, and review their history for any disciplinary actions to make sure you're hiring someone reliable.”
The number itself is not the check — looking it up is. Every state and territory publishes a free public register, and a licence found on the register tells you three things a quote cannot: whether it is current, what classes of work it covers, and whether anything has been recorded against it.
One trap to know about. A licence held by an individual does not license their company. NSW says it plainly: “A licence in the name of an individual does not permit the individual's company or partnership to make the contract, even if the individual is a director of the company…” So the name on the register has to match the name on the contract, not just the person standing in your kitchen.
Look up a licence, every stateThe reference question, done properly
“Have you got references” gets a yes from everyone. Building Commission NSW publishes the six questions to ask the reference instead, and they are the useful part:
- Was the project finished on time?
- Did they stay close to the quoted costs?
- Was there proper supervision of the other tradespeople?
- Did any defective work get fixed promptly?
- Would they recommend the contractor?
- Was there good communication with the contractor?
The fourth is the one that separates a good trade business from a lucky one. Everybody has a job go wrong; not everybody comes back.
The insurance question, in the right words
Building Commission NSW lists what may be required in NSW: Home Building Compensation Fund Insurance, Builders All-Risk Insurance, Public Liability Insurance, Workers Compensation or Insurance, kit homes cover and contracts insurance.
Ask for the certificates rather than the assurance. The scheme names differ in every state, so the phrase that travels is: “Which policies do you hold for this job, and can you email me the certificates of currency?” What to do with them once they arrive is on how to check a tradie is insured.
The deposit question, with a number attached
Ask what the deposit is and what it buys. A deposit that covers materials the tradie has to order is doing a job; a deposit that is just a share of the price is doing a different one.
In NSW the ceiling is stated in one line: “Under NSW home building law, the maximum deposit you can be asked to pay is 10%.” Every other state sets its own, and two set none at all.
The contract question is a threshold question
Whether a written contract is a courtesy or a legal requirement depends on the price and the state. NSW: “If the cost of labour and materials is more than $5,000, the law requires a written contract to be used.”
Above your state's line the answer to “what sort of contract” should be the name of a standard contract, not “I'll just write you a quote”. The thresholds and what each contract has to contain are on what a written quote must include.
Three answers that should slow you down
NSW publishes its own warning signs. Be wary of a contractor who:
- “encourages you to sign a contract quickly to avoid a price increase. This is usually a sales pitch.”
- “suggests you get an owner-builder permit while they organise all the building work for you. This could be a ploy if they don't have the right kind of licence, can't get home warranty insurance or want to avoid responsibility.”
- “gives you a quote which seems extremely low compared to others.”
The middle one is the one people fall for, because it sounds like the tradie doing you a favour. It moves the legal responsibility for the whole build onto you.
Source: NSW Government, Contracts for residential building work, read 3 September 2026.
Ask everyone the same thing
NSW's advice on getting comparable answers is to write the job down first: “Provide at least 3 contractors with the same information so you can easily compare the quotes.” And the reason it matters — “If you don't specify exactly what you want in the beginning, the quote may only include the cheapest products and materials.”
Three quotes on three different scopes are not three quotes. They are three guesses.
Write the job down firstGeneral information for Australian home owners, not legal advice. Yamate is software; it does not vet, rank or recommend any tradesperson, and no regulator has reviewed this page. The twelve questions and every quoted line are Building Commission NSW's, read at its own pages on 3 September 2026; the readings beside them are ours. Licence, insurance and contract rules differ in every state and change over time — check your own regulator before relying on a figure. Yamate sells software to tradespeople and lists them in this directory.