What vetting is, and isn't
These are suburbs where people have been let down before, usually by someone who turned up once with a pressure washer and a story. The properties are valuable, the materials are unforgiving, and the rules are real: sandstone and heritage render cleaned at the wrong pressure is damaged for good, fibro eaves on a 1960s Collaroy house must not be blasted, wash water in a Mosman street gutter ends up in Middle Harbour, and a water filter connected by anyone but a licensed plumber is unlawful. Vetting is how we make sure the people we introduce know these things before they arrive, not after.
Vetting does not guarantee the work. We check who a tradie is, that they are licensed where the law requires it, insured, experienced and willing to be held to a standard. We do not supervise the job, set the price or warrant the result. The quote, the contract and the payment are between you and the tradie, and so is the responsibility for the work. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply to that contract in full: services have to be carried out with proper care and skill, suit the purpose you described, and arrive in a reasonable time.
If something goes wrong, tell the tradie first and give them the chance to put it right; most will. Then tell us, by phone on 0494 810 609 or through the contact page, with photos if they help. We follow up with the tradie, hear both sides, and record the outcome against their place in the network. Where a complaint reveals that the code of conduct or the law was broken, the tradie is removed. For disputes about money or workmanship that you and the tradie cannot resolve, NSW Fair Trading offers a complaint service and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal hears home building and consumer claims.
Frequently asked questions
It means licensed where the law requires a licence. Plumbing, electrical, gas and air conditioning work, and residential building work over 5,000 dollars, need a licence in NSW and we check it. Washing houses, cleaning windows, gardening, removing rubbish and small handyman jobs are not licensed trades, so for those vetting rests on identity, insurance, work history and conduct.
Use the NSW Government's online licence check at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au, which shows the holder's name, licence classes, expiry and any disciplinary history, and check the ABN on ABN Lookup. Ask the tradie for their licence number; it should appear on their quote and advertising. Our how-to-check-a-tradie guide walks through each step.
Current public liability insurance, proven by a certificate of currency that shows the policy limit. We keep a copy and the expiry date on file. Where a tradie employs staff, workers compensation is a legal requirement. Home building compensation cover applies only to licensed building work above 20,000 dollars and is arranged by the licensed contractor for that job.
No. Our checks are identity, ABN, licence, insurance, work history, references and conduct. We do not run criminal history checks, and the work matched here does not require working with children checks. If that matters for your situation, raise it with the tradie directly.
Yes, and they are. Reasons include a complaint that proves the code of conduct was breached, a lapsed licence or insurance that is not renewed, unlawful disposal of waste or wash water, pressure selling, or not turning up without word. We also pause matches while a serious complaint is looked into.
No. TPS Trade Connect does not carry out building or trade work, so it does not hold a contractor licence for that work. It is a service of The Prestige Standard, Double Bay. The licence and insurance that matter for your job belong to the tradie doing it; those are what we check and what you should see on the quote.
For tradies
If you do good work in these suburbs and can pass these checks, apply to join the network.
