Contractor Verification — New South Wales

The rule — no exceptions: every contractor on Hello Pros must be fully verified before receiving any job. Verification is per contractor and per trade. If any required document expires, job matching pauses automatically until it is renewed.

The NSW checklist

• ABN — a current Australian Business Number, with GST registration status checked on ABN Lookup.
• NSW Fair Trading contractor licence — required for building work and for the specialist trades listed below; the licence number, holder and endorsed categories are checked against the NSW licence register.
• Public liability insurance — current certificate of currency with a minimum of $5 million cover.
• Workers compensation insurance (icare NSW) — required if the contractor employs staff. Sole traders with no employees provide personal accident / income protection cover instead — workers compensation does not cover a sole trader themselves.
• Owner photo ID — to confirm the licence holder and the account holder are the same person.

Licence notes by trade

• Electrical — all electrical work in NSW must be done by a licensed electrical contractor; there is no unlicensed category.
• Plumbing, draining & gasfitting — licensed trades in NSW; plumbing and drainage work must be performed or supervised by a licensee.
• Air-conditioning & refrigeration — a NSW licence is required for this specialist work (refrigerant handling may also require a federal ARC licence).
• Building & renovations — a NSW contractor licence is required for residential building work above the value thresholds set by NSW Fair Trading, and for specialist categories regardless of value.
• Other trades (for example painting, concreting, flooring) — a licence is required where NSW Fair Trading lists the work as a specialist category or a threshold applies; where no licence is required, the ABN, insurance and ID checks still apply in full.

How verification stays current

• Every document's expiry date is recorded at approval time.
• Reminders are sent 30 days before a document expires, and again when it expires.
• An expired licence, insurance policy or workers compensation cover = automatic pause: no new job matches until a current document is provided and checked.
• Licence numbers are re-checked against the NSW licence register if a licence is suspended, cancelled or surrendered — the contractor's profile is paused the same way.

What verification means — and what it doesn't

Hello Pros checks the documents and register entries listed above before a contractor's first job and while their profile is active. Hello Pros is a private marketplace: it is not a government body, and verification by Hello Pros is not a licence, accreditation or endorsement by NSW Fair Trading or any other authority. Contractors remain responsible for holding the licences and insurance their work legally requires.