StrataTrade · Insights · Trades & procurement

Finding strata contractors: what a directory won't tell you

Jurisdiction National Registers QBCC · NSW Fair Trading · VBA
Search “strata contractors directory” and you’ll find plenty of lists — names, phone numbers, a suburb. What a list can’t tell you is the only thing that matters when the contractor is working on common property: whether this business is licensed for the work, insured for the site, and quoting against the same scope as everyone else. Body corporate and owners corporation work is not household maintenance. The committee approving the invoice is spending other owners’ money, the record of that decision can be examined years later, and in most states the law has its own opinion about how many quotes should be on the table.

The four checks a phone list skips

Licensing, verified against the regulator — not the letterhead

Every state runs a public licence register (QBCC in Queensland, NSW Fair Trading, the VBA in Victoria). A licence number printed on a quote means nothing until it’s been checked against the register, is current, and covers the actual class of work. Committees are entitled to ask; good contractors expect it.

Insurance that matches the site

Public liability appropriate to common property, and workers compensation where there’s a crew. Ask for certificates of currency — dated ones.

An ABN that belongs to the entity quoting

The name on the quote, the ABN, and the bank account being paid should belong to the same business. The ABN register is public and takes thirty seconds.

Comparability

Two quotes priced against two different understandings of the job satisfy nobody — not the committee, not the owners reviewing the minutes, and not the two-quote requirements that apply to major spending in Queensland and New South Wales. The scope has to be written once, properly, and quoted by everyone against the same document.

Why we built StrataTrade instead of another list

StrataTrade isn’t a directory you scroll. Strata managers and committees post a job once — scoped, with photos and access details — and the platform notifies verified trades in the area. Licensed trades are verified against their state regulator; service businesses are ABN-verified. Quotes come back in a structured, comparable format: price, inclusions, exclusions, warranty, start date. The manager or committee compares them side by side, records a recommendation, and the decision — with every quote behind it — stays on the building’s record permanently.

For contractors, it means jobs arrive scoped and ready to quote, from professional buyers who post work repeatedly. A standard listing currently costs nothing, and there are no bidding wars.

If you manage or sit on a committee: post your first job — pricing is shown when you register, and committee members are never charged.

If you’re a trade: register your business — licensed trades across Australia are already in the system; registering confirms your details and service area.

If you’re an owner or resident: your building’s manager or committee is the one who signs up — send them this page.

Licence registers referenced: QBCC (QLD), NSW Fair Trading, Victorian Building Authority. General information, not legal advice.

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