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How do I check a business is real before paying a deposit?

The short answer

Check the ABN is active and matches the trading name, check the trade licence on your state's register, and confirm the entity you are paying is the entity on the quote.

TradieAnswers editorial · written in-house and sourced to the authorities listed below

Checked against 7 published sources, listed in full at the end of this page. How we source this

This takes about five minutes across three free services and it filters out most of what goes wrong.

The checks

  1. Look up the ABN on the national register. Confirm it is active, see the entity name, and check when it was registered. A brand new ABN on a business claiming decades of experience is worth a question.
  2. Check the trade licence on your state or territory register, by number, and confirm the class covers the work.
  3. Compare three names: the entity on the ABN, the licence holder, and the account you are being asked to pay. Mismatches are common and not always sinister, but they should be explained.
  4. Check whether the business is registered for GST if it is charging you GST, which the ABN register shows.

The mismatch that matters most

Paying a personal account when the quote is from a company means you may have no contract with the person who has your money. If a dispute follows, the first question is who you contracted with, and an ambiguous answer costs you. Ask for the payment details to match the entity on the quote.

Sources

Every source below was fetched and its response recorded on the date shown. Where a government site blocks automated clients, that is noted rather than reported as a successful check.

  1. ABN Lookup · Australian Business RegisterChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  2. Verify.Licence · NSW GovernmentChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  3. Search a public register · Energy Safe VictoriaChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  4. QBCC · Queensland Building and Construction CommissionChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  5. Find a licence holder · Consumer and Business Services (SA)Checked 2026-08-10 · live, but blocks automated clients so the specific page could not be confirmed
  6. Choosing a tradesperson · Access CanberraChecked 2026-08-10 · responded 200 OK
  7. NT Consumer Affairs · Northern Territory GovernmentChecked 2026-08-10 · live, but blocks automated clients so the specific page could not be confirmed

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