Platform Policies

1. Acceptable Use & Community Policy

Tradies Local is for genuine trade, property, construction, maintenance, recruitment and related business opportunities. Users must act lawfully, respectfully and honestly.

Prohibited conduct

• fraud, scams, phishing, identity misuse or misleading payment requests;
• fake accounts, fake jobs, fake credentials, fake quotes or fake reviews;
• harassment, threats, stalking, intimidation or unlawful discrimination;
• unsafe, illegal or knowingly unlicensed work;
• content that is defamatory, sexually exploitative, hateful, violent, invasive of privacy or otherwise unlawful;
• malware, unauthorised access, scraping, automated harvesting, security testing without permission or interference with platform operation;
• using another user's contact information for unrelated marketing, resale, data enrichment or spam;
• circumventing reasonable platform controls through duplicate or deceptive accounts.

We may remove content or restrict accounts where reasonably necessary to protect users, platform integrity or legal compliance.

2. Job Listing & Recruitment Policy

Listings must be genuine, accurate and sufficiently clear for another user to understand the opportunity.

Tradies Local may edit formatting, categorise, reject, pause or remove listings that materially breach these standards.

3. Verification Policy

Only completed, recorded checks may support a badge or verification claim. The following explains the distinction between check types; it does not state that every check is offered.

The check date, source or method, material scope and limitations must be beside or immediately accessible from the badge. Do not expose identity-document numbers. No continuous monitoring is implied. Unsupported, expired or credibly disputed badges may be paused while evidence is assessed and restored only when supported.

Users must report credential changes and check suitability for each job. A disclaimer does not correct an unsupported headline or badge. Any general “ABNs verified” or “Licenses checked” statement must be read as referring only to the specific checks actually performed and must not imply every visitor or account has been checked.

Which checks apply?

• Tradies and trade businesses: business/ABN details, the trade licence required for the offered work and jurisdiction, and insurance evidence relevant to that work or specifically requested.
• Business owners hiring: business/ABN details where applicable and authority to act for the organisation. Posting a hiring opportunity does not itself require a trade licence or trade insurance. If the business also offers trade services, the relevant provider checks apply.
• Identity clarification: photo ID may be sighted when reasonably necessary to clarify the representative’s identity or authority. A business register match alone does not prove that the applicant is authorised to act.

How manual checks are assessed

1. Business: compare the supplied ABN, entity/trading name and status against ABN Lookup. Resolve mismatched names and clarify representative authority where needed.
2. Trade licence: use the relevant regulator’s register where available. Record holder, jurisdiction, source, date, class, conditions, status and expiry to the extent available. If independent confirmation is unavailable, disclose that limitation and do not label the evidence as register-verified.
3. Insurance: sight the certificate of currency and compare the insured name, cover type, stated limits and period against the business and work described. This does not confirm authenticity with the insurer, premium payment, exclusions or cover for a particular claim.
4. Photo ID, when necessary: arrange the method and explain the purpose first. The proposed video-sighting method is an unrecorded call with no screenshots, comparing the person and photo/name visually. Label it “Photo ID sighted”; it is not automated biometric verification or independent document authentication.

See the Verification Guide for preparation. Do not send unsolicited identity images by SMS. A different collection process must be explained before submission, including access, retention and deletion arrangements. A policy alone does not make a device or messaging service secure.

Records, outcomes and updates

Keep only the proportionate record needed to support the check: account, check type, relevant source/method, result, reviewer, date and relevant expiry or limitations. Do not routinely retain full identity images or full driver-licence numbers under the proposed sighting approach. Apply the Privacy Policy to any evidence actually collected; no claim that all copies are absent from phones, backups or third-party systems is made.

A mismatch, incomplete evidence or unavailable register can lead to clarification, a pending check or refusal of the affected badge. No uncompleted or failed check may be presented as passed. Users may request review through support. A badge may be withdrawn when its evidence is no longer supported. No fixed completion time or continuous rechecking is promised; users must report changes and customers must check current suitability for each engagement.

What a completed check does not promise

A completed check is not a recommendation, professional accreditation, background or police check, inspection, guarantee of identity, assurance against impersonation or fraud, or promise of safe or competent work. It does not establish solvency, employment eligibility, financial reliability or that insurance will respond to a claim. A visually plausible document or matching register entry can still be misused; manual checks cannot detect every forgery or later change.

Customers and hiring businesses must independently confirm the person’s authority, current licence scope, required cover and suitability for their particular job before engaging them, and agree scope, price, safety, payment and variations directly. Providers remain responsible for lawful work, current credentials and insurance, and must promptly report expiry, cancellation, suspension, restrictions or material changes.

Responsibility: checking a credential does not make Tradies Local the contractor, employer, insurer or guarantor. Terms section 6 explains the check limitations, and section 17 governs liability. These limits do not exclude responsibility for our own actionable conduct or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

4. Reviews & Ratings Policy

Reviews must reflect genuine first-hand experience or an identifiable interaction. Do not create, buy, exchange or coordinate fake feedback, review your own business deceptively, or use threats to obtain a rating.

• Disclose relevant relationships and incentives. An incentive must not depend on a favourable review.
• Keep comments relevant and factual where asserting facts. Do not expose private details, make unlawful allegations or include threats or discriminatory abuse.
• Paying for a plan or advertising does not purchase a better rating or removal of genuine criticism.
• A disputed opinion is not removed merely because it is negative. A platform interaction is not automatically a completed job.

We may request proportionate evidence privately, seek an author's response, label or restrict content during assessment and remove material reasonably assessed as fabricated, misleading, irrelevant or unlawful. Aggregate ratings must explain their actual eligible reviews, calculation and exclusions; no calculation or completed-job verification is assumed by this policy. Report content under section 12.

5. Fees, Promotions & Refund Policy

Terms section 7 governs charges and refunds. Prices are direct AUD amounts. Basic plans have no recurring subscription. Current free job listings or job leads are separate from the one-time tradie/business-owner registration service.

The registration promotion is LAUNCH80 for 80% off the applicable registration fee until 31 January 2027. Check Plans & Pricing and the final purchase total, including GST treatment and compulsory charges, before paying. A promotion does not silently authorise future charges or override an accepted purchase.

A signup fee is earned only for the described service actually supplied. The no-change-of-mind rule applies after correct supply; it does not exclude remedies for non-supply, rejected registration with an unsupplied component, defective service, wrong or duplicate charges, an unhonoured accepted offer or other statutory rights. No job outcome is guaranteed by payment. Monetary refunds due are not replaced with compulsory credit.

Email support@tradieslocal.com.au with billing evidence and the remedy sought, without card security details. Stripe handles platform payments through its payment gateway. The authorised total, applicable charges and any expressly selected recurring arrangement must be shown before payment. Use of Stripe does not remove Tradies Local’s refund and service obligations. This does not mean Stripe processes payments for underlying trade work between users.

6. Subscription Policy

Current Basic plans are pay-as-you-go, not recurring subscriptions. The following rules apply only to a recurring subscription expressly offered and selected. Mention of a subscription or credit pack does not make it available or included.

Before purchase, we disclose the total price, minimum commitment, billing interval, renewal date/time/timezone, credit allowance, expiry, cancellation facility and any payment-retry rules. No preselected renewal or automatic conversion from a free offer is authorised by these Policies.

Subscription credits and renewal

For any recurring subscription you expressly select, credits included in each billing period are valid only for that period. Unused subscription credits expire at the end of the period and do not roll over, accumulate or transfer to the next period. The credit allowance and exact expiry date, time and timezone must be shown before purchase and in the subscription details. This rule applies to included subscription credits; separately purchased credit packs retain the validity disclosed when purchased.

The subscription and its new credit allowance renew only after the recurring payment is successfully processed. A pending, declined or failed payment does not issue new credits or extend expired credits. Any payment retries, service restrictions and the start and end of a period activated after delayed payment must be disclosed; customers must not be charged for an unavailable period without an agreed remedy. Cancellation stops further renewal attempts.

Cancelling recurring payments

You can cancel automatic renewal and future recurring payments at any time using the cancellation facility supplied with the subscription, or by emailing support@tradieslocal.com.au if that facility is unavailable. A request received before the next recurring charge takes effect stops that charge and later renewals. We confirm cancellation and the access end date. Cancellation does not require account deletion.

Access and remaining subscription credits continue until the end of the already-paid period, when unused subscription credits expire without rollover. Cancellation does not automatically refund a correctly supplied paid period or remove an amount already lawfully owed. Refunds and remedies required by applicable law, including for incorrect charges or non-supply, remain available. Cancellation does not authorise a replacement plan, fresh registration fee or other new charge.

7. Messaging, Job Alerts & SMS Policy

Service communications may concern security, billing, verification and activity in features you select. Optional alerts and marketing must be distinguishable. An alert does not guarantee a job, exclusive access or timely receipt in every circumstance.

Commercial email and SMS require the applicable consent basis, accurate sender identification and a functional unsubscribe facility. The facility must remain usable for at least 30 days after sending, must not require login, extra personal information or more than ordinary communication costs, and requests must be actioned within five working days. A promotional message is not exempt merely because it includes a service notice.

Do not use another user's details for unrelated marketing, sell contacts onward or send harassment, malicious links or spam. Marketing withdrawal does not itself close an account. Branded SMS may be sent only with the applicable sender-ID registration and provider arrangements; this policy does not claim that SMS is currently enabled.

8. Privacy, Cookies & Data Handling

The Privacy Policy explains the information-handling framework and the current preview limitations. Personal information must be limited to disclosed purposes, with public fields distinguished from participant-only and staff records.

Do not publish private addresses, access codes, identity images or unnecessary sensitive details. Evidence for checks and complaints should be supplied privately and proportionately. Acceptance of Terms is not separate consent to unrelated marketing, sensitive-information collection or overseas disclosure.

Production collection notices, actual providers, cookies, overseas handling, retention and deletion must match implemented practices. Neither a generic policy nor a cookie banner establishes that an undisclosed data flow is authorised. Incidents and requests are handled under applicable privacy law and the Privacy Policy.

9. Safety, Scams & Off-Platform Risk Policy

Users should use reasonable care before allowing site access, transferring money or starting work.

• Confirm the person or business you are dealing with and check relevant credentials for the proposed work.
• Keep important scope, pricing, variations and payment arrangements in writing.
• Be cautious of unusual deposit requests, pressure to pay immediately, requests to transfer money to unrelated accounts, or sudden changes to bank details.
• Do not share passwords, one-time security codes, access codes or unnecessary identity documents with another user.
• Report suspected fake profiles, stolen identities, fraudulent listings or suspicious messages to Tradies Local.

Tradies Local may take protective action on the platform, but users remain responsible for their own hiring, contracting, site-access and payment decisions.

10. Complaints & Dispute Resolution Policy

Anyone, including a non-user, can email support@tradieslocal.com.au about platform services, billing, credentials, moderation or content. Include relevant URLs, dates, transaction references, evidence and the outcome sought. We assess urgency and substance within a reasonable period, seek necessary information and explain the outcome or next step. No guaranteed two-day acknowledgement or fixed resolution deadline is created by these Policies.

Trade-work disputes generally belong between the contracting users. Platform assistance does not turn Tradies Local into the trade contractor, adjudicator or payment guarantor. Our own conduct remains our responsibility.

Privacy concerns follow Privacy section 7; content reports follow section 12. Internal steps do not block a statutory complaint, court or tribunal, or urgent relief. Call 000 for an immediate threat to safety.

11. Account Moderation & Enforcement Policy

Action must be proportionate to evidence, seriousness, repetition, intent, user impact, legal obligations and safety or security risk. It can include a warning, correction request, badge removal, content restriction, temporary suspension or termination.

Where practicable, we give reasons and a correction opportunity before major action. Urgent credible risks may justify immediate restriction while investigated. Users may seek review and provide evidence through support@tradieslocal.com.au; a different reviewer may assess an appeal where practicable. We protect complainants' private information and security-sensitive details.

No automatic forfeiture of all prepaid services follows a restriction or termination. Terms section 13 governs account action, unused entitlements and statutory remedies.

12. Content Complaints, Intellectual Property & Takedown

Report copyright, trademark, privacy, defamatory or other unlawful content to support@tradieslocal.com.au. Email is available without a platform account. Identify the exact URL/content and words complained of, explain the concern, your relationship to it, relevant rights and evidence, contact details and the action requested. A court order is not a prerequisite to submitting a report.

We assess the urgency and grounds, preserve necessary evidence privately where lawful, and may disable access while considering a credible complaint. We may seek clarification or an author's response and explain an outcome or review route where lawful. Acknowledging a report alone does not resolve it or satisfy any applicable deadline for preventing access.

Reports involving serious harm, unlawful disclosure or defamation need prompt assessment under the applicable law and jurisdiction. This policy does not claim automatic immunity, a universal takedown deadline or that merely forwarding a complaint discharges legal duties. Do not submit knowingly false claims or disclose unnecessary private information.

13. Policy updates

Updates may reflect lawful operational changes, features, security and regulatory requirements. Terms section 19 governs notice and protection of accepted purchases and accrued rights. A policy update alone does not authorise a new charge, recurring plan or unrelated data use.

The displayed version and revision date identify this document. Features and procedures must be implemented before they are advertised or sold; these Policies do not assert that future features are live.