How We Vet Make-Good Contractors

The short answer

Before a contractor can quote through MAKE GREAT, a person on our team checks their ABN and legal entity, reviews their insurance certificates and expiry dates, checks the licences they hold for the trades they offer, and reviews their past projects and references. Vetting lowers risk but is not a guarantee of workmanship, price, timing or legal compliance. You contract with the contractor directly.

Last reviewed 28 October 2026

Key takeaways

01A person on our team, not an automated system, approves every contractor before they can be invited to quote.
02We check identity (ABN and legal entity), insurance, trade licences, past work and references, and record what we saw and when.
03Insurance and licences expire. A contractor with an expired required document is not invited until it is renewed.
04Vetting does not guarantee workmanship, price, programme or that a contractor will comply with the law on site.
05You contract directly with the contractor. Do your own checks too, and ask questions before you sign.

This page describes our process, not a legal promise. It is general information, not legal advice. Our marketplace terms, which are being prepared for Australian legal review, set out the formal terms.

Why does vetting matter for a make good?

A make good mixes several trades in one job: strip-out, partitions and ceilings, electrical, plumbing, painting, flooring, cleaning and sometimes asbestos removal. Some of that work must legally be done by licensed people. For example, in Victoria prescribed electrical work must be done by a licensed electrical worker, and a business that contracts to do it must be a registered electrical contractor (Electricity Safety Act 1998, ss 30–38). In both Victoria and NSW, any friable asbestos, or more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos, must be removed by a licensed removalist.

If you have never hired for this kind of work, it is hard to know what to ask. Our vetting does the first round of checks so the contractors you hear from have at least shown us the basics.

What do we check before a contractor is approved?

Every contractor applies through our contractor portal. A person on our team reviews the application. Nothing is approved automatically.

Check	What we look at	How we check it
Business identity	Legal entity name, ABN, registered business name and trading name	We look up the ABN on the Australian Business Register (ABN Lookup) and check that it is active and matches the entity name given
Insurance	Public liability, workers compensation and, where relevant, contract works or professional indemnity	We review the certificate of currency, check the insured name matches the business, and record the cover amount and expiry date
Licences and registrations	Building, electrical, plumbing, asbestos removal, demolition or other licences for the trades the contractor offers	We record the licence number, class, state and expiry. Where the state has a public register we check it and note the date; where it does not, we record that we saw a copy only
Safety paperwork	WHS policy and sample safe work method statements (SWMS)	We check they exist and are relevant to make-good work. We do not audit them
Trades and scale	Which trades they do themselves, which they subcontract, typical project sizes, service areas, capacity	Self-declared, then compared with their past projects and references
Past work	Examples of commercial make-good, strip-out or reinstatement projects	We review what they provide and may ask questions
References	Contact details for past commercial clients	We may contact references and record what was said
Referral terms	Agreement to our contractor referral terms, including the referral fee	Must be signed before any invitation

A contractor can only be invited to quote for work that their verified credentials cover. For example, a contractor without a verified electrical licence will not be matched to a scope that includes electrical work they would do themselves, unless they name a licensed subcontractor.

What do we keep checking after approval?

Vetting is not a one-off.

Expiry dates. We record the expiry of every insurance policy and licence. When a required document expires, that contractor is not invited to new jobs until they provide a current one.
Behaviour on the platform. We track whether contractors respond to invitations, turn up to inspections they have booked, and submit quotes on time.
Feedback and complaints. After a job, we ask the customer for feedback. Complaints are recorded and reviewed by a person.
Suspension and removal. We can suspend or remove a contractor, for example for expired credentials, unresolved complaints, misleading information or breach of our referral terms.

We will not show ratings, scores or "top contractor" badges until they are based on real, verified feedback, and we will explain how they are worked out when we do.

What does vetting not guarantee?

Vetting reduces some risks. It does not remove them. In particular, MAKE GREAT does not guarantee:

Workmanship or results. We do not supervise, inspect or certify the work.
Price. We do not set contractors' prices and we never promise you a saving.
Timing. We cannot guarantee a contractor will finish before your lease ends.
Compliance on site. Each contractor is responsible for site safety, permits, licensing for the work they actually do, and following the law and your building's or centre's rules.
Hidden conditions. No check of ours, and no automated review of photos or plans, can confirm what is behind walls, under floors or above ceilings, including asbestos. That needs a site inspection and, where relevant, a proper hazardous materials survey.
That insurance will pay a claim. We see a certificate of currency. Whether a policy responds to a particular claim depends on the policy terms.
That documents are genuine in every case. We check what we reasonably can. A determined forgery can get past a document review.
Legal advice. Matching you with contractors is not legal advice about your lease. For that, see a lawyer or your state Small Business Commission.

Who is responsible for the work?

You contract directly with the contractor you choose. MAKE GREAT is a technology marketplace. We do not employ construction workers and we are not a party to the building contract. The contractor is responsible for carrying out the work, for the people on site, and for the warranties in their contract.

We are not a licensing authority, regulator or industry accreditation body, and "vetted by MAKE GREAT" is not a licence, accreditation or certification.

If something goes wrong, tell us. We cannot step in as your builder or lawyer, but we will record the complaint, review the contractor's standing, and tell you which public bodies may help, such as your state's building or licensing regulator or Small Business Commission.

What should I still check myself?

Before you sign, ask the contractor for:

A current certificate of currency for public liability and workers compensation, in the name of the business you are contracting with
Licence numbers for any licensed work, and the names of any subcontractors who will do it
A written scope listing inclusions, exclusions, provisional sums and how variations are priced
A programme showing the work finishing before your lease ends, with any after-hours work allowed for
A safe work method statement for high-risk work, and how asbestos will be identified and handled if the building may contain it
What sign-off they will help you get from the landlord, agent or centre

Our office make good checklist and warehouse make good checklist cover the rest of the lease exit.

How does matching work?

Our matching tool uses rules first: a contractor must be approved, have current required credentials, cover your area and offer the trades in your scope. Only then does it rank the eligible contractors, using things such as relevant experience, capacity and responsiveness. We invite up to three. If fewer than three are eligible, we tell you rather than fill the gap.

Automated software tools help prepare the project brief and suggest matches. They do not approve contractors, and a person on our team can review and change any match. Anything these tools produce that we show you is preliminary.

How is MAKE GREAT paid?

Free for tenants. If you hire a contractor through us, they pay us a referral fee. Nobody can pay to rank higher. The referral fee is a percentage of the contract value, set out in the referral terms each approved contractor signs.

You are never obliged to accept any quote, and you can ask any contractor how they price their work.

Ready to compare quotes for a retail, office or warehouse make good? Use Get my make-good quotes below.

General information only, not legal advice. Get advice from a property lawyer about your own lease.

Frequently asked questions

What does 'vetted contractor' mean on MAKE GREAT?

It means a person on our team has reviewed the contractor's business details, insurance, licences, past projects and references, and approved them to receive invitations to quote. It does not mean we supervise their work or guarantee the result. We record which documents we reviewed, when we reviewed them and when they expire.

Do you check that a contractor's licence is real?

Where a state publishes a public licence register, we check the licence number against it and record the date we checked. Where we can only see a copy of the licence, we say so. A licence only covers the work it is issued for, so we match it to the trades the contractor offers.

Does MAKE GREAT guarantee the contractor's work?

No. MAKE GREAT is a marketplace, not the contractor. The contract for the works is between you and the contractor you choose, and the contractor is responsible for the work, its safety and its compliance. If something goes wrong, tell us, because complaints feed into whether a contractor stays approved.

Can a contractor pay to be recommended to me?

Contractors do not pay us to be invited or to be ranked higher in matching. If we ever offer paid placement, we will label it clearly and update this page.

What should I check myself before I sign a contract?

Ask for a current certificate of currency for public liability insurance and workers compensation, the licence numbers for any licensed work, a safe work method statement for high-risk work, and a written scope with inclusions and exclusions. Confirm who will actually do each part of the job, including subcontractors. If asbestos might be present, ask how it will be identified and who will remove it.

Sources

Primary sources we checked when writing this page. Laws and guidance change, so check the current version.