The renovation trust mark that’s earned, not bought.
The biggest fear in renovating isn’t cost — it’s hiring the wrong person. RenoGuide Certified is how we take that risk off the table: a business’s licence, ABN, insurance, identity and portfolio are all verified by a human and re-checked every year. When you see the badge, someone has already done the checking for you.
Find a tradie
Why it matters
The unlicensed operator. The one with no insurance when it goes wrong. The gleaming portfolio that turns out to be someone else’s work. As a homeowner you have no easy way to tell the real operators from the risks — the very things you’d want to check are the hardest to see. Certified checks them for you, and keeps checking, so a badge you can see stands in for the paperwork you can’t.
What a Certified provider means for you
Every one of these is verified before a business is Certified — and re-checked every year.
✓ Their licence is real
Verified against the official state register for their trade — the number you can't easily check yourself, checked for you.
✓ The business is who it says
ABN confirmed on the Australian Business Register and matched to the real trading entity — no shelf companies, no fronts.
✓ They're insured
Current public liability (and where relevant, home-warranty) cover sighted and dated — so you're not exposed if something goes wrong.
✓ The work is theirs
Portfolio photos are real jobs they actually completed, reviewed by a human — not stock images or someone else's work.
✓ The reviews are genuine
We read the reviews, not just count the stars — looking for consistent, recent, real customer sentiment.
✓ It stays true
Certified isn't a one-time tick. Every claim is re-checked every year, so the badge always means something today.
Common questions
What does the Certified badge actually mean?
That a real person at RenoGuide has verified the things that matter before you hire: the business's licence, ABN, insurance, identity, portfolio and reviews — and keeps re-checking them every year. It turns 'trust me' into 'here's the proof.'
Can a business just pay to get the badge?
No — and that's the whole point. Certified is a verification a business qualifies for, not a badge it buys. If the licence, insurance, identity, portfolio and reviews check out, they're in. If they don't, no amount of money changes that. That's what makes the badge worth something.
Does it cost me anything as a homeowner?
Never. RenoGuide is free for homeowners, always — finding trades, requesting quotes and reading the guides all cost you nothing.
How is this different from a normal listing?
Any business can be listed. Certified is the extra layer: independent, human verification of the claims that are easy to fake and hard for you to check — licence, insurance and a real portfolio — refreshed every year.
How do I find Certified businesses?
Look for the Certified mark on a business's card and profile in the directory. We're verifying our first businesses now, so the badge will start appearing across the trade directory soon.
Renovating? Start with people you can trust
Browse the RenoGuide directory, check any builder’s licence for free, and look for the Certified mark as it rolls out.
Run a trade business and want to become Certified? Get in touch.