Where are the least-trusted builder hotspots in Australia?

Hannah Norton

Sep 19, 2024

When it comes to creating our dream homes, it’s safe to say we’re all looking to find the best quote possible to save that extra bit of money on any renovation project. But the unfortunate truth is that, even if you do pay a tradesperson a substantial amount of money to complete a job, there’s no guarantee that the work they do will be to a high standard.

And, unfortunately, this sort of ‘untrusted’ trade practice is becoming more and more common across Australia and the rest of the world, with low-trusted builders cropping up with alarming frequency in cities and areas where qualified tradespeople are lacking, and essential renovation and repair work is increasing in demand.

But just where in Australia and the world are these least-trusted builder hotspots, and what can you do to ensure that you don’t accidentally hire an unqualified tradesperson to do your home renovation work for you? As experts in home and contents insurance, we sought to find answers.

To do so, we ranked 10 core Australian cities and 25 countries around the world based on search volume data for key search terms and on the number of registered tradespeople in certain trade industries with a less than 3 star rating on Trustpilot, in order to reveal which locations were most likely to be home to higher numbers of low-trusted builders.

Read on to see what our stats revealed.

Which Australian cities have the highest number of least-trusted builders?

Starting off close to home, let’s first touch on which cities in Australia have the highest likelihood of being home to low-trusted builders, and in which industries they’re most common.

Which global destinations have the highest number of least-trusted builders?

Even though it would appear that Australia is a rather prominent location for low-trusted builders, as you’ve probably already guessed, this issue is not solely restricted to one country – and there are many countries out there that actually have a much bigger problem than may first appear.

For example, based on a combination of Trustpilot reviews and the volume around unreliable search terms, it would appear that New Zealand is the country suffering the most, with a very low percentage of carpenters and locksmiths having 3 stars or above, as well as only 33% of electricians (though handyman and repairmen are doing very well, with 100% being above 3-stars)

The news isn’t much better for Denmark either, where every single trade factor we examined scored poorly, with gardeners sitting at just 12%, plumbers at 10%, and locksmiths at a dismal 6% to highlight a few.

Finally, Spain too seems to be home to low-trusted builders, particularly in the gardening and electrician industries where only 29% and 48% of those registered on Trustpilot had ratings above 3 stars.

In comparison, out of the 25 countries we examined, Australia actually ranked slap-bang in the middle of the table at 15th, with average star ratings for all trade areas we looked at.

Top tips for avoiding low-trusted builders in your area

So, now that we’ve shared some insights into where in Australia and the wider world the least-trusted builders tend to be present, what exactly can you do to minimize the chances of accidentally hiring one of these tradespeople to begin with?

Well, while not a 100% way to prevent hiring low-trusted builders, the following tips will go a long way to helping you avoid the very worst offenders:

  • Search for reviews and ratings – first things first, regardless of who you’re thinking of hiring to do work around your home, you should always be on the lookout for ratings and reviews of their work. A set of solid reviews and high ratings is a good indication of the quality of work you can expect, while poor reviews or a lack of ratings entirely means that said builder might be best avoided at all costs.
  • Ask for recommendations – by far one of the best ways to find reputable and local tradespeople for a renovation project, if you know a friend, family member, or neighbor who recently had work done on their home, it’s always worth checking in to see if they would recommend going with that person again.
  • Opt for local firms – although not always the case, you’re much more likely to find a reliable and highly skilled tradesperson in your immediate local area than searching wider afield. This is because reputation is a hugely important factor in local firms finding work, hence why the quality of their finished product is often higher.
  • Reach out to previous customers – if you’ve found a tradesperson who seems qualified to do work on your home, but you’re still not 100% sure of their qualifications, then it’s always worth reaching out to previous customers or asking for a customer testimonial. If they refuse to provide one or previous customers you reach out to are unsatisfied with the job they did, then such a tradesperson might be best avoided.
  • Agree to a contract before work – while certainly a little bit of a hassle to arrange, it’s always worth agreeing to a contract of work with a tradesperson before they begin as this legally guarantees them to carry out the work they do to a high standard. Not only that but should the work not be of high quality, you will have a legal document you can use to help gain your money back.
  • Never pay upfront – it goes without saying that, for any large project that may involve a substantial financial investment, you should never be paying for its completion upfront. This essentially gives a builder free reign to do what they want, and they may just walk off with your money and never come back. So, should a builder you want to use ask to be paid upfront (or in specifically cash), you should negotiate and alternative payment plan, or avoid using their services and look elsewhere.

Finally, Adrian Taylor, Executive General Manager of General Insurance at Compare the Market, raised these very valid points on the matter:

“At the end of the day, no matter how hard we try, there’s always the chance the tradesperson we hire might do a poor job, whether because they lack sufficient training or are looking to take advantage of a high-demand market.

“That’s why, even if the skills and qualifications of a tradesperson look good on paper, if there are any warning signs that they might not be who they say they are, then you should avoid using them if at all possible.

“Not only can dodgy renovations be a health and safety risk within your home, but faulty workmanship will not be covered by your home and contents insurance policy, and any poor workmanship could result in claims being denied or the payout being reduced.

“On the other hand, if you complete renovations without any mishaps, be sure to update your existing home and contents insurance policy to reflect the new value of your home, to make sure you are not underinsured and so that any future claim payments are not reduced.

“In any case, it’s important to check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to be aware of any limits, restrictions and inclusions of your policy, so that you are aware of any sections that may apply to work of a low standard. Always check the Target Market Determination (TMD) to make sure the policy is suitable.”

So, there you have it, the least-trusted builder hotspots of both Australia and the world, alongside some key steps to follow to help ensure you hire a qualified tradesperson for any work you need to do in the future.

Methodology

This dataset contains 2 rankings – one ranks 25 countries and the other ranks 10 Australian cities, based on how likely you are to come across low-trusted builders.

To do this, 14 different factors were used for the country ranking, and 7 were used for the city ranking. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalized, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given.

The normalized values were then summed, to give each country a total score out of 14 and each city a total score out of 7. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.

The factors used are as follows:

  • Carpenters – The percentage of carpenters listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Gardeners and landscapers – The percentage of gardeners and landscapers listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Plumbers – The percentage of plumbers listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Electricians – The percentage of electricians listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Handymen – The percentage of handymen listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Locksmiths – The percentage of locksmiths listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Repairmen – The percentage of repairmen listed on Trustpilot, that have less than a 3* rating.
  • Search Volumes – The number of searches in the last 12 months for “unreliable + role”, where the above factors are the roles, according to keywordtool.io.

The factors were then indexed as follows:

  • All Factors – High values get a high score. Low values get a low score.

All data is correct as of 30/08/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided.