Got your first ABN? The practical tradie setup checklist

Your first ABN tradie checklist: confirm your sole-trader ABN, register a business name if you are not trading under your own name, decide on GST (only required above $75,000 turnover), open a separate bank account, sort public liability insurance, set aside tax, and get ready to quote and invoice.

The ABN email lands and then... nothing. Nobody tells you what is actually required next versus what is optional noise. Here is the whole list, in order, with the free government links to do each step.

The checklist:

ABN confirmed (free, via the Australian Business Register)
Business name registered with ASIC (only if not trading under your own name)
GST decision made (required above $75,000 turnover)
Separate business bank account opened
Public liability insurance arranged
Tax-set-aside habit started
Quote and invoice ready to send

First, what the ABN actually is (and what it is not)

An ABN is a number that identifies your business for tax, nothing more. Getting one does not register a business name, does not register you for GST, and does not insure anything. Think of it as the key to the front door, not the furnished house.

Two things worth knowing about it. It is free through the Australian Business Register; any site charging you to "process" an ABN application is charging you for a free form. And you are only entitled to one if you are actually carrying on a business, which as a sole trader on the tools you are.

So with the ABN in the inbox, six things remain. None of them are hard, and most of them are free too.

Step 1: Register a business name (only if you need one)

You only need a registered business name if you trade under anything other than your exact legal name. "John Smith" invoicing as John Smith needs nothing. The moment it becomes "Smith Carpentry", ASIC requires the name to be registered.

The fees from 1 July 2026 are $47 for one year or $108 for three. The three-year option is the better deal if you are serious, and it is one less renewal email to miss.

One thing a business name does not do: protect the name from others using it. That is trademark territory, and a brand-new sole trader almost never needs to worry about it on day one. Register the name, get on with the list.

Step 2: Decide on GST (you probably don't need it yet)

Here is the answer most new tradies are relieved to hear: GST registration is only required once your turnover reaches $75,000 in a rolling 12-month period, and then you have 21 days to register. Turnover means the gross amount you invoice, including materials you on-charge, not what you keep after costs.

Below the line it is optional, and the trade-off is simple. Registering lets you claim back the GST on tools and materials, but it means charging 10% on top of your prices and lodging a BAS every quarter. If your customers are mostly homeowners, that 10% just makes you dearer.

The full decision, including the traps around the rolling 12 months, is in our GST registration guide. Your situation may have wrinkles, so the ATO link above has the detail.

Step 3: Open a separate bank account

No law forces a sole trader to have a separate account, but mixing business and personal money is the fastest route to a miserable tax time. Every June you would otherwise be scrolling twelve months of statements trying to remember whether that $340 at Bunnings was decking screws or a barbecue.

A separate account fixes it at the source. Business money in, business costs out, and your income and expenses are one export away when tax time or a BAS comes around. It also looks legitimate to clients: payments to "Smith Carpentry" read better than payments to a personal account.

Most banks offer free or cheap sole-trader accounts, and opening one takes less time than the ABN application did. Do it before the first invoice goes out, not after the fiftieth.

Step 4: Sort insurance before you are on site

Public liability is the one cover most tradies cannot work without. Builders and head contractors routinely refuse to let uninsured subbies on site, and some state licences require it before they are issued. If you do one insurance thing this week, it is this one.

Beyond that, the common adds for a sole trader are tool and equipment cover (a stolen ute-load of gear ends a business that cannot replace it) and income protection, because as a sole trader nobody is paying you workers' comp if you are off with a busted ankle.

How much cover you need depends on your trade, your contracts and sometimes your licence, so talk to a broker for the right level rather than guessing. business.gov.au's insurance page covers the categories. And while you are at it, check your state's licensing body for your trade; licensing is state-based, and the rules in Queensland are not the rules in Victoria.

Step 5: Set money aside for tax from day one

Nobody is taking PAYG out of your pay anymore, and the first tax bill arrives long after the money that should have covered it. The habit that saves you is boring and it works: every time a client pays, move a slice into a separate account you do not touch.

How big a slice depends on your income and deductions, so treat it as a bucket you tune over time rather than a magic number. The point is the habit. A tradie who has been skimming every payment for a year meets the first tax bill with a full bucket. A tradie who has not meets it with a credit card.

If you registered for GST in Step 2, the same habit covers the quarterly BAS, since the GST you collect was never your money to begin with.

Step 6: Get ready to quote and invoice

None of the above pays you. The work starts paying when you can put a professional quote in front of a customer and follow the job with an invoice that has everything the ATO expects on it. Get the two documents right and you are trading; our guides on what to put on an invoice and quotes versus estimates cover both.

When you are ready to send that first quote and invoice, Chippie's free tier covers it, at 20 jobs a month on chippieapp.com. The checklist works whatever tool you choose.

That is the whole setup. ABN, name if you need one, GST decision, bank account, insurance, tax bucket, first quote. Everything on the list except the ASIC name fee and the insurance premium is free.

FAQ

Do I have to register for GST as soon as I get an ABN?

No. The ABN and GST are separate registrations. GST only becomes mandatory once your turnover reaches $75,000 in a rolling 12-month period, and you then have 21 days to register. Below that it is voluntary, and many new tradies sensibly wait.

Does it cost money to get an ABN?

No. The ABN is free through the Australian Business Register. The only registration fee in a basic sole-trader setup is the ASIC business name, $47 for one year or $108 for three, and only if you trade under a name other than your own.

Do I need a business name as a sole trader?

Only if you trade under anything other than your exact legal name. Invoicing as "John Smith" needs no registration. Invoicing as "Smith Carpentry", or even "John Smith Carpentry", means registering the name with ASIC.

What insurance does a new tradie actually need?

Public liability is the core one; many sites and some state licences require it. Tool and equipment cover and income protection are the common adds for sole traders, since no workers' comp covers you working for yourself. A broker can set the right cover level for your trade.

Can I start invoicing before I am registered for GST?

Yes. You can invoice from the day you have your ABN. You just do not charge GST, and you do not label the document a tax invoice, until you are registered. Once registered, you add the 10% and the GST line from that date forward.

This is general setup guidance, not tax or insurance advice. The .gov.au links above carry the official detail for each step.

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