Client Terms

1. Who these terms are between

These terms are between you (the client: the person paying for residential trade work for your home) and TR. Trade Pty Ltd (ACN 702 631 472, ABN 14 702 631 472), which operates Trustrade. They sit alongside the Terms of Use, the Fees & Charges and the Electronic Signatures & Communications consent. Your building contract is between you and your tradie, not with Trustrade.

2. Your account

• Your tradie gives us your name, email and the site address so we can invite you. Sign in with the email the invite was sent to. There is no password: we email you a code.
• You must be 18 or over. Before your first funding we check your identity, as the law requires for payments. See the ID Check Consent.
• Keep your email account secure, and tell us at security@trustrade.co if you think someone else has access to your Trustrade account.

3. The contract and the stages

• Read the contract before you sign it. If something isn't right, ask your tradie for changes in the app instead of signing.
• When you have both signed, the payment schedule becomes the job's stages. A change after that is a variation, and nothing changes until you accept it.
• Trustrade does not check that the contract suits your job and does not give legal or building advice.
• Cooling-off for unsolicited sales. If your tradie came to your home or phoned you without you asking first, and the contract is over $100, the Australian Consumer Law gives you 10 business days to cancel without penalty, and nothing can be paid or supplied in that time. See the Unsolicited Agreement Notice.

4. Funding, release and holds

• Funding. You fund the deposit before work starts. After that, your contract's "How this job is paid" section says how each stage is funded: either before work on it starts, or (where your state's building law caps deposits and doesn't allow payment ahead of the work) once your tradie finishes the stage and claims it as done. On a claimed stage you check the work against what the contract says "done" means, fund it, then approve the release, and it's due 7 days after the claim. Before you pay we show the stage amount, the Trustrade fee and the total. Payments are held in an account with Zai, the licensed payment provider Trustrade uses. Money held for a stage is not a bank account, does not earn interest, is not covered by the Australian Government's Financial Claims Scheme, and is not guaranteed or insured.
• Release. A stage is released to your tradie only when you tap Release funds, when you and your tradie agree a part release in the app, or under a binding court or tribunal decision or a settlement you both signed. Nothing is released automatically. If you don't respond to a release request, we remind you and give you a call.
• Hold. Before a stage is released you can place it on hold and say why. It then can't be released until the hold ends (see the Terms of Use, section 7, and the Complaints & Dispute Resolution policy).
• Zai. Zai provides its payment service to Trustrade as the platform. Its documents are on our Zai documents page.

5. Fees

• The Trustrade fee is 1% of the stage, per payment, paid on top when you fund the stage, and not included in the stage price your tradie sets. Example: a $2,400 stage costs you $2,424 in all.
• If your tradie's plan waives the fee (the Founding Tradie Offer on all their jobs, or First Job Free on their first job), you'll see "waived" and pay only the stage amount.
• It's the same whatever way you pay. There is no card surcharge.
• It's refunded with the stage if the stage is refunded before it's released, and on a part release you pay it only on the part released. See the Fees & Charges.

6. Late fees

Trustrade charges its own late fee: $10 flat, added once to a stage that isn't funded by its due date. A stage funded up front is due on its start date. On a job paid on claim, a stage is due 7 days after your tradie claims it, and no late fee can apply before the claim. The terms are written into your contract when your tradie sends it, and you see them before you sign; the amount there is the one that applies. No late fee is charged on a job in Western Australia. It's Trustrade's fee, paid with the stage on top of the contract price, and the 1% fee isn't charged on it. You'll get reminders before any late fee. Only one late fee is ever added to a stage, it is never added while a stage is on hold, and it doesn't grow. If you disagree with one, raise an issue on the stage and it is cancelled. If you're in financial hardship, tell us and we'll waive it. A job signed before 16 October 2026 with your tradie's own late-fee clause keeps that clause as signed.

7. Refunds

Held money comes back to you if your tradie agrees in the app, if you both agree to cancel a stage that hasn't started, or if a court or tribunal orders it. See the Refund Policy.

8. Your consumer rights

Nothing in these terms limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Trustrade guarantees its own service will be provided with due care and skill. Your tradie gives the guarantees that apply to the building work, and your state's building laws protect you as well.

9. Complaints

Use the contact form, email support@trustrade.co, or message us in any job chat. We acknowledge a complaint within 1 business day and give you a final answer within 30 days. If you're not satisfied, you can go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority for a complaint about the payment service, or to your state's consumer affairs or fair trading office. See the Complaints & Dispute Resolution policy.

10. Changes

We will give you at least 14 days' notice by email and in the app before a change that affects your rights, saying what is changing. You can close your account free before it takes effect. A change never alters the fee or release rules for a stage you have already funded.