OpSpot Blog
Software Features & Updates
How to Track Subcontractor Licences and Insurance (and Check NSW Licences Automatically)
13 October 2026
If an unlicensed or uninsured subcontractor works on your job, the risk lands on you. Most builders track licences and certificates of currency in a spreadsheet that's out of date the day it's saved. OpSpot keeps them on each person, reminds people before they expire, and checks NSW licences against the Fair Trading register for you.
At a glance
- Record each person's licences and insurances: number, issuing body, dates and a copy of the document.
- Optionally link each one to a job type, so you know who is qualified for what.
- OpSpot emails the person when a document is about to expire (15 days before, by default).
- NSW licences are checked against the NSW Fair Trading register when added, and again every week.
- A badge shows each licence's status wherever it appears.
Step 1: Record licences and insurance
For each team member or subcontractor, add their documents: licence or insurance, number, issuing body, issue and expiry dates, and the file itself (a photo of the licence, or the certificate of currency PDF). Link a document to a job type (for example Electrical or Plumbing) when it's what qualifies the person for that work.
Subcontractors manage their own team in their own company, so their documents stay current without your office re-keying them.
Step 2: Expiry reminders, automatically
Every day, OpSpot checks for documents entering the expiring soon window (15 days by default) and emails the person once per document, so nobody gets spammed and nothing slips. Upload the renewed document and the reminder resets for its new expiry date.
Step 3: Automatic NSW licence checks
For Australian companies, OpSpot checks every licence against the NSW Fair Trading public register:
- when the licence is added or updated (saving never fails because of the check)
- every Sunday night for licences expiring soon, plus a rolling batch not checked in the last 90 days. That catches licences cancelled or suspended mid-term, not just expired ones.
Each licence then shows a badge:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Verified | Found on the register, current, and the name matches the person or their company |
| Check details | Current on the register, but the name or the expiry date doesn't line up |
| Not verified | Not found, or the register shows it's not current (expired, cancelled, suspended) |
| Couldn't check | The register couldn't be reached; it's retried on the next weekly run |
| Not checked | Insurance (there's no public register), or a company outside Australia |
Currently only the NSW register is checked, so licences issued in other states show as Not verified until their registers are added.
FAQ
Is insurance verified too? No. There's no public insurance register to check against. Insurance is tracked with expiry dates, reminders and the uploaded certificate.
Who gets the expiry reminder? The person the document belongs to receives the email, once per document.
What if the register shows a different name? The licence is still saved and shown, with an amber Check details badge so you can look into it.
