It picks up when you’re on the tools, says it’s your assistant, books the routine work and texts you the urgent jobs. We set it up by phone from Wagga Wagga.
OffsiteMate is an AI receptionist for Ballina tradies. It answers when you can’t, any hour, NSW public holidays included. It says it’s your assistant, gets the job details, books routine work at times you’re free and texts you emergencies straight away.
It’s A$299 a month for a sole trader, with 100 minutes and 150 texts included, plus A$299 once to set up. No office visit needed. We’re in Wagga Wagga and do it all over the phone.
The ABS counted 1,107 construction businesses in the Ballina council area at 30 June 2025. Yours could be the one that picks up.
Some calls belong to the network or the council before they belong to you. Want your assistant to mention one of these? Text us and we’ll add it.
Power out, a shock or a tingle, 24 hours. After a shock, Essential says the power will likely be switched off while a crew checks it. If the house wiring is the problem, the owner needs a licensed electrician before it goes back on.
Water and sewer. After hours, sewer blockages, overflows and water supply problems go to 02 6626 6954. The council suggests ringing it before a plumber about a blockage, and it never charges to check its side.
Help in floods and storms, from the council’s emergency contacts. The council’s emergency dashboard puts weather warnings, road closures and power outages in one place.
From Essential Energy’s contact and shocks and tingles pages, and Ballina Shire Council’s contact, wastewater and emergency services pages. Read 13 October 2026.
Ballina Shire sends recycled water to homes through a second set of pipes. Drinking water runs in blue, recycled water in purple, and the purple taps feed the toilets, the cold tap on the washing machine and the garden.
The council says every future housing estate in the shire will have both, and it’s planning recycled water for more than 7,200 new home blocks. It can’t be used for drinking (so not for the smoko cuppa), cooking, showers, basins, pools, rainwater tanks or evaporative coolers.
Homes on it are audited for cross connections when they’re built and every five years after. So it’s worth knowing which tap a caller means, and your assistant can ask. Text us and we’ll add the question.
Ballina Shire Council does the plumbing inspections here. This is what its plumbing page asks of plumbers.
Acid sulfate soils sit in layers under the floodplain, and once they’re exposed to air they can produce sulfuric acid. The council says anyone planning to excavate, or do work that could lower the water table, on or next to the floodplain below 10 metres AHD should ask it first whether the property is on its risk maps. The work may need development consent.
Some homes are on pressure sewer: an underground tank and grinder pump on the property that runs off the house’s power and sounds an alarm when something’s wrong. The council maintains the pump where it has a signed agreement with the owner. Keeping the power to it connected is the owner’s job, and an alarm goes to the council on 1300 864 444.
Your assistant answers on all of them at the same price. It only books jobs on a holiday if your hours include it.
| 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday 1 January | Friday 1 January |
| Australia Day | Monday 26 January | Tuesday 26 January |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April | Friday 26 March |
| Easter Saturday | Saturday 4 April | Saturday 27 March |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 5 April | Sunday 28 March |
| Easter Monday | Monday 6 April | Monday 29 March |
| Anzac Day | Saturday 25 April, plus Monday 27 April | Sunday 25 April, plus Monday 26 April |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 8 June | Monday 14 June |
| Labour Day | Monday 5 October | Monday 4 October |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December | Saturday 25 December, plus Monday 27 December |
| Boxing Day | Saturday 26 December, plus Monday 28 December | Sunday 26 December, plus Tuesday 28 December |
From the NSW Government’s public holidays page, read October 2026. NSW hasn’t declared a local public holiday in Ballina Shire for 2026 or 2027. Lismore’s Widjabul Wia-Bal Day on 19 December is a local event day for the City of Lismore only, and event days aren’t public holidays.
A plumber on a purple-pipe estate and a pool builder near the river want different calls texted to them. Pick your trade to see what we set up first.
Same price on the North Coast as in the city. Pick the plan that matches how many people work in the business.
Sole traders on the tools
A$299a month
About A$9.83 a day. Plus A$299 setup, once. Month to month.
Talk to the humansA small crew
A$449a month
Plus A$499 setup, once. Month to month.
Talk to the humansA bigger team with more phones ringing
A$799a month
Plus A$499 setup, once. Month to month.
Talk to the humansGo over your minutes or texts and it keeps answering: A$0.49 a minute and A$0.25 a text. It’s month to month, because 12 months is a big commitment to make to a robot. That’s the whole price. Nothing gets added on top. Questions? Ring us on 0468 075 000 or email hello@offsitemate.com.au.
No. We’re in Wagga Wagga, a fair drive inland, and we do the whole setup over the phone. Ring us on 0468 075 000 and you’ll get a human.
Yours, so NSW time for a Ballina business. It runs on your time zone and your hours. Queensland doesn’t use daylight saving, so between Sunday 4 October 2026 and Sunday 4 April 2027 its clocks don’t match Ballina’s. Bookings go by your clock.
Ballina Shire Council, on 1300 864 444 or 02 6626 6954 after hours. It has wastewater operators on call 24/7 and doesn’t charge to check whether the blockage is on its side. If it’s on the property, the owner pays the plumber.
Ballina isn’t on the NSW Government’s list of areas with a gas network. If you work with gas, tell us what your assistant should say to a caller who smells it. If someone’s in danger, it tells them to hang up and ring triple zero.
Ours costs the same anywhere: A$299 a month for a sole trader with 100 minutes and 150 texts, plus A$299 to set up. It’s A$449 a month for 2 to 4 people and A$799 for 5 to 10. No GST added, month to month.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
0468 075 000Or email hello@offsitemate.com.au
