Canberra Day off or not, it answers, tells callers it’s your assistant and books the routine jobs. Emergencies come straight to you by text. We set it up by phone for whichever side of the border you work.
OffsiteMate is an AI receptionist that picks up for Canberra and Queanbeyan tradies when they can’t get to the phone. It tells callers it’s your assistant, gets the job details and slots routine jobs in when you’re free. Emergencies get texted to you straight away, then it rings you. ACT and NSW public holidays cost the same as any other day.
Plenty of work areas here cross the border, so we set it up for the side or sides you work. That covers which holidays you take, which licence numbers it gives out and, if you like, which network it points a caller to. We’re in Wagga Wagga and do it all by phone.
It’s A$299 a month for a sole trader, and that includes 100 minutes and 150 texts. Setup is A$299, once.
Canberra and Queanbeyan together had 521,049 people at 30 June 2025 (ABS estimate). On the same date the ABS counted 6,795 construction businesses in the ACT and 1,374 in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional. A caller who gets your voicemail has options.
Canberra and Queanbeyan share a gas network and plenty of tradies. Most of the rest comes in two versions.
| Canberra (ACT) | Queanbeyan (NSW) | |
|---|---|---|
| Public holidays | The same days as NSW, plus Canberra Day in March and Reconciliation Day around the start of June | The NSW list. NSW has declared no Queanbeyan local holiday for 2026 or 2027 |
| Power network | Evoenergy | Essential Energy |
| Gas network | Evoenergy. No new connections in most zones since 8 December 2023 | Evoenergy. The ACT’s connection rule doesn’t apply |
| Water and sewer | Icon Water | Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, which buys bulk water from Icon Water |
| Checking a licence | Access Canberra’s public registers | Service NSW’s Verify.licence |
| Trades that need one | Builders, electricians, plumbers, drainers, gasfitters and a few others. Carpenters and bricklayers don’t, for now | NSW’s licence categories include carpentry, bricklaying, painting, wall and floor tiling, and fencing |
| Bringing an interstate licence | Construction trades can’t use automatic mutual recognition here. The exemption runs until 1 July 2027 | ACT licence holders can, after notifying Building Commission NSW where their trade requires it |
| Phone numbers | (02) 61 and (02) 62 belong to the Canberra charging district | Queanbeyan Hospital’s number starts (02) 61 as well |
From the ACT and NSW governments, the networks, the licence regulators and the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2025, each on its own pages, read October 2026.
Your assistant answers on all of them at the same price. It only books jobs on a holiday if your hours include it. Two of these stop at the border.
| 2026 | 2027 | Holiday in | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday 1 January | Friday 1 January | ACT and NSW |
| Australia Day | Monday 26 January | Tuesday 26 January | ACT and NSW |
| Canberra Day | Monday 9 March | Monday 8 March | ACT only |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April | Friday 26 March | ACT and NSW |
| Easter Saturday | Saturday 4 April | Saturday 27 March | ACT and NSW |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 5 April | Sunday 28 March | ACT and NSW |
| Easter Monday | Monday 6 April | Monday 29 March | ACT and NSW |
| Anzac Day | Saturday 25 and Monday 27 April | Sunday 25 and Monday 26 April | ACT and NSW |
| Reconciliation Day | Monday 1 June | Monday 31 May | ACT only |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 8 June | Monday 14 June | ACT and NSW |
| Labour Day | Monday 5 October | Monday 4 October | ACT and NSW |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December | Saturday 25 and Monday 27 December | ACT and NSW |
| Boxing Day | Saturday 26 and Monday 28 December | Sunday 26 and Tuesday 28 December | ACT and NSW |
From the ACT and NSW governments’ public holiday pages, read October 2026. The first Monday in August is a bank holiday on both sides; NSW says its one isn’t a public holiday. Daylight saving started at 2am on Sunday 4 October 2026 and ends at 3am on Sunday 4 April 2027 on both sides, and Wagga keeps the same clock.
The ACT keeps its construction trades out of automatic mutual recognition, under an exemption that runs until 1 July 2027 unless it ends sooner. ACT Planning lists builders, electricians, plumbers, drainers, gasfitters and gas appliance workers among them, and says the exemption is there because of the ACT’s demerit point scheme. To work in Canberra on a NSW licence, you apply for the equivalent ACT licence under mutual recognition and pay a fee.
The other direction is easier. ACT Planning says ACT licence holders can use automatic mutual recognition to work in other states. NSW asks interstate licensees to notify Building Commission NSW before they start where their occupation requires it, and ACT electricians come in under NSW’s East Coast Electrician’s scheme without notifying anyone.
Tilers and painters, keep an eye on this one. The ACT is looking at licensing carpentry, tiling, painting, concreting, plastering, glazing, waterproofing and bricklaying. ACT Planning says consultation has closed and it doesn’t expect any change before 2027.
When a caller asks if you’re licensed, your assistant gives the licence numbers you’ve sent us, for whichever side you hold them. Customers can check ACT trades on Access Canberra’s public registers and NSW trades on Service NSW’s Verify.licence.
Since 8 December 2023 the ACT has stopped new gas network connections in residential, commercial and community facility zones, and for residential buildings in any zone. Homes and businesses that already have a gas meter keep using it. A rebuild or big renovation that has its gas connection removed to make the site safe can’t get it back.
Evoenergy runs the gas network on both sides, from Canberra into the Queanbeyan-Palerang council area, and says the ACT’s rule doesn’t apply in NSW. So a caller in Queanbeyan and a caller in Canberra asking for the same gas job can get two different answers.
Gasfitters and plumbers: tell us what you want said to a Canberra caller who wants gas connected, and your assistant will say it, take their details and leave the quoting to you.
Some calls are the network’s job. Want your assistant to point callers to the right line? Text us and we’ll set it up.
In the ACT it’s Evoenergy, 13 10 93, any hour. Evoenergy says to treat fallen or low wires as live and stay at least 10 metres away. Queanbeyan is on Essential Energy, 13 20 80, which answers 24 hours a day.
Evoenergy runs gas on both sides, and its faults and emergencies line is 13 19 09. It says to ventilate, leave, turn off the supply if it’s safe, and ring. The installation inside the home is the owner’s, and the work goes to a licensed gasfitter.
Icon Water takes ACT faults on 02 6248 3111, any hour. If the property’s inspection shaft is filling with water, the fault is likely Icon Water’s. When a plumber finds the blockage in Icon Water’s network, Icon Water pays back the plumber’s cost at its published rates. Stormwater off the road goes to Access Canberra on 13 22 81. In Queanbeyan the council runs water and sewer, and it sets the plumbing inspection rules too.
From Evoenergy, Essential Energy, Icon Water and the NSW Government, each on its own pages, read October 2026.
Work both sides of the border? These are the questions we go through when we set you up.
Each trade page shows what we text you straight away and what waits for a booking.
Pick the one for 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 work from Wagga Wagga, NSW, and set everything up by phone, wherever you are. Ring us on 0468 075 000 and a human answers.
Yes, at the same price as any other day, and on every other ACT and NSW holiday too. Tell us whether you take Canberra Day and Reconciliation Day off, and it won’t book jobs on the ones you do.
It asks every caller for their suburb and answers from what you’ve told us about your area. Work one side only, and it says so. Work both, and we set it up to handle each side the way you want.
Yes. It stays with your phone company, and you forward calls to your assistant’s own Australian mobile number. A landline or phone system forwards differently to a mobile, so ring us and we’ll sort it with you and your provider.
The same as everywhere else we work: A$299 a month for a sole trader with 100 minutes and 150 texts, and A$299 to set up. Crews of 2 to 4 pay A$449 a month and 5 to 10 pay A$799. There’s no GST on top and no lock-in.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
0468 075 000Or email hello@offsitemate.com.au
