Cyclone season starts on 1 November, and after a cyclone the QBCC tells owners to get three quotes. Our AI assistant answers the quote calls you can’t get to, books them in and texts you the urgent ones.
OffsiteMate is an AI receptionist that answers a Mackay tradie’s phone when the tradie can’t. It tells callers it’s your assistant, takes down the job, books quotes and routine work into the times you’re free, and texts you the emergencies, then rings you.
It costs A$299 a month for a sole trader, with 100 minutes and 150 texts in that, and A$299 to set up. We set it up over the phone from Wagga Wagga, NSW. Customers keep ringing your usual number.
The dates and warnings are the Bureau of Meteorology’s. The advice after the storm is the QBCC’s.
That’s Australia’s official tropical cyclone season, though the Bureau says they can turn up outside it. On average, the first cyclone to cross the Australian coast does it in late December.
The Bureau issues a cyclone watch when gales are expected within 24 to 48 hours, and a warning, updated every 3 hours, once they’re expected within 24 hours or have started.
After a cyclone the QBCC tells owners to get at least three quotes, use QBCC licensed contractors, and have a written contract for any domestic building work over A$3,300.
It answers while you’re up on someone else’s roof, takes the address and the damage, books the quote visit, and texts you the ones you’ve said can’t wait.
Three quotes per job is good advice for the owner. For you it means every quote call after a storm is a race. They rang three tradies. Be the one who rang back.
There are plenty of tradies to ring, too. The ABS counted 1,721 construction businesses in the Mackay council area at 30 June 2025, up from 1,517 in 2021, for an urban area of 89,761 people (ABS estimate, 30 June 2025).
Missed calls get a text back from your business name. Quote requests get two follow-ups, then it stops, so nobody gets hounded. And when you’re free to answer yourself, it can ring your phone first and only pick up when you don’t.
The QBCC recommends owners of older buildings get a professional inspection of the roof framing after a cyclone. It cites James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station: older houses can have damage that only shows from inside the roof space. These are the signs it lists.
Mackay Regional Council keeps these on its emergency contacts list. If you’d like your assistant to point callers to one, text us.
| Number | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Fallen powerlines | Triple zero, or Ergon Energy on 13 16 70 | Any hour. Ergon runs regional Queensland’s power network |
| Power out | 13 22 96 | Ergon’s 24-hour faults line, which the council writes as 132 296 |
| Water, sewer and other council emergencies | 1300 622 529 (1300 MACKAY) | Office hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm weekdays. At all other times the council’s after-hours call centre takes emergencies only |
| Storm or flood help that isn’t life-threatening | 132 500 | The SES |
| Gas | The number on the gas bill | Queensland’s gas safety page says that’s where the supplier’s emergency number is. If the smell stays after the gas is off, ring triple zero |
From Mackay Regional Council’s contact us and during disasters pages, Ergon Energy’s contact page and the Queensland Government’s gas safety page. Read October 2026. The council also runs a public cyclone shelter for Category 3 cyclones and above, and calls it a last resort for the most vulnerable.
Mackay has permanent water conservation measures. Outdoor watering is only allowed before 10am and after 4pm: even-numbered properties on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, odd or unnumbered ones on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and nobody on Monday. A watering can or bucket is fine outside those hours. Handy if you’re a gardener booking in a new lawn.
For plumbers: a customer with a concealed leak, one hidden in the pipe between the meter and the house, may get a cut in their water charges. The council’s conditions: the leak was hidden, a licensed plumber fixed it promptly, and the extra use caused financial hardship. The application goes in with a plumber’s report.
Want your assistant to mention either rule to callers? Text us the wording and we’ll add it.
Your assistant answers on all of them at the same price. It only books jobs on a holiday if your hours include it, so text us your days off.
| 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday 1 January | Friday 1 January |
| Australia Day | Monday 26 January | Tuesday 26 January |
| Easter, Good Friday to Easter Monday | Friday 3 to Monday 6 April | Friday 26 to Monday 29 March |
| Anzac Day | Saturday 25 April | Monday 26 April |
| Labour Day | Monday 4 May | Monday 3 May |
| Mackay Agricultural Show (show holiday) | Thursday 18 June | Set each year by the Queensland Government |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 5 October | Monday 4 October |
| Christmas Eve, 6pm to midnight | Thursday 24 December | Friday 24 December |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December | Saturday 25 December, and Monday 27 December |
| Boxing Day | Saturday 26 and Monday 28 December | Sunday 26 and Tuesday 28 December |
From the Queensland Government’s public holidays and show holiday pages, read October 2026. The show holiday is for the Mackay region, and parts of the Isaac region took the same day. Queensland has no daylight saving (Fair Work Ombudsman), so the assistant’s hours don’t move in October or April. We add the next dates as they’re announced.
The QBCC says it gets more reports of opportunistic people after weather events, and tells owners to check the licence register and sight the licence card before signing a contract or paying a deposit. It has started issuing photo licences, so owners can match the face to the name.
The register shows whether a licence is current, who it’s issued to, the licence class and any conditions or disciplinary history. Electrical licences are checked through the Electrical Safety Office, and gas fitters on the Resources Safety and Health Queensland portal.
When customers are checking licences, it helps if your business answers and can give its licence number on the spot. Text us yours and your assistant will have it.
A Mackay roofer and a Mackay pool tech want different calls texted to them after a storm. Each trade page shows where we start.
Same price in Mackay as anywhere else. 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. Our base is Wagga Wagga, NSW, and setup for Mackay tradies happens over the phone. Ring us on 0468 075 000 and a human answers.
It answers any hour, every day, at the same price. It can only answer calls that get through, so if the phone network is down where the caller is, that call isn’t reaching anyone.
Yes. Quote requests get two follow-ups, then it stops. Missed calls get a text back from your business name.
Yes, at the same price as any other day. It only books jobs on a holiday if your hours include it.
Yes. Landlines in the Mackay charging district start with 07 48, 07 49, 07 78 or 07 79, and your number stays with your phone company. You forward it to the assistant’s own Australian mobile number. Landlines and phone systems forward differently to mobiles, so ring us and we’ll work it out with you.
A$299 a month for a sole trader. Teams of 2 to 4 pay A$449 and teams of 5 to 10 pay A$799, with 300 or 750 minutes included. Setup is A$299 for a sole trader and A$499 for a team, no GST added, and no lock-in contract.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
0468 075 000Or email hello@offsitemate.com.au
