Warrnambool takes its public holiday in May instead of on Cup Day. The phone rings on both. It answers as your business, says it’s your assistant, books the routine jobs and texts you the emergencies.
OffsiteMate is an AI receptionist for Warrnambool tradies. When you can’t get to the phone, it picks up as your business, tells the caller it’s your assistant, takes down the job and books it at a time you’re free. Emergencies get texted to you straight away, any hour, on Victorian time.
It’s A$299 a month for a sole trader, with 100 minutes and 150 texts included, plus A$299 once to set up. We’re in Wagga Wagga, NSW, and set you up by phone.
Your hours follow Warrnambool’s calendar, which isn’t quite Melbourne’s.
Business Victoria says Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday across Victoria unless a council outside Melbourne has arranged a local holiday instead. Warrnambool City Council has. In 2026 it was Thursday 7 May, a full day across the municipality.
Moyne Shire Council took the same Thursday. Councils that aren’t on Business Victoria’s list keep Cup Day, which is Tuesday 3 November in 2026. Work both sides of a council boundary and your customers can have days off nearly six months apart.
Your assistant answers on all of them and only books the days you’ve said you work. Business Victoria hadn’t posted 2027’s local holidays when we checked in October 2026, so text us the date once it’s out.
The Victorian list with one swap. Your assistant answers on every one of these at the same price.
| 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday 1 January | Friday 1 January |
| Australia Day | Monday 26 January | Tuesday 26 January |
| Labour Day | Monday 9 March | Monday 8 March |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April | Friday 26 March |
| Saturday before Easter Sunday | 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 | Sunday 25 April |
| Warrnambool City Council local holiday | Thursday 7 May | Set each year by the council |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 8 June | Monday 14 June |
| Friday before the AFL Grand Final | Friday 25 September | The Friday before the 2027 Grand Final |
| 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 Business Victoria’s 2026 and 2027 public holiday pages and its 2026 list of non-metropolitan holidays (last updated 3 August 2026), read October 2026. Daylight saving runs from 2am on Sunday 4 October 2026 to 3am on Sunday 4 April 2027. We add the next dates as they’re announced.
When the fault is on the network’s side, it’s the network’s job. Want your assistant to mention one of these? Text us and we’ll add it.
Faults and emergencies, 24 hours, 7 days. Energy Victoria lists Powercor as the electricity distributor for western Victoria.
Leaks and supply faults, 24 hours. AusNet runs Warrnambool’s gas network. A smell near the meter or in the street is AusNet’s. Inside the house, it says ring a qualified gasfitter.
Faults day or night. A burst on the house side of the meter needs a licensed plumber, and the stop tap at the meter shuts the water off in the meantime.
From Powercor’s help page, Energy Victoria’s find your distributor page, AusNet’s contact, gas safety and Warrnambool gas network pages, and Wannon Water’s contact and fault pages, all read October 2026.
Wannon Water looks after its sewer main and the drain up to the first inspection opening, or a metre in where there isn’t one. Its blocked sewers page has the diagrams. When a plumber finds the blockage on Wannon Water’s side, the plumber lets it know and invoices it a spotter’s fee of A$103 including GST. If the plumber billed the customer for finding it, Wannon Water reimburses the reasonable cost.
Powercor may not reconnect a property until a defect is fixed. Its common defects include a damaged switchboard, and a point of attachment with loose cables or damage from weather or corrosion. A licensed electrician inspects, issues a Certificate of Electrical Safety, sends it to Powercor and books the reconnection, which Powercor does free.
AusNet is replacing more than 68 km of ageing gas mains in Warrnambool, with the last stage due by December 2027. If a customer’s gas drops out, AusNet takes reports of leaks and supply interruptions on 13 67 07.
Wannon Water warns that meters, stop taps and pipes above the ground can freeze when it drops below zero. Damage on the house side of the meter is a plumber’s job.
Every one of these starts with a customer ringing a tradie. Tell us which ones count as urgent for you.
Energy Safe Victoria licenses electricians and has a public search for licensed electrical workers. The Building and Plumbing Commission licenses plumbers and gasfitters and registers builders. Send us your licence number and your assistant can give it to anyone who asks.
In the national Numbering Plan, the Warrnambool charging district’s landlines start with (03) 55. Keep yours. It forwards to your assistant’s own Australian mobile number.
The ABS counted 589 construction businesses in the Warrnambool council area at 30 June 2025, up from 531 in 2021, and 36,689 people in the Warrnambool urban area (ABS estimate).
What counts as urgent for a plumber on a frosty July morning isn’t what counts for a painter. Each trade page shows where we start.
The same three plans in Warrnambool as everywhere. 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’re based in Wagga Wagga, NSW. Setup happens over the phone and you never touch the software. Ring us on 0468 075 000 and a human answers.
Yes, and on Cup Day, and every other day, at the same price. It only books jobs on a holiday if your hours include it.
Yes. Your number stays with your phone company and forwards to your assistant’s own Australian mobile number. A landline has different forwarding steps to a mobile. Ring us and we’ll go through them with you.
Yes, if you ask. Text us what it should say about outages, bursts and gas smells. If someone’s in danger, it tells them to hang up and ring triple zero.
A sole trader pays A$299 a month for 100 minutes and 150 texts, plus A$299 once to set up. It’s A$449 a month for 2 to 4 people and A$799 for 5 to 10, with no GST added.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
0468 075 000Or email hello@offsitemate.com.au
