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Friday 12 June 2026
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Issue #3
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Australia-wide 🇦🇺
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FREE · INDEPENDENT · WEEKLY
Built for tradies. Written by one. Every Friday arvo.
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🔨 A note from the editor — Issue #3
G'day. It's Friday arvo, the knock-off whistle's going, and Issue #3 is landing in your inbox whether you're ready or not.
Three weeks in. This week's issue has a bit of everything — one story you'll actually want to stick on your phone to read again, one deadline you absolutely cannot miss, and a Ford van review that I promised you back in Issue #1 and again in Issue #2. Third time's the charm. It's in there. All of it.
Here's what's inside:
- The Federal Budget quietly handed every tradie in the country up to $1,600 back — and most people missed it
- Payday Super starts in 20 days. If you employ anyone, read the Rights section before you do anything else today
- The full Ford Transit Custom PHEV breakdown — price, real-world range, EOFY write-off numbers, and an honest verdict on whether it's worth it
- Diesel's still low — but not for long. 19 days until the excise cut expires
Two good ones from readers this issue as well. Taylor from WA with a joke that anyone who's worked timber will appreciate, and Darren from QLD with a drain story that I genuinely did not see coming.
If this landed in your inbox, someone forwarded it to you, or you signed up yourself — either way, welcome. Forward it on to one tradie who'd find it useful. That's how this grows.
— Topher · The Knockoff
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💰 Federal Budget Win
THE STANDARDS YOU'RE LEGALLY REQUIRED TO FOLLOW ARE NOW FREE
Every tradie in the country has been paying to access the Australian Standards they are legally required to comply with. Not anymore. The May Federal Budget committed $42.7 million over four years to make all Australian Standards referenced in legislation free to access — read-only, no subscription, no fee.
That's worth up to $1,600 a year for small businesses and sole traders who've been paying for access to standards governing everything from electrical safety to waterproofing to structural loads. Standards you couldn't legally ignore, but had to pay to read. That always was a bit rich.
Implementation details are still being worked through — free access rolls out progressively through 2026–27. Watch standards.org.au for the rollout timeline. The government source is the Federal Budget productivity page at budget.gov.au. [Federal Budget 2026–27, 12 May 2026 / Standards Australia, 12 May 2026]
⚖️ FWO Enforcement
68% OF BUILDING EMPLOYERS RIPPING OFF THEIR APPRENTICES
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) ran 76 investigations into construction employers of apprentices and trainees in the 15 months to March 2026. 68% were non-compliant with workplace laws. Most common offences: underpaid hourly rates, overtime not paid, annual leave not accrued correctly, and training costs not reimbursed. Over $750,000 in back-payments recovered. That's not a few bad eggs — that's an industry-wide problem.
Two live cases worth knowing. A Geelong carpenter faces court for allegedly threatening to sack an 18-year-old apprentice if he took sick leave. A Thomastown painting company is in court for allegedly paying an adult apprentice nothing for the final weeks of his employment. If you employ apprentices, check your Award compliance now — the FWO is actively looking. [Fair Work Ombudsman, May 2026]
🏗️ Workplace Safety
BLOKE DEAD AFTER SCISSOR LIFT HITS POWER LINES IN MELBOURNE'S WEST
A 34-year-old worker died at a Laverton North worksite last week after a scissor lift he was operating made contact with high-voltage overhead power lines. It's the 20th confirmed workplace fatality in Victoria for 2026 — and the year's not half done. WorkSafe is investigating.
Working near overhead lines is one of those risks that gets treated as routine until it isn't. Before any work involving elevated plant near powerlines, check clearance distances, confirm whether lines are insulated or bare, and have a spotter present. The two-second shortcut is not worth it. [WorkSafe Victoria, June 2026]
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Diesel — 209.3 cpl (3 June)
Down 13.2 cpl on the week. Down about 35% since 31 March, when the 32c/L excise cut kicked in. Regional average sitting around 231 cpl. [ ACCC, 5 June 2026] |
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Excise Cliff — 19 days away
The 32c/L discount expires at midnight 30 June. No extension has been announced. From 1 July, diesel and petrol jump approximately 26–29 cents at the bowser. If you're running a van or ute daily, that's an extra $15–20 per fill. Price in the increase on any fixed-price quotes extending past 1 July.
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Super Rate to 12% — 1 July
If you employ anyone, your SGC obligation rises from 11.5% to 12% from 1 July. On a $1,500 weekly wage that's an extra $7.50/week per worker. Not huge per person — but it adds up across a crew. Make sure your payroll is updated before the first July pay run. [ ATO] |
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Award Wages Up 4.75% — Already Live
The FWC annual wage review locked in a 4.75% rise from 1 July 2026. If you pay Award rates, check your pay guides — the new rates are published at fairwork.gov.au. The Award doesn't update itself in your payroll software. You have to go in and change it. [ Fair Work, June 2026] |
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🗓️ Super — Deadline
PAYDAY SUPER STARTS 1 JULY. THE ATO'S FREE CLEARING HOUSE CLOSES 30 JUNE. ACT NOW.
From 1 July 2026, super is paid every payday — not quarterly. Contributions must reach your employee's fund within 7 business days of each payday. That's it. Quarterly is gone.
Two things need to happen before 30 June. First: if you use the ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH), it closes permanently at midnight on 30 June. Roughly 200,000 small employers are still on it. You need to download your records and switch to a SuperStream-compliant alternative before then — your super fund, your payroll software, or a private clearing house. Don't leave it to the last week. Second: update your payroll software to calculate super on the new Qualifying Earnings (QE) basis and ensure it can report QE through Single Touch Payroll from 1 July.
The ATO has published a risk-based approach for the first year (PCG 2026/1). Employers who genuinely try, pay on time, and fix errors quickly are low risk and won't attract compliance action. Employers with unresolved shortfalls after 28 days from quarter end will. That's your window. For the June quarter (the last one under the old rules), you still pay by 28 July 2026. [ATO — Payday Super changeover guide]
Bottom line: If you employ anyone and haven't checked your clearing house setup — stop reading this and go do it now. The ATO Infoline is 13 10 20.
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Ford Transit Custom PHEV — The Full Verdict (Finally)
Australia's first and only plug-in hybrid van. Trend LWB: $67,590 + ORCs. Sport SWB: $69,990 + ORCs. 2.5L petrol engine paired with an electric motor, 11.8kWh battery, 54km of EV-only range. Power is 171kW and 400Nm — more responsive off the mark than a diesel. Load space is identical to the standard van. Tow capacity 2,300kg. Capped servicing at $499 per visit for the first four years. Five-year/unlimited warranty; eight years/160,000km on the battery.
Here's the honest part. The average Aussie Transit Custom owner covers 78km a day. The PHEV does 54km on battery. If you charge every single night and mostly stay in the metro, you'll get something back. If you're covering 100km of regional roads, forget it — you're carrying battery weight and paying a $12k premium over diesel for no practical benefit. It also can't use commercial fast-chargers, which is genuinely annoying. Worth knowing: no V2L (Vehicle to Load) — you can't power tools off it on site.
For the right operator — short metropolitan runs, a charger at the depot, motivated about fuel costs — it's a reasonable proposition. For everyone else, the diesel version does the same job for less. [Carsales, April 2026 / CarsGuide / Chasing Cars]
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Transit Custom PHEV + Instant Asset Write-Off — The EOFY Numbers
If you're using the simplified depreciation rules and your turnover is under $10M, the business-use portion of the Transit Custom PHEV is potentially fully deductible in your 2025–26 return — at $67,590 for the Trend. The catch: the van must be first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2026. A deposit or an order in June isn't enough. The van needs to be on your driveway and ready to work before midnight on 30 June.
If you're already in conversations with a Ford dealer about one of these, ask specifically about delivery before 30 June. If you're starting that conversation today — 12 June — you've got 18 days. That's tight but possible. Talk to your accountant before you sign anything. [Nanak Accountants, April 2026]
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Free Australian Standards — Worth Bookmarking
Covered in the Big Job this week, but worth a separate mention here: once free access to Australian Standards rolls out through 2026–27, tradies will be able to read the compliance documents covering their trade without paying. Waterproofing standards. Electrical wiring rules. Structural requirements. All of it. When it goes live, the place to find them will be standards.org.au. Keep an eye on it. [Federal Budget 2026–27]
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| VIC |
Two building companies — REQ Construction and MAD Group Construction — face charges after a worker fell from a Caulfield South balcony in July 2024. Separate to the Laverton North electrocution this week. WorkSafe is running hard on height safety this year: 67 employers charged for falls-related offences in 2025, $3.75M in fines. That enforcement pace hasn't let up. [WorkSafe VIC, June 2026] |
| NSW |
The Hunter Region compliance blitz results are in: Building Commission NSW and SafeWork NSW issued 18 penalty notices ($12,000 total), 57 improvement notices, and 5 prohibition notices across the region. Top offence: unlicensed contracting. Several sites also pinged for not having toilets or handwashing facilities on site — which isn't a new rule. [Newcastle Herald, April 2026] |
| QLD |
The QBCC identified three individuals suspected of unlicensed building activity following a recent site audit. The QBCC's accountability for licensees guideline has been in effect since 30 March 2026 — inspectors are checking. If you're a licensee and your contact details with QBCC aren't current, update them: notices and decisions now go by email and you won't get them otherwise. [QBCC, June 2026] |
| WA |
The 2026–27 WA Budget dropped a record $4.7B housing investment package. Construction workforce hit 172,500 in February — a state record. Fee-free TAFE extended for sparkies, plumbers, brickies and plasterers. From 1 July, 1,100 additional skilled migration spots in construction. If you're thinking about WA, this is the most work available in the state in decades. [WA Budget, May 2026] |
| SA |
The AUKUS submarine build-out is starting to generate real work pipeline in SA — construction spending across the shipyard, industrial facilities and associated housing is forecast to escalate through the forward estimates. If you've got the right trades and can work in a defence-adjacent environment, keep watching SA over the next 3 years. |
| TAS / NT / ACT |
All three still operating under deferred NCC 2025 energy efficiency requirements — compliance delayed to May 2027. That extension doesn't change what's coming. If you're doing new builds in these jurisdictions, start getting familiar with the new standards now rather than scrambling in eleven months. |
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YOUR BUSINESS HERE
The Knockoff goes out to tradies across Australia every Friday. No corporate spin — just straight talk. If your business serves tradies, this is where they read.
Get In Touch — [email protected]
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— 😂 Joke of the Week —
How do carpenters stay in shape?
THEY DO A LOT OF PLANKING.
Thanks Taylor, WA 🙌
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Plumber · QLD · Issue #3
"Armed with his drain snake and a completely straight face, Darren hauled up a slime-covered plastic T-Rex and handed it back to the horrified mother."
Darren the plumber got called out to clear a stubborn main drain blockage. Feed the drain snake down, hit a solid obstruction, haul it back up. What came up was a massive, slime-covered plastic T-Rex dinosaur — the homeowner's toddler had apparently decided his favourite toy deserved a waterslide ride down the toilet three weeks earlier, where it had been perfectly wedged in the trap ever since.
Darren handed the dripping prehistoric beast back to the mother without flinching. His advice: he was a licensed plumber, but if the T-Rex decided to go extinct in her pipes again, she'd need to call a palaeontologist. Some problems are beyond the scope of a compliance notice.
— Darren, QLD · Submitted by a reader
Got a story from the tools? The good, the bad, or the inexplicable? Send it to [email protected] |
That's Issue #3 wrapped. The main things to take away this week: the SBSCH closes 30 June — if you're on it, today is a good day to sort that. The excise cut ends the same night. And the Ford PHEV is genuinely good in the right hands, but the right hands are metro-based and charging every night.
If you found something useful in here, forward it to one tradie who'd appreciate it. No subscription fee, no paywall — just pass it on. That's how The Knockoff grows.
Got a tip, a question, a gripe, or something you reckon belongs in next week's issue? Hit reply or send it to [email protected]. Stories, jokes and Tradie of the Week nominations go to [email protected] and [email protected] respectively. I read them all.
Stay safe out there. 🔨
— Topher · The Knockoff
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The Knockoff
Written by a tradie, for tradies · Free every Friday arvo · No industry body funding · No BS
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