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The weekly newsletter built for Australian tradies. No PR fluff. No industry body spin. Just the stuff that actually affects your work, your money and your rights — every Friday when you're packing up.
Whether you're a sole trader running a ute and a phone, or you've got a crew of six and a growing headache — this is written for the people actually doing the work. Not the people talking about it.
One story that matters — Fair Work changes, licensing updates, builder collapses, scams hitting the industry. The thing you actually needed to know about.
Diesel prices straight from the ACCC. Timber, steel, insurance — what's up, what's down, and what to do about it before it hits your next quote.
Award rates, super changes, payment laws, licensing requirements — one issue explained simply every week. The stuff the lawyers charge $400/hr to explain.
No sponsored reviews. No "best 10 drills for 2026" listicles. Just genuine opinions on gear, software and vans from someone who's used them on a real job.
One punchy update per state — licensing news, government contracts, local market conditions, enforcement alerts. What's happening in your patch.
One tradie joke per week. The editor's in there, but from Issue #2 it's all reader-submitted. Send your best. Keep it clean-ish. Winner gets a full shoutout.
A yarn, a stuff-up, a legend moment. Submitted by readers. Every tradie's got one. This is where they live. Send us yours.
I started as a cabinet maker in the early nineties — kitchens, joinery, fit-outs, commercial work, the lot. I've worked for great operators and absolute shockers. I've been underpaid, underbid my own jobs, and once spent three hours building a client's pantry to measurements they'd given me in feet. I'm Australian. The pantry fit perfectly — in their garage.
I started The Knockoff because no one is talking to tradies like adults. The trade magazines are half ads and extreme sports. The union updates read like they were written by lawyers for other lawyers. And the industry bodies are so busy talking to government they've forgotten who they're supposed to represent.
Every week I go through the Fair Work decisions, the ATO updates, the ASIC insolvency filings, the ACCC fuel reports, the builder news — and I tell you what matters and why, in the same language I'd use if I was explaining it at smoko. No spin. No filler. No agenda.
Hanging up the boots was hard. Picking up the keyboard is easier on the knees. And it turns out retirement is just tools you're not allowed to use anymore.
— Topher
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