The paperwork: free ABN, no licence, insurance that's worth it, and JobSeeker

One afternoon covers all of it, and most of it is free. ABN first, because everything else asks for the number.

The ABN: free, and usually instant

Apply at abr.gov.au as a sole trader. The Australian Business Register does not charge for an ABN application, online or on paper, and it says so on its own FAQ page (checked 12 September 2026). Most applications are approved while you're still sitting there. Occasionally the ATO wants to check identity and it takes a few days.

The websites that charge $50-100 to "register your ABN" are filling in the same free form on your behalf. Don't pay them.

Every real customer wants the number on the invoice, brokers ask for it when you buy insurance, and you need one to join Mowie: we check it against the Australian Business Register when you sign up, and the check is instant. Joining and bidding are free; the fee only applies to jobs you win here, and your existing round stays commission-free.

Licence: there isn't one

Victoria has no licence for domestic lawn mowing. Nobody inspects your mower and no card goes in your wallet. The paperwork that matters is the ABN above and the insurance below.

Business name and bank account

Trading under your own name costs nothing and works fine on an invoice. If you want "Jordan's Lawns" on the flyer, ASIC registers the name at asic.gov.au for $47 a year or $108 for three years from 1 July 2026 (it was $45 a year until June). The fee is indexed every July and ASIC's own fee page wouldn't show us the number when we checked, so confirm it on the form. A business name is not a trademark and you don't need it to start.

Open a separate everyday account for the business. Free at any bank, and it makes tax time a ten-minute job instead of a weekend. Stripe pays your Mowie earnings into it, about two days after the customer approves your after-photo (or 48 hours after you post it, if they don't get to it), and your dashboard keeps a tax-time summary.

Tax and the $75,000 GST line

A sole trader's mowing income goes on the normal individual tax return. No company, no separate lodgement. Keep receipts for the mower, the fuel, the trimmer line, even the earmuffs. All of it is deductible, and the kilometres between jobs are the biggest deduction of the lot, so start the log on day one.

GST doesn't touch you until your turnover reaches $75,000 in a year. The ATO's rule is that you register within 21 days of hitting the threshold, or of realising that the next twelve months will (checked 12 September 2026). A part-time round of twenty regulars grosses $35,000-45,000, so most people never get near it in year one. Until then, don't charge GST and don't put it on the invoice.

If you're mowing around a full-time job, the mowing income lands on top of your wage and is taxed at your top marginal rate; the side-job article has the numbers. What a full round costs to run, and what's left after fuel and the car, is in the income article.

Insurance: what you need, what it costs, what it doesn't cover

Nobody makes a sole-trader mower carry insurance by law. In practice you want it by month two, and here's the honest breakdown.

Tool cover matters once there's a $2,100 kit in the wagon; the equipment article prices it.

What none of it covers: a bad cut. If you scalp a lawn, that's on you to come back and fix, not an insurer. And a platform's "guarantee" is not your insurance either. Mowie's guarantee protects the customer's payment, not your liability.

How insurance works on Mowie. You don't need it to join. Upload a current public liability certificate with its expiry date and you get an Insured badge on every bid, you rank higher in the customer's recommended list, and the customer hires you without the extra warning we show when someone picks an uninsured mower. It's the badge customers with the nicest lawns look for first. Once you've done 10 paid jobs on the site it becomes a condition of bidding, with at least 14 days' notice in the app, because by then it's costing you a dollar a day against several hundred a day of income. If a customer reports damage, we pass them your contact and insurance details within two business days and a person reviews it, which is the reason you want the certificate to exist.

If you're on JobSeeker

Two things worth knowing. First, you can be self-employed and stay on the payment while the business builds. Services Australia works out an annual figure from what you tell them about the business, so tell them within 14 days of starting and whenever the income changes; the self-employment income page explains how it's assessed. Second, ask your Workforce Australia provider about Self-Employment Assistance. It's a free government program with business coaching and, for people on JobSeeker, a Self-Employment Allowance paid for up to 39 weeks at the single JobSeeker rate that isn't reduced by what the business earns. A lawn mowing round is the kind of business it was built for. Not everyone is eligible and there's a plan to write, but it turns a scary first three months into a funded one.

The way this goes wrong is a debt letter: income not reported, or reported late, and Services Australia works it out months afterwards. Keep a simple income log from the first job. Your Mowie earnings page has every paid job by month, which is the number both the reporting and the Self-Employment Assistance plan ask for.

Quick answers

Is a sole trader ABN free?

Yes. Applying for an ABN as a sole trader at abr.gov.au costs nothing and is usually approved on the spot; the ATO sometimes takes longer to check identity. Websites that charge $50-100 to register one for you are filling in the same free form. Checked 12 September 2026.

Do I need a licence to mow lawns in Victoria?

No. There is no licence for domestic lawn mowing in Victoria. You need an ABN to invoice properly and to join a marketplace, and most customers expect public liability insurance, but nobody issues a mowing licence.

Do I need insurance to mow lawns?

Not by law, but yes in practice. Public liability cover for a sole-trader mower is about $40-70 a month and pays for the stone through a window or the customer who trips on your blower. It never covers your own injury or your gear. On Mowie it's optional to join, earns an Insured badge, and becomes a condition of bidding after your first paid jobs.

Can I start a mowing business while on JobSeeker?

Yes. You can be self-employed and stay on the payment while the round builds. Tell Services Australia within 14 days of starting and whenever the income changes, and ask your Workforce Australia provider about Self-Employment Assistance, which pays an allowance for up to 39 weeks while you build the business.

When do I have to register for GST?

When your turnover reaches $75,000 in a year, or when you can see it will. The ATO gives you 21 days from that point to register. Under $75,000 you don't charge GST and don't lodge activity statements; your mowing income just goes on your normal tax return.

Free ABN, no licence, insurance at a dollar a day, tell Centrelink on time. Now go and find the first ten customers.