Ask these 15 questions before you book a mover. They exist to guard against three things: hidden costs that surface on the truck, uninsured loss if something breaks, and unlicensed subcontractors handling your possessions without your knowledge. Get a written quote, a certificate of currency, and a clear claims process before you commit, then use the detailed breakdowns below to understand why each answer matters.
TL;DR:
- Verify that the mover holds both public liability and goods in transit insurance, each with a certificate of currency showing coverage limits around 10 million dollars.
- Obtain detailed, written, itemized quotes that specify all charges, including access fees, travel time, fuel levies, and packing materials, to prevent surprises on moving day.
- Confirm whether the company uses its own staff or subcontractors, and ensure subcontractors are covered under the main company’s insurance policies.
- Check independent reviews and call recent references to verify the mover’s reputation, especially for punctuality and handling specialty items.
- Insist on clear, written responses to all questions before booking, and review cancellation, rescheduling, and payment terms to avoid conflicts later.
Table of Contents
- Questions to ask movers: the 15-point checklist
- Licensing and insurance: what to ask for and what documents prove it
- Pricing and estimates: binding vs non-binding quotes and the extras that catch people out
- Checking a mover’s reputation beyond the testimonials on their website
- Services, crew and logistics: who actually shows up on the day
- Claims and disputes: what happens if something breaks
- How to compare quotes and choose the right mover
- What years of moving-day complaints actually teach you
- Get a written, itemised quote from Onyx Removals
- Sources
Questions to ask movers: the 15-point checklist
Copy this list into an email or read it down the phone. A legitimate mover will answer every one of these questions without hesitation, and most will have the paperwork ready before you ask.
- Are you licensed to operate, and can you provide your ABN?
- Can you email me a certificate of currency for public liability insurance?
- Do you carry goods in transit insurance, and can I see proof?
- Is this a binding quote, a not-to-exceed estimate, or an hourly rate?
- Can you send an itemised written quote listing every charge?
- What extra fees apply for stairs, long carries or difficult access?
- Is there a fuel levy or travel time charge from your depot?
- Will my job be subcontracted, and if so, is the subcontractor covered under your policy?
- How many crew and what size truck will you send for this job?
- Will my goods be co-loaded with another customer’s belongings?
- What are your pickup and delivery time windows on moving day?
- Do you have experience and equipment for specialty items like pianos, safes or pool tables?
- What is your claims process if something is lost or damaged?
- Can you provide two or three recent customer references?
- What are your cancellation, rescheduling and payment terms?
Ask for the certificate of currency and the product disclosure statement (PDS) on any insurance the mover arranges. If a company hesitates or promises to “send it later,” treat that as your answer.
Licensing and insurance: what to ask for and what documents prove it
Two types of cover matter here, and they’re not the same thing. Public liability insurance covers injury or property damage the mover causes at your home or business. Goods in transit insurance covers your belongings while they’re on the truck. A mover can carry one without the other, so ask about both separately.
A $10 million public liability limit is a commonly recommended baseline for Australian businesses, and a legitimate removalist should have no trouble producing a certificate of currency showing that figure. Don’t accept a verbal assurance. Ask for the document by email and check the policy dates haven’t lapsed.
Subcontracting adds a layer most people don’t think to check. If a company subcontracts the work, verify the subcontractor is covered under the main company’s insurance policy, because claims against subcontractors may not be valid under the primary contractor’s cover. Ask directly:
- “Will my move be handled by your own employees or a subcontracted crew?”
- “If subcontracted, are they named on your public liability and goods in transit policies?”
- “Can you confirm this in writing before moving day?”
A mover that owns its trucks and employs its own crew tends to have simpler insurance lines to verify. That’s not a rule against subcontracting outright, but it’s one more reason to ask early rather than discover it on the day.
Pricing and estimates: binding vs non-binding quotes and the extras that catch people out
Three quote types dominate the industry: a binding estimate (fixed price regardless of actual weight or hours), a not-to-exceed estimate (a cap, with the final bill sometimes lower), and an hourly rate (billed per hour with a minimum call-out). Ask which one you’re being given, because the financial risk sits in different places for each. Binding estimates protect you from cost blowouts. Hourly rates protect the mover if your job runs long.
Consumer advice checklists consistently flag the same line items as the ones that surprise people on moving day: travel time, access charges and packing materials. Before you accept a quote, confirm these explicitly:
- Stairs and lift access fees, especially in apartment buildings
- Long carry charges if the truck can’t park near your door
- Travel time from the depot to your address and back
- Fuel levies added on top of the quoted rate
- Packing materials, boxes and tape if you’re not supplying your own
- Storage fees if there’s a gap between pickup and delivery
Ask the mover directly: “Does this include travel time from your depot?” and “Is this quote itemised, or is it a single lump figure?” Getting at least three written quotes and comparing them line by line is the single best defence against surprise charges, because an itemised quote forces every line item into the open before moving day, not after. Our guide to comparing moving quotes walks through how to line them up side by side.
Pro Tip: Ask for the quote in writing even if it’s given verbally first. A verbal “no extra charges” promise is worthless once the truck is loaded and the invoice says otherwise.
Checking a mover’s reputation beyond the testimonials on their website
Testimonials on a company’s own site tell you what that company chose to publish. They don’t tell you what happened to the customer whose delivery was three days late. Don’t rely solely on a company’s own website reviews, cross-check reviews across independent platforms, and watch for suspicious patterns such as a sudden spike of five-star reviews posted within a short window. That pattern usually signals a reputation-management push rather than organic satisfaction.
Ask for two or three recent references and actually call them. A credible answer sounds specific: “They moved us from a two-bedroom unit in March, arrived on time, and the only issue was a scratched bookshelf they fixed with a partial refund.” A vague answer, or a refusal to provide any names, tells you something too.
Watch for these red flags together, not in isolation:
- Cash-only payment requests with no invoice offered
- Pressure to pay the full amount upfront before the move
- No written quote after repeated requests
- An ABN that shows a recent registration date despite claims of years in business
- No certificate of currency available on request
Industry checklists often point to AFRA membership (the Australian Furniture Removers Association) as a positive signal worth checking, though membership is voluntary and shouldn’t be your only test. Treat it as one data point among several, not a certification that replaces everything else on this list.
Services, crew and logistics: who actually shows up on the day
The quote tells you the price. It doesn’t always tell you who’s doing the lifting. Ask whether the company uses its own employed crew or brings in subcontracted labour for busy periods, and get a straight number on how many movers and what size truck they’re sending. A three-bedroom house with a two-person crew and a small van is a red flag before the job even starts.
Co-loading, where your goods share truck space with another customer’s belongings on the same run, is common for long-distance moves and isn’t automatically a problem, but you should know it’s happening. Ask directly:
- “Will my belongings share a truck with another customer’s goods?”
- “What are your pickup and delivery windows, and is there a depot transfer involved?”
- “If there’s a gap between pickup and delivery, is short-term storage included, or charged separately?”
Specialty items need a different conversation altogether. Pianos, safes, pool tables and large fish tanks require specific equipment, trained crew and, in some cases, a pre-move site inspection. Ask what equipment they use and request confirmation in writing rather than a verbal “yeah, we do that all the time.” If you’re moving specialty items, our specialty item removals guide covers what to check before booking.
Claims and disputes: what happens if something breaks
Build your own evidence before the move starts. Photograph valuable and fragile items, and keep a dated inventory list. It takes twenty minutes and it’s the single most useful thing you can do if a dispute happens later.
If damage occurs, follow this general sequence:
- Photograph the damaged item immediately, before moving or repairing anything.
- Notify the mover in writing within the timeframe stated in your contract, usually within 24 to 48 hours.
- Request a copy of the insurer’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Financial Services Guide (FSG) if the mover arranged the cover.
- Keep the damaged item until the claim is resolved. Don’t discard it or attempt a repair before it’s assessed.
- If the mover doesn’t resolve the claim satisfactorily, escalate through AFRA’s dispute process (if the company is a member), your state’s fair trading or consumer protection body, or ACCC guidance on your rights as a consumer.
Ask about the claims process before you book, not after something breaks. A mover that can explain its process clearly and quickly usually has a real one.
How to compare quotes and choose the right mover
Line up every quote against the same scope of work. If one quote includes packing materials and another doesn’t, you’re not comparing like with like, you’re comparing apples with a much cheaper-looking orange. Match insurance cover, inclusions, exclusions, travel time charges and deposit terms across all three quotes before price becomes the deciding factor.
A simple five-point rubric helps when the quotes still look close:
- Transparency: Did they provide an itemised written quote without you having to chase it?
- Insurance: Did they supply a certificate of currency without hesitation?
- Reviews: Do independent platforms match what their own website claims?
- Specialist capability: Can they handle your specific items, if you have any?
- Availability: Can they commit to your actual moving date and window?
A mover that scores well on four of the five is usually a safe booking. A mover that fails transparency or insurance outright should be dropped regardless of price, because those two failures are the ones that cost you money after the fact, not before. Our guide to comparing removalists breaks this down further if you’re weighing several quotes at once.
Pro Tip: Get every clarification in writing before you sign, even the small verbal promises. “We’ll throw in the wardrobe boxes” means nothing until it’s on the quote.
Before you sign, confirm the cancellation and rescheduling terms. Life changes settlement dates constantly, and a mover with a rigid, unexplained cancellation fee buried in fine print is worth a second look.
What years of moving-day complaints actually teach you
The pricing surprises I hear about most often trace back to one missing step: nobody asked for the quote in writing before the truck arrived. A verbal “should be around $800” becomes $1,200 the moment stairs, a long carry and an hour of travel time get added on site. An itemised written quote closes that gap almost entirely, because every disputed charge has to be justified against something both parties signed off on.
Before you call a single company, gather your inventory list, a rough floor plan noting stairs or lift access, and photos of anything valuable or unusual. Having this ready means you’ll get a tighter, more accurate quote on the first call instead of a rough guess that changes twice before moving day.
Membership bodies, certificates of currency and independent reviews all matter, but none of them replace the habit of asking direct questions and getting the answers in writing.
— Dinshaw
Get a written, itemised quote from Onyx Removals
A reputable moving company should answer every one of these 15 questions upfront, providing a written, itemised quote as standard practice. Such companies typically handle residential and commercial removals, packing and unpacking, short-term storage, and specialty item transport in their service areas, confirming crew size, truck availability, and any access charges before your move date is locked in.
If you’re weighing up a house move against an office relocation, our residential vs commercial moving guide explains how the two differ in scope and pricing. For end-of-lease properties, our partners at Move In Cleaning Services handle the clean-up once the truck’s gone. Ready to see the numbers in writing? Request your itemised quote and get a straight answer before you book.
Sources
- Marsh — Managing subcontractor risk
- ACCC — Checking a business is genuine
- NSW Government — Choosing a removalist
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