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iCIRT stands for the Independent Construction Industry Rating Tool.

The star-rating system will help you more easily identify professionals with a proven track record, supported by objective evidence of capability to deliver buildings you can trust.

The iCIRT star-rating service delivers a report and score using public and privately procured data. The data is recognised by government and industry to support decision-making.

For government, the iCIRT outcome may assist resource allocation for building inspections.

For constructions industry professionals, the iCIRT outcome provides an independent assessment which may assist a business in market differentiation. In the future, broader property sector stakeholders (including financiers and insurers), may use an iCIRT outcome as part of their due diligence on construction industry participants and teams.

The assessment process is performed in accordance with a published iCIRT methodology. The iCIRT outcome may be provided for either self-assessment or counterparty-assessment purposes.

Log into the iCIRT portal and input contact details into the search bar: property location, business entity or individual. From here, choose the level of report you require and submit your payment. Report options range from a star-rating and peer-based comparison to more detailed reports which may highlight potential risk areas for further consideration.

When multiple parties are being rated, construction professionals may be contacted for their consent in the sourcing of private information. You will be able to see if a company or individual does not provide consent. Alongside their rating will be a Gold, Silver or Bronze star indicator. No consent will be flagged as Bronze, limited consent as Silver and continuing consent as Gold.

When the rating process is complete, you will be able to access the star-rating and report via a secure digital transfer.

Follow the same steps listed above. Your business and key people will need to provide information and consent. Further external consent is not required from other parties as it is just your business that is being rated (ie. a single-party rating).

Yes. We apply a fixed-fee framework with pricing based on the type of report chosen and subsequent depth of the assessment.

Pricing for a private self-rating assessment ranges from $1,750 through to $9,950 ex-GST (AUD), varying based on the depth of analysis and size of the organisation

Information will be gathered from several hundred data points from multiple sources. This includes information from the individual or business directly (contingent on the level of consent) as well as data that is sourced externally from a wide range of contributors including the government, financiers, insurers, bureaus, and trade ledgers from hundreds of large suppliers.

The star-rating is formed from an objective and independent assessment of the following core areas:

Character - Bona fides of officers/owners, phoenixing and adverse checks
Capability - Trading history, officeholder experience, licenses, insurances
Conduct - Track record, judgements, tax debt, incidents, penalties, undertakings
Capacity - Project pipeline, sustainable/stable operations, liquidity, cash flow
Capital - Capital, funding, borrowing capacity, covenants, debt serviceability
Counterparties - Related parties, value chain dependencies, sustainable sourcing

The industry average and comparatives will also be available, enabling a more detailed understanding of how a rated party compares to others.

Weightings are applied to findings against the iCIRT criteria, in accordance with the iCIRT methodology, to determine a construction professional’s capacity and willingness to honour their obligations. Empirical evidence will be used, where available, to assist in the calibration and validation of the iCIRT service.

Insufficient or unreliable data will not be used to determine the rating. Data deficiencies and/or limitations will be identified through Caution Flags and listed accordingly. No rating will be provided where there is insufficient information to otherwise derive a Bronze Rating outcome.

While we often source information from businesses directly (together with consent), many data assets are sourced externally from a wide range of contributors including the government, financiers, insurers, courts, bureaus, and trade ledgers from hundreds of large suppliers. In all cases, we will seek your consent and that of your officers in accordance with privacy and other laws. For information sourced externally, we ensure this is done in accordance with privacy and other laws, including consents.

You will be able to see if a company or individual does not provide consent. Alongside their rating will be a Gold, Silver or Bronze star indicator. Limited consent will be flagged as ‘Bronze’, while full consent will be ‘Gold’.

While some countries have explored a subjective consumer-input, social-scoring model, these have had limited success due to their reduced objectivity. The iCIRT Industry Group has identified that objectivity and credibility of rating outcomes are critical for consumer confidence.

iCIRT uses an auditable process to consistently assess structured and objective data in accordance with a published iCIRT methodology. This removes the potential for parties to ‘game’ the system. All self-rating and counter-party rating services are provided in accordance with a fixed-fee schedule.

As a regulated agency, Equifax* has deep experience in managing operations that are subject to ongoing industry supervision and maintains rigorous policies and procedures and a controls-based environment to ensure the the quality, integrity and independence of rating outcomes. Equifax maintains audit records to support independent analytical reviews of rating outcomes, and performs annual reviews of its models, methodologies and performance. Equifax will be working closely with the iCIRT Industry Group to monitor and maintain industry oversight over the iCIRT star-rating service.

The level of material building defects on a project is not currently defined or measured according to construction industry agreed terms. Until defects can be independently verified, they will appear as a flag next to the star-rating score output. There are various sources of data on building defects, including reports from the build team, regulators, insurers and strata managers.

The star-rating will be assigned within the context of the size, structure and sector of the business, enabling the meaningful comparison of a rated party to others of a similar size and nature. Star-ratings can also be used to provide industry averages, or beta scores to reflect the level of risk relative to an industry baseline. Rated parties can be further segmented into homogeneous groups based on building activity and/or location.

A business that has recently encountered project difficulties and/or has reported one poor year of performance is considered within the context of whether it has a well-established track record with other positive measures.

Yes, construction professionals that routinely work with lower-rated businesses having material adverse and/or negative factors may find that the strength of their star-rating is constrained, particularly where this increases their risk exposure.

The first step is to contact us to request a copy of the individual searches that have been conducted on you. Once you have reviewed these searches, if you still wish to take the matter further, contact us on the below emails:

Queries about your criminal history check: contact fit2work.

Queries about your consumer credit report: www.equifax.com.au/personal/resolution-centre

All other queries: contact us.

iCIRT-ratings are available to evaluate home builders, property developers and other building professionals like certifiers, designers, architects, engineers, consultants, project and development managers.

Yes, iCIRT is voluntary. The more buyers who ask their building professional for their iCIRT-rating, the more it will become an accepted way of doing business.

Information is gathered across thousands of data points from multiple sources. This includes information from the individual or business directly (contingent on the level of consent) as well as data that is sourced from a wide range of contributors, including the government, financiers, insurers, bureaus, and trade ledgers from hundreds of large suppliers.

Most companies will seek to update their rating every 12 months. You can find the date the company was assigned their rating by checking the ‘review date’ on the iCIRT Register.

No, for a company to be listed on the iCIRT Register, they must achieve a minimum 3-gold star rating outcome from the iCIRT assessment process.

Yes, a business is able to obtain an iCIRT-rating no matter where they reside in Australia.

Check if your builder or developer is listed on the iCIRT Register of trustworthy building professionals. The iCIRT assessment process can identify companies in financial difficulty at least 12 months before they go bust, causing their iCIRT star-ratings to fall to the lowest levels. If your building professional isn’t iCIRT-rated, ask them to get rated as evidence of their capability and integrity.