Taskforce Australia is delighted to announce that it has been named the Victorian State Winner for Outstanding Growth in the 2024 Telstra Best of Business Awards.

It’s been a big year for Taskforce Australia: celebrating 10 years since the business was launched, receiving an award for Most Innovative Proptech at the 2024 Proptech Awards in Sydney (Established Supplier – Property Management and Maintenance), and doubling their agency clients in only 12 months.

Founder and Managing Director Jason Bright launched the company in 2014 with the aim of creating a better way to engage trades for jobs: better for customers, better for trades.

“We’ve come a long way since that launch back in the Docklands 10 years ago and the business has evolved and changed a lot along the way.  The heart of the company has remained solid though – we still have 2 of the original employees from that time and as we’ve grown we’ve really consolidated our culture of teamwork, innovation and community.”

After three years of persevering with an unsuccessful franchise model providing leads for trades at a monthly subscription fee, Jason, with guidance and support from turnaround specialist Campbell Sallabank from XSallarate, flipped the model on its head.  

“We realised that we had the foundations of an incredibly powerful tech platform, but that the right way to approach the problem was to remove the barriers for the trades.” says Campbell. “We pivoted to provide leads at no charge, fair hourly rates and 14 day payment terms and from there, with some tweaks to our software, things went from strength to strength.”

Taskforce initially directed efforts into warranty fulfilment and installation for major manufacturers nationwide including Brilliant Lighting, Eglo Fans and Ventair.

They quickly built a reputation for responsive and reliable service – this arm of the business has enjoyed consistent growth ever since. 

When changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in Victoria in 2021 brought mandatory electrical, gas and smoke alarm checks for rental properties, the market saw an upsurge in providers, many meeting this new demand with over-priced and inefficient services.

Taskforce saw the opportunity to leverage their proprietary tech platform and develop a best-practice model for these safety checks, mobilising their trade network and aligning required inspections into a single annual visit per property – this pioneering service became RentSafe. 

This innovation resulted in industry-best pricing through streamlined job scheduling without compromising on quality. 

At this point, Taskforce had identified their niche – providing better trade solutions. More responsive, better priced, more efficient.

Continual investment in their tech platform and an innovative approach to business development meant Taskforce was well positioned to explore opportunities as they arose.  

They launched RentRepair in 2023, Australia’s only complete maintenance solution for rental properties, and shortly after created HousingSolutions – compliance, maintenance and procurement solutions specifically designed to address the needs of social housing groups.

The real cost-savings and efficiencies that the HousingSolutions services delivers have been welcomed by community housing organisations, with Taskforce becoming a preferred supplier for this sector. 

As a successful V8 Supercars driver, Jason has received his fair share of trophies in the past – but he says that the recognition that comes with an award like this has been a big boost for him and the ever expanding team at Taskforce.

“We are very proud of this one, and of where we are today.” Jason explains “But we’re even more excited for what’s ahead of us. We’ve got some big plans to make tangible and positive impacts in our industry and on the wider issues around homelessness and housing affordability. We really want to make a difference.”

National Winners are announced at the Telstra Best of Business Awards National Gala Dinner in Melbourne on 28 November 2024.