- Author
- Byron Raal, CAS Founder-Editor About the author
- Date last checked
- 22 August 2026
I run this site on my own, and I am the one who decides what goes on it. So you are entitled to know who pays me, because that is the only sensible way to judge whether what you read here is worth anything.
Here is the whole model in three sentences. No supplier, verifier or manufacturer has ever paid me to be written about, ranked, recommended or reviewed on any page of this site, and none ever will. Where I introduce you to a supplier or an independent verifier, that provider may pay me a referral fee or a commission out of their own margin if the introduction turns into work. You are never charged for the introduction, and nothing I am paid is added to your price.
What I do not take payment for
Not for coverage. Not for a ranking. Not for a mention. Not for a favourable review, a comparison result, a keyword, a link or a place in a list. No supplier, manufacturer, distributor, verifier or industry body pays for editorial treatment on this site, and I do not run advertising or sponsored content of any kind.
That is the line that matters most to me, because everything else on this site rests on it. If a rotary screw is the wrong machine for your duty, that is what you will read. If the cheaper option is the right one, that is what you will read.
Where the money actually comes from
The site is funded by referral arrangements. When I introduce you to a provider and that introduction turns into completed work, the provider pays me out of their own margin. There are two classes of arrangement in place at the moment, and I will keep this list current rather than leaving it to age:
- Supplier referral commissions. Where an introduction to an equipment supplier results in a sale, that supplier pays a commission calculated as a percentage of the sale value. The percentage is tiered, so it varies by the category of the work and by the supplier.
- Verifier referral fees. Where an introduction to an independent verifier results in an engagement, that verifier pays a referral fee calculated as a percentage of their own professional fees. It is calculated on those fees alone: GST is excluded, and so is any third-party regulator or statutory cost that passes through their invoice to you.
These arrangements are also per client. Where I introduce you to a provider, the arrangement between me and that provider runs for twelve months from that introduction. So if you go back to the same provider for further work inside that window, that work can still carry a fee to me, and you should know that before you decide anything.
I am naming the classes rather than the numbers and the partners on purpose. Rates get renegotiated, arrangements start and stop, and a page carrying specific figures and specific names would be out of date within months and quietly misleading after that. The class of arrangement is the part that actually tells you where my incentive sits, and it is the part I can keep honest.
What this never does to your price
Nothing I am paid is added to what you pay. The referral fee comes out of the provider’s own margin on work they were going to quote anyway, at the price they would have quoted anyway. You do not pay more for coming through me, and you are welcome to check that by asking the provider directly.
The introduction itself is free and carries no obligation. You can take the introduction and not proceed. You can take the name and go around me, and where I have an arrangement with that provider the twelve months above still runs. You can ask me to introduce you to someone I have no arrangement with, and I will if I know one who fits.
How I decide who to refer you to
On fit. What your site actually needs, whether the provider genuinely covers that scope, whether they service your area, and whether I would be comfortable putting my own name next to their work.
Two things keep that honest in practice. First, wherever the market allows it I hold more than one provider in a category, so a referral is a choice between capable options rather than the only door available. Second, the editorial content on this site does not name suppliers at all. It deals in technologies, standards, duty cycles and numbers, so there is nothing on a published page for a commercial relationship to bend.
The order I work in
When a requirement comes through this site, the first call always goes to independent, multi brand suppliers. They can put forward whichever machine actually fits, which is the same posture this site takes in print, so they are the natural first home for the work.
Some jobs sit beyond what any independent can scope. Very large packages, unusual duties, remote sites where a manufacturer’s national service network is the only realistic way to support the equipment. Where that is the case, and only where that is the case, I may offer to introduce you to a manufacturer aligned supplier instead.
If I do, you will be told before the introduction is made. You will know the supplier is aligned to one brand, and what that means for the offer you will get: they will quote their manufacturer’s machine, because that is what they sell. Then the decision is yours. If you would rather wait for an independent option, I keep looking.
Nobody can pay to change that order. No manufacturer, dealer or supplier has ever paid to sit ahead of an independent in a referral from this site, and none ever will.
What I will tell you before an introduction
If a referral arrangement applies to an introduction I am about to make, I will say so in writing before I make it, and you can decline the referral and go your own way with no hard feelings and no follow up.
If you ever think a recommendation on this site reads like it was bought, tell me. Email byron@compressedairsolutions.com.au and quote the page. I would rather fix it than defend it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a referral fee cost me anything?
No. The fee comes out of the provider’s own margin, on work quoted at the price they would have quoted anyway. You pay the provider directly for the work you agree to, and nothing is added for the introduction. If you want to test that, ask the provider what your price would have been without the referral.
Has any supplier paid to be written about on this site?
No. CAS accepts no payment for editorial coverage, rankings, recommendations, mentions or links on any page, and runs no advertising or sponsored content. The editorial content does not name suppliers at all; it deals in technologies, standards and numbers.
Why does this page not publish the actual rates or the partner names?
Because both change. Rates get renegotiated and arrangements start and stop, so specific figures and names would be stale within months and misleading after that. What tells you where the incentive sits is the class of arrangement, and the classes are published here in full: tiered supplier commissions calculated on sale value, and verifier referral fees calculated on the verifier’s own professional fees, excluding GST and third-party statutory costs.
Will I be told about the arrangement before I am introduced to anyone?
Yes. Where a referral arrangement applies, it is disclosed to you in writing before the introduction is made. You can decline the referral and proceed independently, and there is no follow up if you do.
Does the commission decide who I get referred to?
No. Referrals are made on fit: scope, capability, service coverage and whether the provider is someone I would put my own name next to. Wherever the market allows it, CAS holds more than one provider per category so that a referral is a choice between capable options rather than the only available door.
Does CAS sell equipment or perform the work itself?
No. CAS carries no stock, holds no distribution agreement, installs nothing, runs no service contracts and performs no audits or inspections. It publishes reference material and introduces operators to Australian providers who do that work.