Partnership prospectus
Turning discarded appliances into community equity.
Divert waste · Restore value · Empower community
- Prepared by
- Mark Della Casa Alberighi · Hayden Della Casa Alberighi
- Operating region
- Queensland, Australia
- Contact
- [email protected]
- Source
- Business Framework & Investment Proposal — Version 1.0, July 2026
In summary
Repairable washing machines and dryers reach transfer stations and are compacted before anyone assesses them, because local triage and certified repair capacity does not exist. At the same time, a household on a concession income cannot absorb the upfront cost of a new machine, and the alternatives — rent-to-own contracts, untested second-hand units — are worse than the problem.
Circular Appliance Co. intercepts those machines, restores them under licensed trade supervision, certifies every one to AS/NZS 3760, and sells them at two published prices: a concession price that recovers cost, and a retail price whose margin pays for it. The repair bench doubles as a supervised training floor.
The cross-subsidy is the whole model, so it is published rather than hidden. What we are seeking now is not primarily money — it is a supply agreement that releases 50 repairable units, so that every modelled figure in this document can be replaced with an observed one.
1
Intercept
Collect appliances from councils, retailers and households before compaction
2
Restore
Triage, repair and electrically safety-test to AS/NZS 3760 under trade supervision
3
Redistribute
Sell or lease at tiered, transparent prices with a real warranty
4
Reinvest
Commercial margin funds concession pricing and paid trainee wages
Where this stands today
No operating data yet — and we would rather say so
Not a single machine has been processed, so there is nothing to report against the indicators in section 06. What exists is the operating system that will report them: serialised units, an enforced safety gate, tiered pricing, and impact figures computed from the workshop’s own records rather than assembled by hand at reporting time.
The 50-unit supply pilot is what fills this section. It is also the reason the first ask in section 05 is for units rather than for money.
What is already true
The safety gate is enforced, not promised
A unit cannot be released for sale or published to the shop without a passed AS/NZS 3760 test signed off by a named supervisor holding a recorded licence number. This is a rule in the software, not a line in a procedure manual — the transition is refused and the publish control stays disabled. The warranty, the product-liability position and every referral relationship rest on it.
Every machine is traceable to a serial
Units are serialised at intake and keep their triage decision, repair history, test record, sale and any warranty claim against that serial for life. It is what makes the repair conversion rate a measured number rather than an estimate, and it is what a funder auditing an impact claim will actually want to see.
Impact is a by-product of the paperwork
Every indicator we report is computed from records the workshop has to keep anyway — intake weights, triage outcomes, test results, sale tiers, training hours. Nothing depends on a separate reporting exercise that quietly stops happening in month four, and closed periods are frozen so published figures never move retrospectively.
How the money works
Five revenue streams, of which one exists to pay for another. The cross-subsidy is the model, so it is published rather than buried.
| Stream | Market | Pricing | Objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — Concession | Concession card holders, pensioners, referred and crisis households | $120–$220 per unit, or a low weekly rental | Cost recovery only — no commercial margin |
| Tier 2 — Standard retail | General public, students, budget-conscious buyers | $280–$450 per unit | Primary margin stream funding Tier 1 |
| Tier 3 — Commercial B2B | Social housing, crisis accommodation, student housing | Contracted wholesale rates | Stable recurring revenue and cash-flow smoothing |
| Collection service | Households, agents, retailers | $20–$30 per pickup | Offsets fleet, fuel and labour |
| Scrap & salvage | Metal recyclers, independent repairers | Market rate per kg / per part | Monetises write-offs; supports zero-to-landfill |
Tier 1 — Concession
$160 average price → ~$60 contribution
Covers direct cost and makes a small contribution to overhead. This tier is not intended to be profitable; it is intended not to lose money.
Tier 2 — Retail
$340 average price → ~$240 contribution
Each retail unit generates roughly four times the contribution of a concession unit — the mechanism that makes Tier 1 pricing sustainable.
The rule that keeps it solvent
A minimum production mix is enforced so that access never outruns the margin funding it. The working rule is a floor on the proportion of output sold through Tier 2 and Tier 3 — set at approximately 40% commercial to 60% concession at the outset, and reviewed monthly against actual contribution rather than held as a fixed article of faith.
The $100 figure is direct cost only. A complete model must add fixed overheads before break-even can be claimed: workshop rent and outgoings, power, public liability and product liability insurance, vehicle lease and running costs, equipment depreciation, administration, marketing, warranty provision, and the portion of supervisor salary not allocated to units.
What we are asking for
If you run a transfer station or a waste contract
First priorityA designated whitegoods recovery bay, and permission to triage units before compaction.
No capital, no staff time beyond directing units to a bay you already have.
If you manage a housing portfolio
First priorityAn expression of interest for tenant fit-out supply, and a referral pathway for tenants who need a machine.
No commitment to volume before we can evidence we can meet it.
If you deliver training or employment services
A pathway conversation — how supervised hours here convert into an apprenticeship or a traineeship.
A meeting.
If you fund circular-economy or employment outcomes
Setup capital for workshop fit-out, testing equipment, a collection vehicle and first-cohort wages.
A line-item budget follows the pilot — we would rather ask for a number we can defend.
Supply is secured first — without confirmed intake volume the workshop cannot be scheduled and no commitment to a housing partner is credible. Distribution agreements follow immediately, since demand certainty is what makes the production mix rule achievable. Training partnerships are established last, once the workshop can reliably supervise trainees without compromising output.
What setup capital would fund
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Workshop fit-out | Lease establishment, benches, storage racking, power and lighting works, security |
| Safety & testing equipment | Test-and-tag equipment, diagnostic tools, PPE, first-aid and fire compliance |
| Collection vehicle | Van or light truck with tail lift, appliance trolleys and restraints |
| Initial wage support | Licensed supervisor engagement and first-cohort trainee wages through the pilot period |
| Working capital | Parts inventory, insurance premiums and operating buffer through to positive contribution |
| Establishment costs | Incorporation, legal review of sale and rental terms, accounting setup, brand and web presence |
Quantum to be finalised. The total seed requirement will be stated as a specific figure with a line-item budget once a site has been identified and quoted, and once the 50-unit pilot has established actual labour and parts costs. Presenting a number before then would be a guess, and funders are right to discount guesses.
What we will report
Every indicator below is collected as a by-product of normal operating paperwork, which is what stops measurement quietly lapsing in month four. Modelled figures carry their method statement with them and publish it alongside the number.
| Indicator | Definition | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Waste diverted (tonnes) | Total mass of appliances intercepted that would otherwise have entered the waste stream | Weighbridge / intake log |
| Repair conversion rate | Units returned to service ÷ units intercepted | Triage register |
| Material recovery rate | Mass of steel, copper and reusable parts recovered from write-offs ÷ write-off mass | Salvage weigh-out |
| Embodied carbon retained | Estimated CO₂-e avoided through life extension, using a stated published factor per appliance | Modelled — method disclosed |
| Training hours delivered | Supervised accredited and non-accredited hours, by participant | Timesheets |
| Certification progression | Participants completing test-and-tag certification and entering formal apprenticeships | RTO records |
| Employment retention | Share of participants in paid work at 6 and 12 months post-program | Follow-up survey with referral partner |
| Participant-reported outcomes | Confidence, workplace readiness and intent — short structured survey at entry and exit | Survey |
| Household cost avoided | Difference between our concession price and the comparable cost of the realistic alternative (new retail or rent-to-own total cost) | Sales log + quarterly market price check |
| Concession ratio | Units supplied at Tier 1 pricing ÷ total units sold | Sales log |
| Warranty claim rate | Units returned under warranty ÷ units sold — the honest test of refurbishment quality | Service register |
| Households served | Distinct concession and referral households supplied | Sales / referral log |
What each partner gets
| Partner | We ask for | They get |
|---|---|---|
| Local councils & transfer stations | A designated whitegoods recovery bay and permission to triage units before compaction | Reduced landfill volume and disposal cost, a local circular-economy program to report against, and diversion data they can publish |
| Appliance retailers | Trade-in and old-unit collection at point of delivery, routed to us instead of to disposal | Lower waste handling cost, a credible ESG and product-stewardship story, and a customer-facing responsible-disposal offer |
| Community housing providers | Bulk supply agreements and tenant referral pathways | Faster tenancy fit-out at contracted prices, maintenance cover, and fewer tenancies failing over an unaffordable essential |
| Crisis services & case managers | Referral of eligible households and verification of concession eligibility | A dependable, dignified answer for a client need they currently cannot meet, without exposing clients to rent-to-own products |
| RTOs / TAFE | Structured off-the-job delivery and apprenticeship pathway agreements | A real workplace with supervised placements and completions in a trade with genuine local shortage |
| Funders & government programs | Setup capital: workshop fit-out, testing equipment, vehicle and initial wage subsidy | Measurable environmental and employment outcomes from a model designed to become self-funding rather than perpetually grant-dependent |
The staged plan
- Days 1–30
Foundation
Entity, site and equipment
- Settle legal structure with adviser; incorporate; appoint board and adopt governance framework — Mark
- Secure industrial workshop with adequate power supply, roller access and storage — Hayden
- Bind public liability and product liability insurance; confirm cover for second-hand goods sale
- Procure test-and-tag equipment, diagnostic tools, benches and PPE; engage licensed electrical supervisor
- Days 31–60
Supply pilot
Prove the unit economics on 50 machines
- Execute a 30-day trial agreement with one council transfer station or one retailer
- Process a 50-unit batch end to end: triage, repair, test, tag, quality control
- Record actual labour hours, parts spend and repair conversion rate per unit
- Replace every modelled figure in the financial model with observed data
- Days 61–90
Launch
First trainees, first customers
- Recruit an initial cohort of 2–4 trainees through employment service and community partners
- Commence Stage 1 training — WHS induction and test-and-tag certification
- Open retail and online sales channel; publish transparent tier pricing
- Formalise referral pathways and the first community housing supply agreement
- Months 4–12
Consolidate
Scale within proven capacity
- Convert pilot supply arrangements into standing MoUs with two or more sources
- Land the first Tier 3 commercial contract with a social housing provider
- Move the first cohort into Stage 2 paid technical roles; sign the RTO pathway agreement
- Publish the first annual impact report against the Section 07 indicators
What is not settled yet
Every experienced assessor reads a proposal looking for what the author has left out. This is that list.
The financial figures are not yet evidence.
Direct cost per unit, tier pricing and contribution are planning assumptions, not observations. The largest and least certain input is workshop labour per unit, which depends on hours per machine and on wage subsidy. The 50-unit pilot exists specifically to replace these numbers, and the operating system is built to capture exactly the figures that replace them.
The entity is not yet incorporated.
Legal structure is being settled with an adviser, because the choice determines tax treatment, DGR eligibility and grant access, and is hard to unwind. Grant applications in the first round go through an auspice partner regardless, since two years of audited financial statements are a mandatory attachment no new entity can produce.
Regulatory obligations are not yet confirmed.
Requirements for selling second-hand electrical appliances vary by state and change over time, and the treatment of rental and deferred-payment offers may engage credit regulation. These must be confirmed with the electrical safety regulator, the consumer affairs body and a lawyer before the first unit is sold. Nothing here is a compliance opinion.
Supply volume is the binding constraint, not demand.
Conversations with case managers consistently surface unmet demand. What is unproven is whether enough repairable units can be released before compaction, at a predictable rate, to schedule a workshop around. That is why the supply agreement is the first ask and everything else is sequenced behind it.
Principal risks and how they are managed
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Electrical safety & product liability | 100% electrical safety testing and tagging to the applicable Australian standard (AS/NZS 3760) before release; named licensed supervisor sign-off recorded per unit; serialised unit history; product and public liability insurance confirmed for second-hand goods; documented recall procedure |
| Consumer law obligations | Legal review of sale terms, warranty wording and any rental or instalment arrangement before trading — including whether any deferred-payment offer engages credit regulation |
| Supply volatility | Diversify across at least three independent supply channels; hold a buffer of parts-harvest stock; contract commercial volumes only within demonstrated throughput |
| Trainee retention | Wraparound case management retained by the referring partner; flexible rostering; milestone-based incentives; production plans that do not assume full trainee availability |
| Financial sustainability | Enforce the minimum production mix rule; review contribution monthly; hold a cash buffer; treat grant income as capability funding rather than operating income |
| Key-person dependency | Document standard operating procedures from day one; cross-train; appoint independent directors; identify a relief supervisor arrangement |
| Reputational | Quality control treated as a safety function rather than a cost line; warranty claims honoured without dispute; claim rate published in the annual impact report |
Who is accountable
Mark Della Casa Alberighi
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Accountable for strategy, governance and external partnerships. Mark leads negotiation and stewardship of the council, retailer and social-housing relationships that determine both supply volume and demand certainty, and owns the funding pipeline — grant submissions, impact investment and philanthropic relationships.
Hayden Della Casa Alberighi
Co-Founder & Director of Operations
Accountable for the workshop and everything that moves through it. Hayden owns the end-to-end operating chain — collection, triage, repair, electrical safety certification, quality control and delivery — and is responsible for the technical standard that the warranty depends on.
Governance structure
| Body | Composition | Accountable for |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Directors | Founding directors plus 2–3 independent non-executive directors | Strategy, financial oversight, mission integrity, appointment of the executive |
| Independent NEDs (to recruit) | Sought skills: community services, electrical trade / RTO, finance or audit | Independent challenge; chairing of audit and risk |
| Technical & Safety Authority | Licensed electrical supervisor (contracted or employed) | Final sign-off on every unit released for sale; testing regime integrity |
| Community Advisory Panel | Housing providers, case managers, and past trainees | Keeps pricing, referral and training design grounded in lived experience |
The most useful thing anyone can do for this enterprise right now is release repairable units before they are compacted. A 30-day trial with one transfer station or one retailer turns this document from a plan into a proposition — and produces the evidence that every figure in it is currently missing.
All pricing, cost and margin figures shown are indicative planning assumptions developed for modelling purposes. They are to be validated and replaced with observed data during the 50-unit supply pilot before being used in any binding commercial or grant commitment.
Requirements for selling second-hand electrical appliances — testing standards, tagging, record-keeping, licensing, and the treatment of rental or deferred-payment offers — vary by state and territory and change over time. The applicable obligations for the operating jurisdiction must be confirmed with the relevant electrical safety regulator, consumer affairs body and a qualified lawyer before the first unit is sold. This site identifies risk areas; it is not legal advice and is not a compliance opinion.