A source check records one query to one available Australian register or data source at one specific point in time. Current tools return these rows in their documented verification response; for example, verify_counterparty returns them in an Evidence Card. Similar rows in the separate Evidence Pack sample may be fixture or unsearched and do not prove a query ran. PPSR is not a current source check: Hoist preview and paid search are unavailable and fail closed.
What a source check contains
- Source identifier: which available register or data source was queried, such as ABR; an unavailable or not-checked row must say so explicitly
- Timestamp: when the query ran, in ISO 8601 format
- Status: pass, fail, inconclusive, or not available
- Raw result summary: what the source returned, summarised without interpretation
- Risk flags: any discrepancies or anomalies identified in this source's result (see Risk flag)
- Certificate reference: only where an available source actually returned an official artefact; Hoist currently returns no AFSA search certificate
Why source checks are separate from the verdict
The verdict in a tool-specific verification response or Evidence Card is a synthesis. Source checks are the underlying evidence. Keeping them separate means an agent or reviewer can inspect exactly what each source said, when it was queried, and what anomalies it raised. It also means a check on one source does not affect the result of another.
Why agents need this
Agents need to be able to trace a verification response back to its sources. If an agent escalates a risk flag to a human reviewer, the reviewer needs to know which source raised the flag and when. Source checks provide that audit trail at the component level. They also let an agent reason about partial results: if one source is temporarily unavailable, the agent can see which checks completed and which did not.
How Hoist uses this
Evidence Cards use a source_checks array, and each row must be read with its provenance. The separate create_evidence_pack sample also has source-shaped rows, but they are fixture or unsearched data. Hoist currently produces no PPSR result or AFSA certificate because preview and paid search are unavailable. If a source is unavailable, the row must say so rather than imply a completed query.
What Hoist does not infer
A source check reports what one source said. It does not combine results across sources. It does not apply business rules to determine whether the result is acceptable for a given transaction. That synthesis belongs to the calling tool's verification response, and even its verdict does not make a compliance or credit decision. Source checks are evidence, not conclusions.
Related terms
- Evidence Pack: the current owner-bound prelaunch sample export; its fixture or unsearched rows are not source checks.
- Risk flag: a discrepancy or anomaly a source check may surface.
- PPSR: a future Hoist source contract; current preview and paid-search calls are unavailable.
- ABN: business identifier verified in an available ABN source check.
- NPII: AFSA's National Personal Insolvency Index, a separate person-insolvency register that is not currently enabled as a Hoist source.
- AFSA: the authority that issues certificates for PPSR searches run directly through AFSA.
- Audit chain: an append-only log for supported Hoist events.
- Due Diligence Record: a reserved Hoist artefact term; no current source-backed workflow produces this PDF.