Sweep's evolution from grant-funded vision to App Store reality

When Portable was awarded a $1.1 million BRII grant to develop Sweep, it was a validation of a bold premise: technology could solve one of Australia's most persistent workplace problems. Now, with beta versions live in app stores and a public launch scheduled for May, that promise is becoming accessible to every business and worker who needs it.

Sweep has come a long way since its inception. What began as a focused effort to tackle underpayments has evolved into a platform that combines payslip analysis, award interpretation, AI-powered Q&A, employer conversation prep, and legal referral. all designed to help retail workers identify wage gaps and take action. For leaders examining how to solve complex, regulation-bound problems in Australian workplaces, Sweep represents a case study in building technology that surfaces compliance issues when they're still solvable.

The development of Sweep hasn't followed a linear path — it's been marked by deliberate iterations driven by real workplace needs. The platform has undergone significant feature expansion and architectural refinement since Portable began its initial work on wage compliance.

This philosophy has shaped the features we've built first. The current beta lets employees upload a payslip and get a clear breakdown of what they're owed under the General Retail Industry Award, ask questions through AskSweep in plain language, prepare for a conversation with their employer if something looks off, and connect with a lawyer if the issue is more serious. They're not flashy features, but getting them right, particularly the award interpretation and the AI layer, has taken real work. That's where we've focused our energy. Engineering at the intersection of complexity.

From a technical perspective, Sweep occupies a fascinating space. It must accurately interpret Australia's fragmented award system, extract and analyse data from payslips uploaded by users, and provide actionable insights to users with varying levels of HR expertise. The architecture supporting this is non-trivial.

"The challenge isn't just building a good product—it's building one that doesn't create liability or false confidence," says Steve Joynt, Sweep's lead developer. "When you're dealing with wage compliance, accuracy matters. We've invested heavily in how we model payroll rules, how we validate data sources, and how we communicate uncertainty. If we can't be confident in a calculation, we need to be transparent about that. That's harder to code for than simple feature parity."

This attention to the subtleties of wage compliance is what separates Sweep from simpler payroll tools. It's also what makes it compelling for technology leaders evaluating workplace platforms. The problems Sweep solves, data integration, regulatory compliance, cross-stakeholder communication, are endemic to HR tech generally.

The beta launch comes at a critical moment. Since the BRII grant was announced, Australia's regulatory environment has shifted. As of January 2025, intentional wage underpayment is now a criminal offence. That's created urgency and clarity around the need for compliance tools.

"The regulatory environment has become clearer, which actually makes our job easier in some ways," MacLoud explains. "Businesses know they need to audit their practices. Employees want visibility into their pay. The platform we've built now meets that moment. Sweep puts wage transparency in workers' hands – giving them the information to speak up. Eventually we want to also give employers and regulators clearer visibility into where compliance gaps actually are.."

The beta phase allows Portable to stress-test Sweep against real workplace data and scenarios before the May public launch. It's a familiar move for enterprise software but in this case, it's being used to refine a tool designed for employees, particularly those who don’t have a union rep or HR team to turn to when something on their payslip doesn’t look right.

For Portable, May marks the transition from grant-funded project to something people can actually use. Beta users have shaped the product; the core features are working; and the focus now is getting it in front of the retail workers it was built for.

It's worth being clear about what Sweep is and isn't. It's not trying to be a comprehensive HR platform. It's focused on a specific gap. Sweep helps retail workers verify their hourly wage against the General Retail Industry Award and makes it easier to have a conversation with their employer when something doesn't add up.

Sometimes the most useful thing a product can do is stay focused on one problem and do it well.

Even though Sweep is currently set up for retail workers, you're welcome to try it out. Just know that the advice and entitlement checking is tailored to the General Retail Industry Award for now.

If that's still useful to you, here's how to download it:

• The link for iPhone users
• The link for Android users

The journey from BRII grant to app store availability represents a bet on Australian workplaces, both employers and employees, being ready to approach wage compliance differently. Early beta feedback suggests they are. When Sweep opens to the public in May, it won't be entering a market that doesn't need it. It will be addressing a problem that's finally urgent enough, and technologically feasible enough, to solve.

For businesses navigating the evolving landscape of wage compliance, and for technology leaders building the next generation of workplace tools, Sweep's evolution is worth watching. It's a case study in how thoughtful technology, combined with understanding of a complex regulatory environment, can build something genuinely useful.

Sweep begins its beta phase in app stores now, with a public launch scheduled for May 2026. For more information, visit sweep.work.