QBCC suspends Qld building licence of pest controller Flick

THE Queensland building watchdog has suspended the licence of pest control giant Flick Anticemex for failing to meet the necessary financial requirements.

THE Queensland building watchdog has suspended the licence of pest control giant Flick Anticemex for failing to meet the necessary financial requirements.

According to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) website, Flick’s licence to to carry out building inspections, waterproofing and termite control was suspended on Thursday.

The suspension means all of Flick’s operations in Queensland are suspended with immediate effect.

Flick Anticimex was operating with an asset base of more than $250 million less than the working capital mandated as a safeguard under Queensland laws required to sustain its annual turnover. Flick, whose business include Amalgamated Pest Control, has about 30 brances in Queensland.

Anticimex Group Pacific region president Guido Toepfer said the suspension only affected Flick’s building-related work in Queensland.

“The QBCC has advised that this issue is in regards to the way they have treated the financial information for our parent company, Anticimex Pty Ltd,” said Mr Toepfer. “This seems to be a technical issue and we are working with the QBCC to resolve it as soon as possible.”

The suspension comes as the Queensland building watchdog cracks down on building companies that do not have the required assets to operate in the state.

Flick’s licence has been suspended in Queensland

In April, the QBCC said more than 100 construction companies had failed to lodge proof of their financial health with the watchdog and faced being banned from taking on new work.

The QBCC suspended the licence of Laing O’Rourke’s Australian arm in March after becoming concerned about its financial viability. The suspension meant Laing O’Rourke was banned from doing any building work in the state. The license was later reinstated after Laing O’Rourke injected $32 million into its local operation.

Flick was founded in 1918 by William Flick, a dairy farmer in Northern NSW, who developed a compound to control termites on his property.

W.A. Flick & Co, later known as Flick Pest Control, eventually partnered with a Norwegain company Anticimex and in 2015 the business merged with the Enviropest Group of Companies. According to its website Flick Anticimex employs around 1,150 people, has 1.2 million customers with revenue in 2017 of $176.6 million.