Building firm on brink as watchdog pulls licence

Another Queensland building company is on the brink of collapse with the construction watchdog moving to suspend its licence after complaints it was not paying subbies.

BA Murphy has commercial projects through out the state.

The building watchdog has suspended the licence of a major Queensland construction company after complaints it was not paying subbies.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) said that it had pulled the licence of BA Murphy Constructions because of concerns about its finances.

The Sunshine Coast firm has reportedly stopped work on a number of projects around south-east Queensland after running into financial difficulties.

According to QBCC records, BA Murphy completed 98 projects worth $30.7m in 2020/21 and 100 jobs worth more than $27.5m the previous year. However, so far this financial year it had only completed three jobs worth $1.1m

Founded by Ben Murphy in 2016, the firm has recently worked on the ‘Luciana’ luxury residential project at St Lucia and the Coolum Business Park.

A QBCC spokesperson said the company was a category four licensee which meant it had a maximum annual revenue of between $30m and $60m.

The spokesperson said that for sub-contractors, suppliers and other licensees, the QBCC had a number of options available if they were owed money, including a free monies-owed complaints service. In the event of a builder insolvency, the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme provides cover for homeowners left with incomplete building work.

Luciana project at St Lucia.

Mr Murphy comes from a multi-generational family of builders and has more than 20 years’ experience in the sector. BA Murphy joins a growing list of building companies struggling with rising material and labour costs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Murphy did not respond to a request for comment.

Industry veteran Scott Hutchinson, the chairman of Hutchinson Builders, said this week that there were likely to be more building industry failures in the coming months mainly due to companies taking on too much work during the current boom and not factoring in the amount of profit margin needed to keep the doors open.

Mr Hutchinson was commenting on the collapse of Tacoma Plumbing and Drainage, which was working on Hutchinson’s Ambrose high-rise development at Milton.

“I’ve been saying for a while now that collapses are going to happen,” said Mr Hutchinson, who heads up the largest construction company in the state.

“That’s just the way it is when there is a boom. The prices of materials go up and builders get caught and lose money. It happens every time.

“We are in a profitless boom and the industry needs to be settled down. There will be a lot who will go broke next year.

“It’s important that people before engaging a builder, look at their balance sheet. If they’re not audited or they’re not up to scratch don’t use the builder. If you do, you’re looking for problems.” One of Queensland’s largest residential builders Privium Group last month collapsed owing $28m.