QBCC crackdown hits more than 500 builders

Queensland’s building watchdog has cracked down on more than 500 builders for failing to provide details of their financial position amid a bitter downturn in the sector.

Queensland’s building watchdog has cracked down on more than 500 builders for failing to provide details of their financial position.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) said it had imposed licence conditions on 537 licensees under the mandatory financial reporting regime, the only financial reporting system of its type in the country for building industry licensees.

The QBCC has given the companies a deadline of March 6 2023 to lodge their reports or face the prospect of licence suspension.

QBCC commissioner Anissa Levy said the licensees were in financial categories 1-7, with category 1 having a maximum revenue amount of $800,001 right up to category 7 with a maximum revenue amount of over $240m.

“The licensees were contacted by the QBCC several times but failed to submit the required

information to us by the annual deadline of December 31 last year,” Ms Levy says.

QBCC crackdown

“While the majority of these licensees have already submitted their reports, there are at least

537 who have not.”

The conditions imposed on these licensees prevent them from entering into any new contracts for building work until they have provided the required financial information to the QBCC.

“We take this action because companies could under-report their annual turnover and

escape the scrutiny that comes with us properly assessing their financial viability,” she said.

“Licensees who do not submit their reports to the QBCC face potential regulatory action,

such as no-new-work conditions, licence suspensions, and licence cancellations.

“The minimum financial requirements and mandatory reporting laws enable us to more easily detect when a licensed company might be in trouble financially.”

The conditions imposed on these licensees represent 4.8 per cent of licensed companies in

category 1-7 that were due to report their financials by December 31 last year.

The building industry has been hit by a perfect storm of labour shortages and material price hikes in the past 12 months that has seen the demise of major builders including Probuild, Condev, Privium Homes, and Pivotal Homes.