Descon Group Australia vacates Sydney head office as ATO chases unpaid staff super

A besieged building company has hurriedly vacated its head office and is being chased by the ATO over unpaid staff superannuation. Find out more

Besieged building company Descon Group Australia has hurriedly vacated its Sydney head office and is being chased by the ATO over unpaid staff superannuation.

Despite its numerous publicised financial troubles, Descon’s Queensland builder licences remain unblemished, with the group permitted to generate revenue above $240m a year in the industry.

Descon’s registered address, at Wharf Crescent in the waterfront Sydney suburb of Pyrmont, is vacant and has been advertised for lease at $105,000 per year.

Descon Group Australia's registered head office in Pyrmont is vacant and available for lease.

A source near the property, who did not wish to be named, said the company left in a hurry, removing its computer equipment after being threatened with a lockout.

“There was a sign up in the window saying there was a certain number of days to pay the rent or the doors would be locked,” the source said.

“Then all their computers and stuff were taken out.”

The ground-floor office with views of the harbour was this week under offer to a new tenant, but Descon Group still had its address listed on its website and with ASIC.

A response to the Gold Coast Bulletin’s questions, sent by Descon’s lawyers, said the company had “exited in consultation with the landlord” and did not owe any outstanding rent.

“We have alternate premises in Sydney and no longer require the Pyrmont offices,” the statement said.

The statement said “Descon, Adcon and all its subsidiaries are solvent”.

“As we have previously shared with you, on more than one occasion, Descon has a $300m balance sheet, a significant forward order book, and is engaged on multiple large tenders,” it said.

The Waverley Residences, under construction by Descon in Southport.

Meanwhile, the ATO is chasing the company over unpaid staff superannuation.

Multiple former staff contacted the Gold Coast Bulletin, and provided evidence from the ATO, that they had not been paid the correct amount of super.

A former Descon staffer, owed around $2000 in unpaid super, said the confusing web of companies behind the scenes made Descon a “clusterf***” to work for.

“I’m pissed off because they wouldn’t pay my super, they haven’t paid my friends who worked there,” the staffer said.

“It’s time and effort that we put into his business but they’re not paying us.”

Another former staffer said numerous people had quit the company which was “a really unpleasant place to work”.

“I followed up with them about my super couple of times after I left, but now the ATO is pursuing it,” they said.

“Every single day calls came from creditors wanting to speak to accounts to ask why they hadn’t been paid.”

The statement from Descon’s lawyers said “there is no superannuation owing by Descon Group Australia”.

Allure on Chevron development, being constructed by Descon on Chevron Island.

Descon Group was slapped with a court-ordered asset freeze last month, as a development company prepared to sue it over a billion-dollar project.

The company and its subsidiaries also continue to battle a flurry of statutory demands over alleged unpaid debts.

In the Supreme Court of Brisbane, Descon Group Australia is facing two concurrent cases involving Iris Capital, developer of the billion-dollar Victoria & Albert project in Broadbeach.

It is fighting a statutory demand for payment from Bornhurst & Ward, which was the structural engineer for the Waverley Residences project at Southport.

That project was due for completion in February but is still unfinished.

The Descon statement said it would complete in August.

The Bulletin has contacted the Queensland Building and Construction Commission for comment on what had been done to ensure the company was meeting minimum financial requirements.

A response from the QBCC did not specifically answer any of the Bulletin’s questions.

The Waverley Residences, under construction by Descon in Southport.

Descon Vic is battling statutory demands from labour and traffic services provider M1 Traffic Control.

Descon Qld has applied to set aside a statutory demand from Hera Engineering, which completed structural engineering on the V & A site, for which Descon carried out early works.

Descon Group and Descon Qld are joint respondents in a claim by labour hire company Work Con, which was filed last week.

Subsidiary Adcon Vic is fighting a demand from metals company Okaya Australia; Adcon Management is fighting demands from Central Pre-mix Concrete and Hy-Tec Industries (Victoria); Adcon Contracting is fighting demand from Awe Consulting Group, Rapid Metal Developments and AMC Engineering Consultants.

Adcon NSW and Adcon Vic are fighting a demand from building company Sillaro.

Descon’s cases with builder Purple Hills, American Express, Usher & Sons and financier Octet finance have been discontinued.

Originally published as Descon Group Australia vacates Sydney head office as ATO chases unpaid staff super