Comlek Group enters voluntary administration

A Mackay business which supplies workers and services to the mining industry has been put into voluntary administration, leaving scores of jobs at risk.

Comlek Group entered voluntary administration on December 5. Picture: Duncan Evans

A one-off $10m tax bill has pushed a Mackay business into voluntary administration and put the jobs of 140 employees at risk.

Comlek Group entered administration on December 5 after it was hit with a $10m charge from the Queensland Revenue Office and allegedly failed to negotiate a repayment plan.

The QRO claims the company underpaid or did not pay its payroll tax from 2010 until 2022.

It is understood the company’s directors are disputing the claim.

The company consists of a range of entities offering services to Mackay and the Bowen Basin including labour hire, electrical, engineering and mechanical services.

The company has serviced BMA and Lucas Drilling and alongside mining, it has branched out into tourism and entertainment, providing workers to islands on the Reef.

Wexted Advisors’ Andrew McCabe and Joseph Hayes have been brought in as administrators and the company will continue operating in the short term.

“As administrators, we are trading on the business, we are retaining all the employees, we are continuing to pay them,” Mr McCabe said.

“We are continuing to trade on the business while we undertake a review of the financial position of the company.”

Comlek Group is based at Mackay Harbour. Picture: Duncan Evans

Mr McCabe said a meeting next Thursday would provide creditors with an update of the administration.

A second meeting in January will determine the future of the company.

The company’s directors will propose a deed of company arrangement that would allow the company to continue to trade and preserve all employees and their entitlements.

Creditors and employees will vote on whether to accept the proposal.

The QRO is Comlek’s largest creditor.

“The company appears to be trading well and it is just that you have been lobbed with a $10m claim,” Mr McCabe said.

“Absent the Queensland Revenue Office claim, the company is trading profitably.”

Resource Industry Network general manager Dean Kirkwood said he was disturbed by Comlek’s predicament and noted only a small percentage of businesses that went into administration survived the process.

“It is incredibly disappointing,” he said.

“It is certainly a difficult business environment at the moment and it is incredibly stressful for business owners.”

Mr Kirkwood listed inflation, rising interest rates and labour shortages as some of the key pressures bearing down on businesses.

“The fixed costs on businesses are going through the roof and the mechanism to be able to cover those costs in margin is just being eroded,” he said.

“There is going to be a lot of pressure on businesses, that is the harsh reality.

Comlek was contacted for comment but could not be reached by the time this article was published.