Civex Gold Coast business claims $1m out of pocket for work done on Amberley Air Base

A Gold Coast couple running an electrical engineering business claim they are more than $1 million out of pocket for work on a $1.5 billion project — and are now living out of a shed.

A GOLD Coast business claims it is more than $1 million out of pocket for work on the $1.5 billion Defence Department expansion of Amberley Air Base.

Dan and Leisa Tobin’s electrical engineering business Civex took on two big contracts totalling almost $3 million for work on the air base near Ipswich in 2016.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have each launched investigations into the case, which the Tobins say has already cost them $250,000 in legal fees.

The Mount Tamborine couple say their pleas to the Department of Defence, Australian Federal Police, Queensland Building and Construction, Attorney-General and Queensland Police Service have been dismissed or ignored.

MORE MUST BE DONE TO PROTECT SUBBIES

Sub contractors Leisa Tobin and Dan Tobin with their nine year old dog Roxy at Main Beach. Picture Glenn Hampson

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The Tobins say the two-year stoush, which has found its way into the Queensland District Court, has left them mired in debt, living in a shed and forced to downscale their business from 30 staff to five.

In an impassioned letter to Attorney-General Christian Porter, Ms Tobin said she and her husband had each been close to suicide and their financial situation meant they could no longer pursue IVF treatments, and had given up on starting a family.

She also says she is buying food on credit.

Mr Porter’s office yesterday said the letter had “been responded to” and the mater was not the responsibility of the Attorney-General’s office.

THE WARNING SIGN THAT NEARLY COST COAST SUBBIE HIS BUSINESS

A Super Hornet at RAAF Base Amberley.

Mr Tobin said it was only the strength of his wife, who had given up her career to pursue the matter full-time with lawyers and regulators, that had helped him survive.

“It’s impacted every area — our home life and business life,” Mr Tobin said.

“We went in fairly tight on that job and every scrap of material we’ve put in the ground they’ve claimed it.

“We can’t just write it off or we’ll go bankrupt — it’s my whole life’s earnings.”

The couple said their civil electrical company Civex had been subcontracted to the project by Fredon Qld Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of national building juggernaut Fredon Group, itself a subcontractor to Lend Lease and Laing O’Rourke for two RAAF base jobs.

For several months, they said all had gone well, with Fredon paying the subbie’s claims when submitted and the work progressing as planned.

RAAF Base Amberley. (Photo by CPL Ben Dempster/Royal Australian Air Force via Getty Images)

However, just weeks from completion of one of the jobs, Fredon alleged Civex had made multiple safety breaches — a move Civex claims was a tactic to avoid payments — and eventually terminated the contract.

Civex claims the termination occurred via a “convenience” clause, under which the contractor must pay the subbie all outstanding payment claims.

The Tobins say the payment claims lodged before the contract was terminated have not been paid, despite Fredon claiming money from the head contractors for the work.

Fredon subsequently cancelled Civex’s second air base contract for convenience, but strongly refutes the first contract was cancelled under that clause.

Civex supplied the Bulletin with correspondence between it and Fredon regarding the first cancelled contract, including a letter outlining a number of alleged safety breaches by Civex.

The couple are struggling to stay afloat thanks to the actions of big builders. Picture Glenn Hampson

The letter said the contract would automatically be terminated for convenience on June 25, 2017, unless it was terminated earlier for the alleged safety breaches.

Civex said Fredon attempted to cancel the contract, using the breaches as a cause, on June 26, 2017, but Civex said it had already been terminated automatically the day before.

Fredon Qld, however, refutes all the Civex claims, saying instead that it was forced to terminate the contract due to safety breaches.

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Fredon, through its lawyer Christopher Rowden, said it had suffered “significant loss and damage” on the project as it had to engage a new subcontractor to complete the work.

“Fredon denies that it has exaggerated or fabricated safety breaches, or that the issue by Fredon of nonconformance reports identifying safety breaches is frivolous or constitutes harassment,” Mr Rowden said in an email.

Civex was working on an expansion of the Amberley base. (Photo by CPL Ben Dempster/Royal Australian Air Force via Getty Images)

“In the face of repeated safety breaches by Civex, Fredon had no choice but to terminate its contracts with Civex.”

Fredon accused the Tobins of failing to progress the court case.

“Fredon denies that Civex is entitled to any further payment, and will continue to strenuously defend the proceedings brought by Civex,” Mr Rowden said.

The ABCC confirmed it was investigating the claims by Civex “in relation to potential breaches of the Building Code”, but could not comment further.

Possible consequences of a code breach are voluntary rectification, a formal warning from the Minister or an exclusion from tendering for Commonwealth funded building work for up to 12 months.

The Tobins said they would not let the big builder win easily.

“We will fight this until the end, until justice is done,” Mr Tobin said.

“Otherwise for more subcontractors down the road, this is going to happen to them.”