Andrew Little, ‘Australia’s worst builder’, loses Supreme Court bid to have registration reinstated

Andrew Little was exposed online months before Victoria’s building regulator booted him from the construction industry.

Police officers told builder Andrew Little to leave one of his sites last year. Picture:Supplied/Site Inspections

A Melbourne tradie dubbed “Australia’s worst builder of 2024” appears increasingly likely to be black-listed from the construction industry after a Supreme Court judge said his case against the state’s building regulator appeared doomed.

Andrew Donald Little, of ADL Home Building and Constructions, this week applied for an urgent injunction in the Supreme Court as part of his bid to return to work.

The application was a last-ditch attempt to have his building registration reinstated while he attempted to appeal the Victorian Building Authority’s decision to suspend him from the industry earlier this month.

But Justice Kerri Judd ruled Mr Little, self-represented, had not “demonstrated a serious question to be tried” and refused to temporarily reinstate his building registration.

The VBA’s decision to suspend Mr Little’s registration came after a building inspector with a cult-like following on YouTube publicly exposed a litany of defects on his sites.

Building inspector Zeher Khalil, from Melbourne company Site Inspections, began investigating Mr Little’s work last year, after Mr Little tried to prevent him inspecting a Kurunjang home that was riddled with defects.

Builder Andrew Little has been suspended by the VBA and lost a last-ditch bid to have his registration reinstated in the Victorian Supreme Court. Picture:Supplied/Site Inspections

Building inspector Zeher Khalil uncovered defects on builder Andrew Little’s sites. Picture: TikTok/ siteinspections

Mr Khalil said the unfinished house was a “shemozzle”, built with incorrect materials, drainage issues, and crucial features missing entirely.

Mr Khalil said all of the bathrooms needed to be “ripped out entirely” and reinstalled.

He said they posed a potential danger to the elderly woman who planned to move in.

Following inspections at some of Mr Little’s other sites, Mr Khalil described him as “Australia’s worst builder of 2024”.

He said Mr Little disputed the description, and sent him legal threats in response.

Mr Little, of Narre Warren South, has told his clients many of the defects were the fault of subcontractors.

The VBA earlier this month said it suspended Mr Little after concluding he posed a risk to public safety and had caused financial harm to his clients.

He is also facing potential fines of $160,000.

It is understood WorkSafe Victoria and Energy Safe Victoria investigators also probed Mr Little’s work.

“Protecting consumers is our priority and that means removing those who do the wrong thing from the industry,” VBA acting chief executive Todd Bentley said earlier this month.

The VBA said the most serious issues it uncovered on Mr Little’s sites included failing to include sprinklers in the design for a purpose-built disability accommodation facility.

Mr Khalil said Mr Little’s work was “some of the worst” he had ever seen, and urged him to “walk away” from the industry.

“(The worst thing) is that he doesn’t want to give in and rectify (his work) or give people their money back,” Mr Khalil said.

Mr Little and his company specialise in building disability accommodation, and many of the projects he has worked on have ultimately been funded by the trouble-plagued NDIS.

Mr Khalil said of Mr Little’s vulnerable clients: “these guys don’t have money to take him to court or get a lawyer”.

He said Mr Little’s substandard work was allowed to go on too long, and that he hoped the VBA’s decision to suspend him signalled “some change” in attitude at the regulator.

In a statement, Mr Little said it was “disappointing” Justice Judd refused his application for an injunction against the VBA.

He claims the VBA has made a string of “biased” and untested allegations about his work.

Mr Little’s legal actions will return to VCAT and the Supreme Court at a later date.