United Plumbing Drainage and Earthworks enters administration

A decade-old Geelong business that owes employees $200,000 in superannuation and annual leave payments has gone into administration.

United Plumbing Drainage and Earthworks has had an administrator appointed. Picture: Alison Wynd

A Geelong drainage and earthworks company that owes employees almost $200,000 on top of a more than $1m tax bill has fallen into administration.

United Plumbing Drainage and Earthworks collectively owes $87,332 in annual leave and $110,925 in superannuation to 21 employees, according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) documents.

This includes one employee who is owed $16,093 in holiday pay.

The North Geelong-based business also owes $1.4m to creditors, which mostly consists of its debt to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

United was registered a decade ago and Geelong man Matthew Michael Walsh is listed as its sole director and owner.

The business was contacted for comment.

United Plumbing Drainage and Earthworks is under administration. Picture: Alison Wynd.

Sydney companies Grow Commercial and Scottish Pacific Business Finance are owed a total of $71,828, while Melbourne companies Nissan Financial Services Australia, Kubota Australia and Daimler Truck Financial Service are owed $81,252.

A number of creditors in Geelong, Moolap, Torquay, North Geelong, Geelong West and Norlane also owed money.

ASIC documents also show that the company is owed $1.38m, with almost all of that stemming from a director’s loan.

Scott Andersen of Worrells was appointed administrator in mid-October, with a spokeswoman confirming United continued to operate as normal.

A creditors’ meeting was held late last week.

Moolap-based Axcess Demolition and Excavations was last month placed in liquidation after it racked up a $1.5m tax bill.

The business owes $369,710 in superannuation guarantee to the ATO, according to ASIC documents.

A superannuation guarantee charge is applied when employers don’t pay the minimum amount to eligible employees by the due date.

A former Axcess employee who worked at the business for several years said: “It’s not great – that’s my future one day, $20,000 is not a great deal, but over another 50 years, the interest on that is the money I’m missing out on.”

Originally published as United Plumbing Drainage and Earthworks enters administration