Kassiou Constructions: Flailing NT builder yet to be wound up, despite all activity ceasing
A Top End builder beset by incomplete builds and a federal court case alleging unpaid worker entitlements is yet to be liquidated, disallowing creditors an outside chance to recoup a portion of their losses.
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A troubled Top End construction firm beset by incomplete builds and a federal court case is yet to be officially wound up, despite wiping its social media accounts and website, and advertising itself as ‘permanently closed’ on its Google business page.
Kassiou Constructions Pty Ltd, owned by Louis and Ilias Kassiou, began abandoning builds in 2023, ABC News reported, but it was not until September this year, with the announcement the Fair Work Ombudsman was taking the company and Ilias to court, that the scale of its woes came to light.
According to the ombudsman, the company allegedly failed to pay out a former employee’s annual leave entitlements accrued between 2012–21.
A compliance notice was issued last year but went unanswered, with Ilias Kassiou implicated in the noncompliance, the ombudsman alleged.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the company could face a fine worth $46,950 for allegedly breaching the Fair Work Act, while Ilias could also be forced to pay $9390.
During the recent first court date, only Ilias was legally represented.
The ombudsman was granted permission to apply for default judgment against the company.
Ilias and Louis were both contacted for comment on two separate occasions, via telephone and text message.
According to ABC News, the company’s decline left half a dozen residential builds in limbo, costing unlucky clients in pursuit of their Australian dream hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Territory’s Building Practitioners Board has since suspended Kassiou Constructions’ registration due to “alleged professional misconduct”, and restricted Ilias’ and Louis’, although the latter’s has since been allowed to lapse.
Yet despite the obvious cessation of company activity – the taking down of social media pages and website, the advertisement of the business as ‘permanently closed’, the incomplete builds – the company is yet to be liquidated, maintaining its registration via corporate regulator ASIC.
The suspension of the company’s licence has, at least, allowed affected clients to access financial support under the Fidelity Fund NT, a not-for-profit, industry-funded consumer protection scheme.
Secretary David Malone said the organisation had been aware of the challenges around Kassiou Constructions “for some time”.
“The policies that we issue to homeowners require a trigger event to occur – which is when a builder dies, disappears, becomes insolvent, or loses their license – and until recently, one of those events didn’t occur.
“Since the license has been suspended, the Fidelity Fund has been dealing directly with affected homeowners and we’re working through claims from those people.”
He said the situation surrounding Kassiou Constructions was “pretty rare” in the NT and hoped prospective homeowners were not put off by recent events.
Mr Malone urged anyone asked to pay for work ahead of time to contact the relevant authorities to ensure they maintain their rights, as the Building Act holds that builders shouldn’t put an invoice in for work that has not been done.
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Originally published as Kassiou Constructions: Flailing NT builder yet to be wound up, despite all activity ceasing
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