Shaun John Lavers, owner of Dynamite Concrete Services, sentenced after operating unlicensed

An Adelaide concreter who carried out shoddy work at three houses has been sentenced after leaving homeowners more than $70,000 out of pocket.

A southern suburbs tradie who carried out shoddy and “substandard” work at three Adelaide properties dodged a fine after leaving homeowners more than $70,000 out of pocket.

Shaun John Lavers, the owner of Dynamite Concrete Services, faced the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday after pleading guilty to multiple counts of working as a building contractor without a licence, failing to provide goods and services and one count of false or misleading information.

Magistrate John Clover said Lavers, of Seaford, had been contracted to homes in Ridgehaven, Unley Park and Encounter Bay throughout 2022 to 2025.

Lavers leaving court on Friday. Picture: Matt Loxton

“You have explained to me that you didn’t realise you needed a builder’s licence,” Mr Clover said. “You held a concreting licence and misunderstood that wasn’t sufficient. Your misunderstanding was not reasonable – you should have made appropriate inquiries to ensure you held the necessary licence before accepting significant contracts for the work.

Mr Clover noted the Ridgehaven homeowners had engaged a company – who hired Lavers as a subcontractor – to complete works on their driveway in 2022.

“Your work was substandard and the consumers unsurprisingly refused to pay. You then attended to complete remedial work, but this only made matters worse,” he said.

“An expert assessed the concreting work and concluded it was ‘not up to the applicable standard’. As a result of your unlicensed work, the company had to pay for rectification works valued at $38,402.”

The court heard in September 2023, the owners of a home in Unley Park engaged Lavers via Facebook Marketplace to complete concreting works around their swimming pool.

After receiving a “substantial deposit”, followed by “progress payments” totalling $8311, Lavers began the work but “did not return to complete” it.

He pleaded guilty to a number of offences including operation unlicensed. Picture: Facebook

Lavers was spared jail for the offences. Picture: Facebook

It was further submitted the concreting work he conducted at the Encounter Bay property “developed holes” he offered to fix. However, after another expert assessment, the owners were forced to pay further $20,000 for more repairs.

On Friday, Mr Clover acknowledged Lavers was “not trying to rip off the victims”, and the offending occurred during a time where his “life had fallen apart”.

“Thankfully, it seems your life is back on the rails,” Mr Clover said.

“These offences are relatively easy to commit – such offences create significant risk for customers who are entitled to expect that those holding themselves out as licenced to perform the relative work, are properly licensed.”

The court heard prosecution were seeking $70,000 in compensation for his victims who were “left out of pocket”.

Instead, due to Lavers’ current financial circumstances, Mr Clover ordered he complete 250 hours of community service over the next 18 months.

Originally published as Shaun John Lavers, owner of Dynamite Concrete Services, sentenced after operating unlicensed