Unpaid subbies demand greater powers to recoup lost income

Desperate Qld building subcontractors have slammed the state’s building regulator for failing to “protect” them from the crossfire of major construction company collapses.

• Qld builder collapses up 194%

Queensland building subcontractors caught out by the collapse of development companies to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars are being stung repeatedly by fallen operators who have unpaid bills.

Some subbies who spoke to The Courier-Mail said they had been caught out up to half a dozen occasions where they provided services or products to a building company only for the outfit to collapse before they settled their bills.

They have hit out at the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, demanding greater powers to help recoup their lost income.

It comes after a major investigation that revealed the number of Queensland construction businesses that have gone bust is up by a staggering 194 per cent in the past two years.

On the northern Gold Coast, CadSteel boss John Davis said the steel frame manufacturer was owed about a million dollars from several different building outfits and was “actively pursuing” outstanding debts, but smaller operators were often helpless.

“The only recourse is through the courts and for the little guys, they often don’t have the time or the resources to spend thousands of dollars on legal fees so they say: “Why bother?”

“It can be an expensive and fruitless exercise.”

John Davis of Cadsteel, a contractor stung by the collapse of building company PPS. Picture: Nigel Hallett

In a construction industry career spanning four decades, Mr Davis has seen the same patterns repeated time and again with construction companies disappearing overnight and small traders left as collateral damage.

“It’s a vicious cycle,” he said.

“Some of these companies go from supplier to supplier.

“But if you’re a small operator you don’t have the resources to pursue it or they are too afraid to say anything because otherwise the next builder won’t use them.”

He also called on the QBCC – the organisation with oversight of the industry and a charter to “protect and support” those involved in the building and construction sectors, to consider new measures to better protect the contractors caught in the crossfire of building collapses.

The QBCC boasts of running the most effective home warranty insurance scheme in the country, which essentially covers the cost of honouring a build for a homebuyer, but the system is not designed for subcontractors owed for their work and materials.

“The QBCC don’t step in and do anything,” said Mr Davis.

“They should be stepping in and saying ‘Woah’.

“Give the subcontractors some confidence so they can go to the QBCC and say “Builder X owes me this much money, here are my invoices (and something gets done).

“The current system doesn’t work for them because A they can’t afford to run any legal action and B they don’t want to because it affects their ability to get more work in the marketplace.”

The Courier-Mail contacted dozens of suppliers and subcontractors listed as creditors in liquidation proceedings against failed construction companies, but only a handful agreed to speak, and most on condition of anonymity.

“You feel like you can’t do anything,” said one subbie owed a six-figure amount by a failed building company.

“You can’t just say “if you don’t pay me I won’t do the job” so you’re hoping they will eventually pay you and if they don’t you have to move on to the next job and hope that those guys will actually pay you at the end.

“It can get pretty desperate.”

Others told of being stung on multiple occasions, losing employees and friendships in the process.

In 2022-2023, the QBCC excluded 220 individuals from holding industry licenses as either a contractor, nominee supervisor or site supervisor, or from being in “a position of control or influence for a QBCC-licensed company” due to their involvement in a financial failure.

There were also 10 individuals permanently excluded due to their involvement in a second financial failure.

Seventy-five companies were excluded from holding a licence during the financial year.

In a statement, a spokesman for the QBCC said the organisation was “committed to protecting Queenslanders from financial harm including subcontractors who have not been paid for the work they have done” but it could not guarantee anonymity for complainants.

“Information gathering may be required and sharing information between all parties involved may be necessary when looking into complaints,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“For subcontractors who are not being paid for the work they performed, there are a number of options available.”

Originally published as Unpaid subbies demand greater powers to recoup lost income