Queensland subbies say the QBCC should have seen the red flags long before the builder failed
Queensland subcontractors are calling for a shake-up at the state’s building regulator, saying it should have taken action against Oracle Homes long before the building giant collapsed last week.
Oracle went into liquidation last week owing about $14 million and leaving about 300 homes unfinished. Now, Queensland subbies believe the impact of the collapse will be even greater than first thought, The Australian reported.
The collapse did not come out of the blue. Oracle drew notice in April when it asked clients to pay tens of thousands of dollars extra to complete their homes as the financial crisis in the construction sector worsened.
Subbies United head John Goddard said the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) should have been “all over the company” when it started dunning homeowners for more money.
“The QBCC Act needs to be changed to give the dinosaurs in charge the power to dispatch a mortally wounded builder,” Goddard told The Australian. “Oracle strung their clients out to the bitter end. Experience tells us if the liquidators say the builder owes $14 million, it will be $30 million to $40 million.”
Responding to claims that the regulator ignored red flags as Oracle careened towards collapse, a QBCC spokesman told The Australian that the commission had a number of regulatory tools at its disposal to take action against a licensee if there was concern about its financial position.
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“These can range from financial audits of a licensee or obtaining management accounts to issuing show-cause notices and licence suspensions and cancellations,” He said. “The QBCC issued a public warning earlier this year urging the public to seek legal advice before making payments that fall outside the terms of a fixed-price building contract, to protect themselves from unwarranted payments.”
Goddard said many Oracle customers were going to be out in the cold, comparing the company’s collapse to the failure of fellow builder Privium last year.
“We’ve had subbies talking about it for months waiting for this to happen,” he told The Australian. “Privium happened last November, but many of those customers are still in limbo almost a year later and don’t know what to do to get out of the mess.”
