Many Customers Face Long Waits after Queensland Builder Colapses

Queensland’s building watchdog has offered assistance to affected customers, but many homeowners living in Australia are unlikely to be able to have their houses completed anytime soon.

Oracle Homes went into liquidation on Aug. 24, causing about 70 staff to lose their jobs and halting building work on 300 homes.

Robson Cotter Insolvency Group, which has been appointed as liquidator, said Oracle’s debt could reach $14 million (US$9.7 million).

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palszczuk stated that the collapse of building companies caused serious concerns and asked the residents to do their research and get advice before appointing a builder.

” There are major issues in building companies throughout the country due to rising supplies costs-that’s not new,” said the premier.

” But people invest all their savings in their homes. They want their homes to be safe, no matter if they are buying a new or renovated home.

” I think it is very important for people to be familiar with the contracts that they are entering into .”

New housing is being built at North Lakes in Brisbane, Australia, on June 10, 2016 . (Glenn Hunt/Getty Images)

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) said it was reaching out to 386 policy-holders taking out insurance with Oracle in the last two years to help them file claims.

” The QBCC is aware that when a building company goes under, it can cause a serious impact on all those who have had to deal with the company,” said AAP in its comments.

” This is why the QBCC set up a team to deal with the claims of homeowners who were affected by the event. We will do everything possible to assist them in continuing to build their homes .”

Long Wait For Affected Homeowners

According to Master Builders Queensland chief executive Paul Bidwell, Queenland’s compulsory home warranty insurance scheme would cover each affected customer in the state for up to $200,000. He said that the wait for Oracle customers will be lengthy.

“There will be some pain, but ultimately their houses will be built,” Bidwell told ABC News. But that does not mean that homeowners will have fun during this process.

While Oracle has been the latest Queensland home-builder to go bust, Master Builders hoped that more would do so this year.

In addition, Bidwell said many builders were adding contingency into their contracts to deal with future changes in building materials prices, which had soared in the past few years due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

He said that the sector was facing labor shortages because of an increased demand for homes after the recent natural catastrophes and during low interest rates.

” So we have had this perfect storm, which means that we can’t get people to build and can’t get materials,” Bidwell stated.