More than 6,400 recalcitrant building trade licensees may be forced to stop quoting for jobs, until they submit their financial paperwork to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).
QBCC Commissioner Brett Bassett said the total group of 6,470 licensees consisted of repeat offenders who had failed to lodge their financial information last year, and again this year.
“Queenslanders expect the QBCC to take action against those tradies who aren’t complying with the law. Taking this action helps give consumers peace of mind that when they do hire a tradie, it’s someone who complies with the law,” Mr Bassett said.
“Last year was the first time these particular licensees had to comply with the new financial requirements, and the QBCC took an educative and facilitative approach to help them understand the changes,” he said.
“For this second year, we won’t be taking the same approach, those who fail to comply must be aware that they could face the full extent of the powers available to us.
“The first batch of 90 licensees hit with conditions are licensees who have been issued with directions to rectify or had monies-owed complaints lodged against them.
“The majority of licensees have done the right thing and are supporting these changes by complying, and they’re helping improve the industry.
“Those who continue to flout the law are in the firing line for potential regulatory action that starts with licence conditions and can end with licence cancellations.”
The licensees in the spotlight are all in the self-certifying categories 1 and 2, which means they have an annual allowable turnover of less than $800,001.
This is the second year of the annual reporting process, which is part of the Minimum Financial Requirements (MFR) Regulation 2018.
Mr Bassett said the requirements helped the QBCC to monitor the financial viability of these small businesses.