One would assume a breakthrough moment for subcontractors came in August, when an adjudicator ruled the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) must pay the subbies $4.3 million for completed works at Coburg High, Hallam Secondary and John Fawkner College.
But months on, Aaron Lafranchi, Pakenham plumber and member of Subcontractors for Accountability (SFA), says nothing has changed.
He is owed $210,000 for his work at Coburg High, along with a further $100,000 in retention and unpaid debts across four other government projects.
“The collapse coincided with the birth of my second daughter — what should have been a joyful time turned into months of stress and sleepless nights,” Mr Lafranchi said.
“Covering wages for 12 staff, loans, and materials without reimbursement has forced me into constant financial juggling.”
Metarom Steel’s director Alex Gheorghiu, also took on the Coburg High project thinking it was a financially “safe” decision, but instead it was the first time in eight years he had never been paid for a job.
“I never imagined seeing something like this happen in Australia … and it happened on a government job,” he told Herald Sun.
A legal notice served on 12 September makes the VSBA directly liable under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (SOPA).
The ruling came after months of lobbying by Subcontractors for Accountability (SFA), a volunteer-led campaign made up of tradies and small business owners across Melbourne, including south east.
Rather than complying with the decision, VSBA is spending taxpayer money on lawyers to dispute the ruling in the Supreme Court, while penalty interest has already topped $45,000 and is climbing at more than $1,000 a day.
“The cruel irony is that we’ve already won, but the government chooses to burn taxpayer money on lawyers and delay rather than pay us,” Mr Lafranchi said.
“This is bigger than construction. If the government can ignore a legal ruling and leave families unpaid while wasting taxpayer money, then it’s a failure of integrity at the highest level.
“Children are also missing out on the school facilities they desperately need while our population is growing at a rapid rate.”
Ironically, the legal battle unfolds just as the Victorian Government rolls out new legislation aimed at ensuring subcontractors are paid.
“All workers – including subcontractors – deserve to be paid fairly and promptly,” Housing and Building Minister Harriet Shing said while announcing the new Fairer Payments on Jobsites Bill.
“This legislation is focussed on providing more certainty and confidence to subcontractors, which will in turn boost productivity across the industry.”
Mr Lafranchi warned that the ongoing delays and non-payment could deter subcontractors from taking on future government projects.
“Who will want to keep working on these jobs in the future under those conditions?”
“If this is how subcontractors are treated on taxpayer-funded projects, what chance does anyone in the housing industry have on private jobs especially when they have promised 2.24 million homes by 2051?”
“Every tradesperson in Victoria needs to understand this could happen to them tomorrow without warning, and right now the government won’t even do the right thing when the law is on our side.”
Mr Lafranchi said the ruling gave people confidence to come forward, but their hope is being crushed again by the VSBA’s refusal to act and the government’s wall of silence.
“Many in SFA say they feel numb, some talking about leaving the industry all together, some taking second mortgages, some have admitted to suicidal thoughts.
“Many subcontractors are so disillusioned they don’t believe anyone in power will help, no matter how much evidence we show.”
