Melbourne

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Reviews, especially if there are many, can give a good indication of the quality of the builder, but bear in mind there have been cases where unhappy customers have been threatened with legal action if they don't remove their negative comments.

Depending on the state, these pages will show you if they are facing disciplinary action, if they have previously been banned or disqualified, if customers have lodged defect claims, and if the builder is taking out mandatory home warranty insurance.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission reports are particularly detailed, even showing you the number of projects a company completed per year – provided you click through to "Licensee's full history".

Reputable, honest builders are failing too, and when they do, the current system sees money owing to home owners and tradies drop to the bottom of the list of priorities for a liquidator, far below secured creditors such as banks.

Instead of builders drawing on customers payments for daily operations, he wants to see them granted low-cost loans, initially through a government entity such as the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

Dr Nicholls said most builders run into trouble when their suppliers, suspecting they might be struggling, switch from 28-day payments to cash on delivery, which almost instantly tips them into insolvency.

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