Wednesday, 10 September 2025

Statements on parliamentary committee reports

Environment and Planning Committee

Employers and Contractors Who Refuse to Pay Their Subcontractors for Completed Works

Dylan WIGHT (Tarneit) (10:16): I rise this morning to make a contribution on the inquiry into employers and contractors who refuse to pay their subcontractors for completed works – an inquiry undertaken by the Legislative Assembly’s Environment and Planning Committee and a report that was tabled in 2023. I would like to, at the outset, acknowledge that committee for the fantastic work that it has done, and the chair, who is in the chamber, the member for Lara. There are other members of the committee, but I do not know who they are, so I will direct my gratitude to the member for Lara for undertaking this inquiry and producing what is an amazing report.

We have seen in the Victorian economy and the Victorian workforce, really in earnest over the last couple of decades, the rise in subcontractors being used, particularly in the construction industry. And I will note the member for Narracan, who has a fair bit of experience within this industry, made a contribution on this exact report some time ago and it was actually a really good contribution. What this rise in the use of subcontractors has done within the Victorian economy is it has created a new cohort of vulnerable workers, who not just do not get access to the entitlements that a full-time equivalent worker would get access to but are also really vulnerable in respect to receiving payments for the work that they have undertaken. We have seen in evidence in this inquiry – I have just seen it within the Victorian economy – situations where subcontractors are put onto 120- or 150-day payment terms, which obviously puts incredible pressure on that vulnerable worker and their family. But it has flow-on effects in the Victorian economy as well. These subcontractors are often required to provide their own materials, so they open an account at a local hardware store or at a local timber provider. Those accounts typically work on 30-day terms, and we have a situation where now this subcontractor does not get paid for their work for 120 days. So we have this flow-on effect where suppliers are also affected, the subcontractor is affected and their family are affected as well because it is hard to put food on the table when you do not get paid for 120 or 150 days but you have got to settle an account with your supplier. It creates a really difficult situation.

I will note this inquiry is fantastic and the report is fantastic. It is a real Labor sort of report. The recommendations are there to support vulnerable Victorian workers and indeed Victorian businesses, striking that balance I think really well. The government has now responded to the report, and I do know that there is legislation being introduced this week, so I will be very careful not to foreshadow debate on that.

Poor payment practices – as I said, long payment terms, late payments, incomplete payments and obviously non-payments – are experienced by businesses in many sectors of the Victorian economy. This is rife within the construction sector, and there are some examples of that – parliamentary privilege is a beautiful thing. Argyle Building Services was placed into administration in August 2024 after racking up over $1.47 million to 55 creditors, a lot of which were subcontractors that had not received payment for the work they had undertaken.

This was an incredibly important inquiry. It was an absolutely fantastic report produced by the member for Lara, and I congratulate her on that. I look forward to debating the legislation that is being introduced this week as well.