Cade Lucas
Customers of failed construction company Apex Homes are now covered by the state government’s Liquidated Builders Customer Support Payment Scheme after it was extended to include them.
The support scheme, which was established following the collapse of home builder Porter Davis last year, provides payments to customers of insolvent builders who failed to take out insurance on their behalf.
The scheme covers customers of builders who went into liquidation this financial year and has now been extended by eight days to February 28, 2024, the same date Apex Homes was liquidated.
The Victoria Supreme Court ordered the North Melbourne based builder with projects in Wyndham, Geelong and Melbourne’s north, into liquidation after six creditors, including the State Revenue Office, sought a winding up order over more than $200,000 in unpaid debts.
Matthew Blum from insolvency firm BDO was appointed liquidator.
The first sign of trouble at Apex Homes came a few weeks earlier when concreting company Aerolink Pty Ltd, trading as Midway, lodged a winding up application against the builder over unpaid debts of more than $46,000.
The application was lodged on January 29, but only made public on February 15.
Some Apex customers are believed to have paid deposits to the builder in the meantime.
Other creditors soon joined Aerolink in seeking to Apex Homes wound up, with Home and Industrial Soil, Austral Group, ATC Co, the Commissioner of State Revenue and Bristol Roofing all lodging claims against the company.
The extension of the scheme to cover customers of Apex Homes follows a similar extension in early March to include those affected by the collapse of Montego Homes, which was declared insolvent on February 20.
