Traders have halted work on sites run by one of Australia’s biggest construction companies, Probuild, as the company confirms administrators have been appointed.

Probuild manages at least a dozen major builds in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.

The company builds offices, residential projects and shopping centres, and was responsible for the expansion of Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre.

At a number of its sites, workers have been told to collect their tools before buildings are locked down indefinitely.

In Melbourne and Sydney, traders were seen collecting their equipment from sites early Thursday morning.

“We are caught in a set of circumstances that are not of our making,” a Probuild spokesperson said in a statement.

“We are working closely with the administrator on a number of plans to protect our customers, contractors and employees. The Probuild brand is strong and we intend to keep it.

“We have several options to raise the capital needed to continue as a leading Australian construction company. These will all be prosecuted.

Deloitte has been appointed administrator.

Earlier this month, Probuild released an update on its 18-story Elizabeth North Stage 2 development for biotech company CSL, saying the facade and roof installation was nearing completion.

Lobby group Australian Apartment Advocacy said state governments should offer greater protection to off-plan buyers who risk being caught out by any hold-ups.

“It may be the apartment owners who have to foot the bill and we need to know where the off-plan buyers will be when all of this unfolds,” Samantha Reece of the band said in a statement.

The construction industry has faced shortages of key materials and rising costs during the pandemic, compounded by a lack of skilled trades.

In 2020 another major builder, Grocon, entered administration, accusing government agency Infrastructure NSW of running the Central Barangaroo project in Sydney.

– With PAA

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