Builder in liquidation: New South Wales
This page covers what is specific to New South Wales. The steps to take first, and where to get help, are on the main page and apply wherever you are.
New South Wales splits the job between two organisations, and knowing which one to call saves a week.
Two bodies, two jobs
NSW Fair Trading licenses builders and handles licensing and conduct issues. The statutory insurance scheme for residential building work is the Home Building Compensation Fund, administered by icare — a separate body. A claim goes to the scheme, not to Fair Trading, and not to the administrator of the collapsed company.
We have not verified the current thresholds, time limits or claim process against the regulator, so we are not going to state them. Fair Trading and icare are the authorities on those and both publish current guidance.
Why this is coming up so often in NSW
In 2024–25, external administrators lodged 1,128 initial reports for construction companies in New South Wales — more than any other industry in the state (ASIC Insolvency Statistics, Series 3.1). You are not an unlucky outlier, the process is well trodden, and the people at the regulator have seen your situation many times.
The scheme
Residential building work in New South Wales is generally covered by the Home Building Compensation Fund, administered by icare, separately from the regulator.
We have not verified the current thresholds, time limits or claim process against NSW Fair Trading, so we will not state them. Check with them before relying on anything you read about this — this page included.