The Australian Developer @ausdevnews

SYDNEY: Mirvac's $336m build-to-rent towers are back on exhibition Zetland's three towers, 504 apartments, were sent back after the city flagged issues. The new plan keeps the same home count, adding commercial space instead. Ten days left to have a say before it is locked in.

QUEENSLAND: a $280m over-50s project is 86% unsold Metacap has sold 32 of 160 Hervey Bay homes for $730,000 to $850,000. Agnes Water has logged over $15 million in sales, but Metacap will not say how many homes that covers. Would you buy into a project that is still 86% empty?

MELBOURNE: BP wants scaffolder Joga wound up while its gear is still on site Builders using Joga are exposed if it collapses mid-job. It is unclear how much is owed or when the matter will be heard. Builders carry the risk again, not the firms making the call.

QUEENSLAND: a $2.4bn home fund's buyer pledge isn't binding EDQ opened the fund on 12 October, reserving homes for first home buyers for just 90 days before they go to the open market. EDQ hasn't said why the pledge was written that way. What happens on day 91?

MELBOURNE: a steel fixer is being wound up over unpaid tax Steel Force Steel Fixing's wind-up notice landed 14 October, with no hearing date set. One steel fixer down can stall every trade behind it on site.

SUNSHINE COAST: Council took 297 days to approve 180 homes The Maroochydore tower application was lodged 19 December 2025 and approved 12 October 2026, with a shop and food outlet alongside the 180 units. Nearly ten months for one signature. Why so long?

MELBOURNE: A family held one site for 27 years, then sold for $17M The Harbig family sold its Officeworks-leased Carnegie site on Dandenong Road, bought in 1999 for $4.3M. A 16-storey, 200+ apartment tower could follow. Twenty-seven years held, one tower to come.

SYDNEY: A developer lost Penrith in court, now wants 453 homes there Urban Property Group lost its Penrith appeal in 2023; a new 48-storey bid for 453 homes, 68 affordable, is in for the same land. Same site, bigger ask. What changed?

VICTORIA: 3 building subcontractors collapsed in 3 days. A paver filed for liquidation, a steel fixer faced a winding-up application, and a scaffolder followed, all within three days this month. Lose one trade mid-build and the whole schedule slips.

QUEENSLAND: A roofer holding a Qld licence is registered in Sydney, not Brisbane. Baker Roofing entered administration on 17 September, one of five Qld trades firms to collapse in 11 days last month. Qld licence, Sydney address. What explains the gap?

NSW: A $15 billion data centre is proposed on farmland where data centres are banned. CDC Data Centres wants four buildings and 1.4 GW at Gregadoo near Wagga Wagga, on land zoned to prohibit the use. $15 billion on farmland zoned against it. Should it go ahead?

MELBOURNE: A firm's insolvency notice names no director, no debt figure, no project. Manuel Hanna of Romanis Cant took over the firm on 18 September. Creditors vote on its fate on 26 October. No director, no figure, no project named. Creditors decide its fate in nine days.

GOLD COAST: 3 trade firms collapsed in one week, two on the same day. Remedial Building Technicians and NY Painting and Maintenance liquidated 14 October; Crete Construct faced a wind-up application the same day. How many subbies are still owed money tonight?

VICTORIA: 5 builders, 5 insolvency notices, one day. Five Victorian construction firms hit insolvency notices on the same day, each in a different process, from liquidation to administration. For a subbie owed money, that decides if the debt gets paid. Which one owes you?

QUEENSLAND: 10 trades, 1 licence, now in liquidation. Stimson Plumbing's Dalby licence covered plumbing, gasfitting, carpentry and roofing, and is now in liquidation with no word on open jobs. If any of those trades are on your job site, you could be caught up.

MELBOURNE: A quarry sat empty 30 years and outlasted three permit bids Sterling Global applied three times to rezone the former Oakleigh South quarry. Two bids withdrawn, none granted. The Minister has cleared it for 1,100 homes. Thirty years, three bids, 1,100 homes. Worth it?

QUEENSLAND: 776 home warranty claims refused last year, only 676 paid Second year running refusals beat payouts, the gap widened from 16 to 100. The scheme exists to catch owners when a builder fails or leaves defects. A scheme that refuses more than it pays protects nobody.

VICTORIA: A $2M-a-year surcharge still applies after the building is finished Victoria plans to exempt developers from its 4% absentee owner surcharge for up to two years post-completion. Announced, not in force, no start date. Who builds first, before the rules are written?

GOLD COAST: $500M beachfront project, cheapest home $6.95M NALU at Miami launches 44 residences on Marine Parade, from $6.95M to more than $30M, with no height, approval status or completion date given. Who's buying a $6.95M home with no finish date?

SYDNEY: 67 submissions, no council decision, approved anyway Celesteem's Warrawee tower hit Level 8 with 15% affordable housing after Ku-ring-gai Council missed its deadline and the matter went to court. Wait too long to decide, and someone else decides for you.