Your builder is in administration: get written confirmation before you keep working

What administration changes about payment

An independent registered liquidator (the voluntary administrator) takes full control of the company. The builder's directors no longer control payments, contracts, or site operations. The administrator now decides what continues and what stops.

If the voluntary administrator incurs debts for the purchase of goods or services, hiring, leasing, using or occupying property during the administration, under the administrator's authority, they are paid from the available assets of the company as costs of the voluntary administration. The administrator is personally liable to pay these costs, or any shortfall if there are insufficient funds available from company asset sales. This personal liability creates a strong incentive for the administrator to pay promptly for work they actually authorise, but only if they have agreed in writing that they want you to continue.

Ask whether the administrator wants you to continue

Do not assume the administrator wants the job to proceed simply because site staff are still there or the project manager has asked you to keep working. The administrator may not have decided yet, or they may have decided to stop trading and close the site within days. Write to the administrator at the address on the notice of appointment and ask in writing: do you want me to continue providing labour and materials on this project from the date of your appointment?

Wait for a written reply before you do any further work. If the administrator responds that they do want you to continue, request written confirmation that they will be personally liable for payment for work performed and materials supplied from the appointment date. Do not rely on a verbal conversation or a message passed through a site supervisor. The difference between being paid as an administration expense and joining a long queue of unsecured creditors depends on whether the administrator formally authorised the work in writing.

Source: Official guidance

Separate your invoices before and after the appointment

Any work you performed or materials you delivered before the administrator was appointed becomes an unsecured claim against the company. That claim is dealt with through the formal creditor process, not by the administrator directly. Work performed after the appointment, with the administrator's written authority, is an administration expense and is paid ahead of pre-appointment unsecured claims.

Invoice the two periods separately. One invoice covers all work and materials supplied up to the day before the administrator was appointed. The second invoice covers everything from the appointment date forward, and should reference the administrator's written confirmation that they authorised you to continue. If you mix the two periods on a single invoice, you create confusion about what is an administration expense and what is a pre-appointment claim, and that confusion will delay payment.

Lodge your claim for the earlier work immediately

The administrator will send a notice to known creditors within a few business days of appointment. That notice will include instructions on how to lodge a proof of debt for amounts owed before the appointment. Do not wait for the administrator to calculate what you are owed. Prepare your own proof of debt with invoice numbers, dates, descriptions of work, and the total claimed, and lodge it within the timeframe the administrator specifies.

Your proof of debt establishes your formal claim if the company moves to liquidation or a deed of company arrangement. If you do not lodge it, you may not be included in any distributions or any proposed settlement. The administrator is not required to search for creditors who do not respond, so take responsibility for registering your claim as soon as the notice arrives.

Decide today whether to continue or stop

Write to the administrator now, using the contact details on the notice of appointment. Ask whether they want you to continue and whether they will confirm in writing that they are personally liable for payment of post-appointment work. If they confirm in writing, you can continue with reasonable confidence that administration expenses will be paid. If they do not reply within two business days, or if they reply that they have not yet decided, stop work until the position is clear.

Lodge your proof of debt for all work completed before the appointment date. Separate your invoicing so that pre-appointment and post-appointment work are clearly identified. If the administrator has confirmed continued work in writing but payment is delayed or the situation on site is unclear, contact CRP today. We coordinate independent professionals who assess your position, explain your priority as a creditor, and help you recover payment for both administration expenses and pre-appointment claims without waiting for the final outcome of the administration.