Alternate Dwellings Pty Ltd – Administration Fact Sheet

Background information:

Alternate Dwellings Pty Ltd is the previous owner of the Alternate Dwellings brand, managed by owner Glenn Brooks. This original company went into administration October 21st 2016.

A number of regional Australian families were impacted by this insolvency and remain unpaid for their lost investment in kit homes that were not delivered, and some homes remained unfinished. This has been devastating to the regional community with many families losing their dream homes and invested funds paid still remain unreturned. Hard-earned savings invested in good faith have been lost.

Adam Brown was the PAYG building supervisor employed by Alternate Dwellings Ptd Ltd and had responsibility for on site co-ordination of the building projects underway. Adam had no responsibility or involvement in quoting and pricing and was not part of the past business ownership, with no part in the creation or facilitation of contracts. Adam had no authority, nor transparency, in the business operations other than the day to day project management needs, and was the liaison with home owners throughout the build process.

As an employee of the company, Adam was made aware of the insolvency issue October 21st, like many others, and this came as a big shock to Adam also. Adam became aware of the insolvency issue when two creditors came into the Alternate Dwellings Pty Ltd office and ceased all assets and documentation on this afternoon. He remains unpaid for some of his salary as well, and is equally a victim in this process and the aftermath.

As the unwitting face of the company for some of these home owners, some families are venting understandably about Adam, but assume his responsibilities were greater than they really were and many are attacking Adam personally. Many assume that Adam was even hiding things from them or not achieving an outcome they expected of him, through no fault of his. This fact sheet is important to have full disclosure on Adam’s real responsibilities and obligations throughout this terrible situation.

A committee of six unsecured creditors represented the families impacted by the insolvency and worked together to manage the process on behalf of all victims of this devastating situation. Adam is not involved in the distribution of any funds. Adam has offered evidence and support to the creditors committee in order to resolve this situation as best they can.

New ownership:

Adam Brown is passionate about the home designs that were part of the intellectual property of the insolvent business and has found a way to fund the purchase of these from the receivers. His purchase of the business has gone part way to helping those impacted by the insolvency by injecting funds back into the receiver’s fund. Adam is one of few people who are in a position to be able to make something of these business assets and found a way to make this work to take over the brand.

Adam took over the intellectual property and opened a new business in January 2019 to bring these homes out to the market again through his own business entity Benego Constructions Pty Ltd. The business was launched in early to mid 2019 to make these homes available once again.

As the new owner there is no legal obligation to take responsibility for the past owner’s insolvency, however Adam is passionate that so many families have been wronged unfairly and is working through creative solutions to help the community wherever possible.

GoFundMe fundraising:

Adam has created a GoFundMe campaign which is designed for him to donate a share of any future homes sold through the business as a way to help the impacted community. We are also asking people in the community to share the GoFundMe page and ask for the wider community to help in raising funds for those affected too.

Here is a link to the page:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/o-adam-browns-vic-regional-fundraiser

Currently we have set an initial goal for $50,000 although realise that’s not the full value of the problems caused by the past owners, but Adam’s goal is to do even just a little bit to help. This can be adjusted as we move into the future and the goals are met in a stepped fashion.

Originally the fund was established with mention of Victoria only, however the intention is to cover any families impacted by the insolvency from the past ownership and is not limited in area. This has now been updated to remove any location limitation.

The GoFundMe account will be managed by two members of the original creditors committee to ensure the funds are fairly distributed. Adam Brown has no involvement in managing the funds in this account. If the fund goal is not met the funds raised will still be released to the community.

Completion guarantees by Benego Constructions Pty Ltd:

Adam Brown is a highly experienced volume home builder and supervising builder with over 30 years experience and is going to great lengths to ensure all new homes are managed with the utmost integrity. All homes come with a completion guarantee and workmanship and materials guaranteed.

Adam’s credentials include the following:

CERTIFIED BUILDER:

  • HIA Member
  • Master Builders Association of Victoria Member
  • Building Commission of Victoria Registered Building Practitioner

QUALITY BUILDING

  • All workmanship is guaranteed

COMPLETION GURANTEED

  • All Benego Constructions Pty Ltd construction comes with a completion guarantee.

Low cost housing:

Additionally, Adam is very keen to find a way to offer low cost housing to regional Australia and currently working on ways to offer alternative housing solutions to help people get into their own home more easily. There are no guarantees with this project, but we’re giving it our best go to make an impact for the community.

Our long term goal is that these projects would create jobs for the region as well, injecting a lot of value to the community we all care about.

Support available:

Anyone impacted by this terrible situation can seek information through the original unsecured creditors committee, which they will be fully aware.

Additionally, anyone needing to seek professional counselling should reach out to their general practitioner in the first instance to be referred to the appropriate supports.

In an emergency, or if there are any concerns about self harm or suicide please reach out to the following services:

Mental Health emergency
Dial 000
CATT team Crisis assessment and treatment team
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/crisis-management

Lifeline – Crisis support & suicide prevention
13 11 14
https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Phone support and chat service available

Beyond Blue
For depression and anxiety related matters
1300 22 4636
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Chat service and online forums are available