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Man’s TikTok Complaint About a Builder Ends Up Costing Him 1 Million Dollars

TikTok builder complaint costs homeowner 1M, ASIC probes Bathla’s 3.4B collapse, copper pipe prices jump 37.6%, Beaconsfield survivor Todd Russell dies at 54, Kia offers up to 5K back on Tasman utes, admin takes up a third of Vic building permit processing time, and MIT builds a beam with two-thirds less concrete.

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Top Stories - The Tradie News You Should Know

⚖️ Man’s TikTok Complaint About a Builder Ends Up Costing Him 1 Million Dollars

A Melbourne homeowner fell out with the company building his family home in Truganina and posted about it on TikTok. The video reached more than 220,000 people. Then the builder took him to court.
→ Read how the bill passed 1M

🏚️ 3.4 Billion Dollars Owed. Now ASIC Is Investigating.

Bathla Group, one of Sydney’s biggest residential developers, collapsed in August across more than 500 companies. Work has stopped on its projects, including roughly 2,000 homes under construction. Now the regulator has opened a formal investigation, and it isn’t saying what it’s looking at.

🔌 Copper Is Up 37.6% in a Year. Check Your Fixed Quotes.

New ABS figures show copper pipe is rising at its fastest rate since 2007, with cable and plastic pipe up more than 23%. If you’re holding a quote you priced six months ago, the gap may already be bigger than you think.
→ Read what it means for fixed quotes

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Beaconsfield Mine Disaster Durvivor, Dies Aged 54 After Illness

Todd Russell spent 14 days trapped nearly a kilometre underground with co-worker Brant Webb after the 2006 Beaconsfield mine collapse. He later became chief of the Beaconsfield Fire Brigade, retiring this year. His family has confirmed he died after an illness.
→ Read about his life after Beaconsfield

🛻 Kia Is Taking 5K Off the Tasman This Month

Kia is offering up to 5K cashback on select 2025 Tasman utes, including ex-demos, if you buy and take delivery in November. The deal comes after the Tasman sold just 275 units in October. Not every grade gets the full 5K, though.
→ See which Tasmans qualify

📋 Red Tape Is Eating Up a Third of Building Permit Processing Time in Vic

In Victoria, admin takes up about a third of the time it takes to process a building permit. Surveyors also have to lodge the same documents with both the local council and the state regulator. Their peak body says there’s a simple fix.
→ Read what surveyors want changed

🧵 MIT Researchers Build Concrete Beams Using One-Third as Much Concrete

MIT engineers cast a 3 metre concrete beam in a mould made of sewn cotton, stapled to a simple timber frame. It used about a third of the concrete and half the steel of a standard beam designed for the same load. The real question is whether it stacks up on cost.
→ Read More @ MIT

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That's a lot for this edition. Got a story that belongs in here or something to add? Hit reply - we read every one.

Cheers!
-Adam
Founder, Tradiespace
Editorial review: November 10, 2026
Adam Goodfellow is the founder of Tradiespace, Australia’s central trades hub helping business owners save money on software, finance, insurance, tools, and business essentials through exclusive partner deals and comparisons.
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