Cameron James Bedford pleaded guilty to nine charges and was convicted and fined $15,000 in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 12 December for illegal building-related work at five Brisbane properties in a 15-month period between 2021 and 2022.
He was also ordered to pay compensation to four home owners totalling more than $20,000. A fifth owner was awarded compensation of $32,830 in a separate prosecution.
In 2025 to date, the QBCC has finalised 42 matters in court, resulting in $474,257 in fines, and compensation for home owners of more than $105,000.
The charges against Mr Bedford related to unlicensed building work, taking excess deposits and not having a contract in place before work began. Work performed or quoted for included painting, concreting, and kitchen and bathroom renovations.
QBCC CEO and Commissioner, Angelo Lambrinos, said Mr Bedford had never held a QBCC licence and was a recidivist offender with a history of committing the same and similar offences, with fines issued for these offences from as early as 2016.
He said the QBCC was committed to a fair and transparent approach to compliance but would not hesitate in taking strong action when individuals repeatedly breached the law.
“This is clearly an example of someone repeatedly and knowingly doing the wrong thing, and I do not apologise for taking this action,” Mr Lambrinos said.
Work at four of the five properties occurred after owners contacted Mr Bedford upon seeing his advertisements for building work on Facebook Marketplace.
After paying amounts totalling $126,880 to Mr Bedford, each owner was left with defective or incomplete work requiring rectification or completion.
Mr Lambrinos said that although owners may seek referrals from friends, or read Google and Facebook reviews, they should always check if an individual was licensed, check their compliance history, understand allowable maximum deposits and ensure a written, dated asigned contract was in place before work began.
All this information and more is available on the QBCC’s Home Owner Hub – a free and practical online five-step guide to building and renovating to help owners avoid common pitfalls and understand protections in place, like the QBCC’s nation-leading Home Warranty Scheme.
The newly available QBCC Digital Licence also makes it easy for licensees to download their credentials to their phone, and for owners to check.
Background
The defendant was also sentenced in the Brisbane District Court on 29 August 2025 for an indictable offence of fraud, to the value of $30,000.00 or more, in contravention of section 408C(1)(d)(2)(d) of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld).
The fraud offence related to the defendant’s contracting with a home owner to carry out building work. The defendant was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, with immediate parole and was ordered to pay compensation of $32,830 to the owner with 12 months to pay and nine months imprisonment in default.
Individuals found guilty of three or more unlicensed building-related offences under the QBCC Act may face a maximum penalty of $58,415 or one-year’s imprisonment.
