Unique Building Services (UBS) has a rich history and solid foundation in the building and insurance repair industry. Originally established as Bendos in 1975 by John Williams, the company undertook numerous home maintenance, repair, and project management contracts, including insurance assessments and repair work. John Williams retired from UBS in 2008. Birkdale Building Services, founded in 1994 by Tony Pickles, significantly contributed to the company's growth.
Tony, a carpenter by trade since 1985, brought extensive experience in building claim assessments and repairs, serving high-profile clients such as the State Library of Victoria, the Museum of Victoria, and Scienceworks.
Kylie Cameron, who has been with UBS since its inception, plays a key role as the Chief Financial Officer, supporting the company’s operations and growth. In 2002, UBS expanded into regional Victoria, opening a Shepparton office to manage projects in Bendigo, Wangaratta, Wodonga, and Shepparton. Since then, operations have grown to cover the Mildura and Swan Hill regions, supported by satellite offices in Bendigo, Mildura, and Wodonga.
In 2003, UBS launched its Brisbane office, solidifying its presence in Queensland. UBS attributes its success to a dedicated team, adaptability, efficient procedures, a custom-built database, and a strong focus on customer service and building repair quality.
Both the Victorian and Queensland offices have expanded due to formalized relationships with new clients, resulting in additional staff hires to manage increased work volumes and ensure service excellence in line with individual service level agreements. UBS has grown its Claims Administration and Project Management teams, consistently improving its high standards of customer service.
In 2013, UBS diversified its business, adding contracts with government agencies and local councils for maintenance and repair work on homes, commercial properties, and schools. In 2014, UBS won tenders for the Department of Education and Defence Housing Australia, along with a Pre-Qualification Certificate in Queensland with a PQC Rating of Level 2. UBS also provides quotes for private domestic repairs, renovations, and maintenance.
UBS remains committed to maintaining industry leadership, regularly hosting trade seminars to reinforce its customer service and quality repair standards. The company’s flexibility has been invaluable during natural disasters, such as the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires, where UBS managed numerous major and partial loss claims.
In recent years, UBS has continued to demonstrate its reliability and expertise during emergency weather events. In 2020, UBS serviced over 500 claims following the Springfield Lakes hail event and handled more than 1,000 assessments during the CAT 221 Queensland floods, completing repairs for over 500 homes. UBS was also heavily involved in rebuilding efforts after major weather events, including the 2022 Queensland and Victoria floods and the December 2023 VIC and QLD storms (CAT-233).
During the October 2022 floods, UBS Shepparton assessed over 916 claims, 156 of which were in the township of Rochester. Our assessing teams were able to access the township within a few days of the floodwaters receding. Our Make Safe teams were also on the ground, enabling the removal of flood-affected materials from properties to allow the drying and remediation process to begin quickly.
UBS liaised with the local council and set up a helpdesk in the community centre, where customers could come and discuss their claims in person with us and representatives from their insurance companies, enabling a quick resolution to any inquiries. UBS staff were also on hand to attend properties and conduct inspections as required.
Over the course of the event, UBS completed approximately 60 repairs in the township of Rochester, with the majority of these being total refurbishments of the interiors of customers’ homes. The total number of repairs was 244 across all affected areas of regional Victoria.
This was an exceptional outcome from the entire team, especially our trade network, who worked long hours to ensure that we could return customers to their properties as quickly as possible.
UBS has achieved significant milestones, including its 25th anniversary in March 2024, ISO accreditation, and Climate Active status. The company has also forged new partnerships with Common Equity Housing Ltd in 2022, Deimos Group in 2023, and Allianz Partners in 2023, reinforcing its position as a trusted leader in the industry.
UBS remains dedicated to striving for excellence and continuous improvement in all aspects of its operations, ensuring its clients receive the highest level of service and quality.
Community
Unique Building Services is a proud supporter of community groups.
Our goal is to be the most reputable builder in the domestic insurance restoration industry, by exceeding all Service Level Agreement criteria, Performance and Quality benchmarks; to be the best in the eyes of our Insurance Company clientele, their Policyholders, our employees and sub-contract tradespeople.
Executive Vision
Our aim is to become the most trusted name in the domestic insurance restoration industry by consistently surpassing Service Level Agreements, performance standards, and quality benchmarks. We strive to be the top choice for our insurance partners, their policyholders, our employees, and subcontractors.
Team Vision
Our company vision of ‘rebuilding dreams, by providing quality rebuilds at competitive prices’ is at the forefront of every operational activity and ensuring our Team Members are engaged, capable, empowered and supported, is key to delivering for our clients and customers. We are simply focused on providing that exceptional customer experience.