Inland Revenue puts Auckland contractor Total Civil into liquidation

Total Civil’s website says it worked on the City Rail Link’s Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape stations, the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway, the Port of Auckland outfall upgrade and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s Karaka development.

The company also worked on a new pocket park at Wynyard Quarter and a gravity sewer replacement on Beaumont St.

Wynyard Quarter, Auckland, where Total Civil worked on a pocket park. Photo / Brett Phibbs

An Ōtāhuhu logistics centre with three warehouses, work on the America’s Cup Village and the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre with Downer are also listed.

Total Civil was headquartered at 145 Quay St.

Its website says it had completed more than 100 projects with bulk earthworks, utility installation, drainage, civil engineering and site management among its services.

Keaton Pronk, an insolvency expert at McDonald Vague, found last month that Inland Revenue was driving many liquidations.

“There has been a big jump in winding up applications advertised in August, largely driven by the IRD, which makes up 80% of the total,” Pronk said.

Corporate insolvencies for 2026 to August were 2099, the highest in 16 years since the Global Financial Crisis, he said.

Inland Revenue continued to be the dominant driver of enforcement activity.

Test passengers take part in a trial run for the City Rail Link, which Total Civil contributed to by working on some of the network’s stations. Photo / City Rail Link

Of the 149 liquidation applications filed last month, 119 were brought by IRD.

Non-IRD applications increased modestly, suggesting the current surge was being driven less by an aggressive shift from trade creditors and more by Inland Revenue’s ongoing efforts to recover historic tax arrears, Pronk said.

“Couple this with a slow economy and a rising OCR, and many businesses continue to struggle to clear tax debt accumulated in past years.

Total Civil’s website says it worked on the City Rail Link’s Te Waihorotiu station. Photo / NZME

“The figures serve as a reminder that while the economy may be slowly turning a corner, the recovery remains uneven, with a growing divide between the North and South Island and different regions,” Pronk said.

In December, the Herald reported company liquidations were on track to reach the highest level in 15 years.

Businesses that held on during Covid-19 had been affected by high inflation and years of low or no economic growth.

A total of 2278 companies went into liquidation in the year to October 31, 2025. The last time they were higher was in 2010, after the Global Financial Crisis.

They ranged from franchise businesses struggling in the economic environment to companies forced to deal with legacy issues that led to their demise.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.

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