The answer is none - at least not in the short term for those people who have paid deposits for homes that never got off the ground, and where there was no certificate of insurance attached.

Among them Rob Miller and his partner Sarah Maraviles who continue to stare at a vacant lot in the Hunter suburb of Cliftleigh where Privium Homes was to build their new home.

They parted with $15,590 in July. Mr Miller said his was one of five to be built in a single row in that estate and only one of those was covered by insurance.

"We don't know where we stand to recover any money back," Mr Miller said. "My partner and I paid a deposit to Privium Homes on July 12 to build a home for us. We have nothing approved through council or any sign of Privium going to site."

It was not until he was alerted via social media to the issue of builders warranty insurance, he said. When he checked their contract that night, he discovered there were no details of any insurance in their contract.

They were moved through the signing of the contract very quickly, he said, signing it at Privium Homes Cameron Park display home in Breakwell Road. Mr Miller said he suggested having his solicitor look over it but was told it was a "standard building contract" and that wasn't necessary.

"We don't know when we can come up with another deposit to start with another builder."

He is not alone. Many other Hunter residents say they are in the same boat. In NSW Parliament on Monday, Courtney Houssos, Opposition spokeswoman for Better Regulation and Innovation (which covers the construction industry) asked senior bureaucrats what they knew, and what could be done.

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler said that, unlike people who buy apartments off-the-plan where their deposit is held in trust separately from the developer until a certificate of occupation is issued, those who buy a house off the plan, and make staged progress payments, had no such protection.

"The risk there of course is that if the builder falls over along the way then you are caught in the calamity that these people are and I think it's something that's work to do," Mr Chandler said. "I am personally not enthralled with the situation that they're in."

Whether those protections should be extended beyond apartment buildings was a policy question, Ms Houssos was told. Together with John Tansey, who leads strategic policy review and law reform for Fair Trading, Mr Chandler said he would take Ms Houssos' questions on notice, including about who was going to lead the investigation into Privium, what its scope would be, and when a report would be completed.

The found of Privium, which also traded as Impact homes, Robert Harder, appointed FTI Consulting as financial administrators of several companies in the Privium group on November 16 leaving hundreds of Hunter home owners in the lurch along with subcontractors believed to be collectively owed many millions.

Affected Hunter suburbs include Maitland, Lochinvar, North Rothbury, Raymond Terrace, and Karuah, as well as others throughout NSW, Qld and Victoria following the collapse of Privium.

Mr Harder has blamed COVID and associated delays and cost increases for the group's financial situation, but others point to the $22 million that two Privium companies paid their shareholders in fully franked, or tax-paid, dividends, in 2019-20, while at the same time posting combined losses of $28 million.

Questions are also being asked about the purchase of 18 per cent of a company called Growme for $11.9 million in the 2019/20 financial year, which has been slashed in terms of its value as an investment to $600,000 - it's value dropping from $67 million to just $3 million in 12 months.

Critics say that there were warning signs and that more could have, or should have been done to protect home owners and sub-contractors alike, including Maitland MP Jenny Atchison who, together with Port Stephens MP Kate Washington raised the issue in Parliament last week.

"It's been nearly 10 years since the Inquiry into Construction Industry Insolvency in NSW and the Government has done very little to implement any of the 44 recommendations," Ms Atchison said.

"Hardworking subcontractors have been left high and dry and local families who have saved for many years to be able to afford their new home have had their dreams shattered," she said.

The state government has in the past come to the rescue of sub-contractors owed money but a long-term solution was needed, Ms Atchison said.

"Families were told ... don't worry it's going to be at least 2024 or 2025 before they would get their homes back on track." she said. "It's a disgrace."

Subbies United, a members' based advocacy group for sub-contractors, have warned Privium's collapse will leave a 'horrendous toll' with more than 160 unfinished projects across the three states.

The group's director John Goddard has called on home owners owed money to vote alongside other creditors to appoint independent administrators at the upcoming creditor's meeting on November 29.

"I've had a number of people wanting to change the administrator and for good reason," Mr Goddard said on Monday. They are charging $1.25 mill for five weeks work, plus, plus, plus, it's $800-odd for an hour that they charge for their top guy, that's reason enough alone."

Mr Goddard said the appointment of a 'friendly' administrator meant they were more likely to lack 'sceptical curiosity' about the company's past. "We want to know what went on so we can change the system a a bit," he said.

"This is very nasty and complicated, involving three-states make it even more complicated, but it doesn't matter where you are they're all hurting - home owners are hurting, subbies are hurting."

In response to media inquiries, FTI Consulting provided a copy of a 'Declaration of Independence, relevant relationships and indemnities' document issued to creditors on Friday.

"This appointment was referred to FTI Consulting by Mills Oakley Lawyers, who are lawyers for the Company. We believe that this referral does not result in us having a conflict of interest or duty..." the document says. It goes on to say that FTI Consulting met with Mr Harder and advisors three times between November 8 and November 16, to discuss its financial position and obtain information, for which it was not paid.

'The pre-appointment advice will not influence our ability to be able to fully comply with the statutory and fiduciary obligations associated with the appointment as Administrators of the Companies in an objective and impartial manner."

It has been confirmed that a report will be available before the second creditors meeting expected to occur in December. There are three options available to the administrators: liquidation; the company is returned to its directors to trade out; or a deed of company arrangement is made through which the business is bought or sold, a spokesman for FT Consulting said.

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