Paul Zivkovic's family have confirmed the 61-year-old, who owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to clients and tradesmen, was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Tasmania earlier this month.

Zivkovic had taken deposits and payments, some in excess of $40,000, from at least eight prospective Canberra home owners before his sudden disappearance last November, ACT Master Builders Association deputy executive director Jerry Howard said.

Mr Howard said some houses had been left unfinished, work on others had not even begun and affected home owners were out of pocket at least $200,000.

At least eight Canberra tradespeople and building suppliers are owed an estimated $300,000.

Tasmanian police who attended the March 2 Launceston crash in which Zivkovic died said the driver was apparently not wearing a seatbelt, had been thrown from his car and was dead when they arrived.

Zivkovic's brother Peter said the death was a tragic accident. His sibling did not like wearing a seat belt, but had a lot to live for. ''Paul was an optimist,'' the Gold Coast resident said. ''His glass was always half-full''.

Mr Howard said Zivkovic had apparently set out to accumulate as much money as possible before he left Canberra. ''Four of his clients have approached the MBA saying they paid him deposits (ranging from $30,000 to $43,000) and that he has disappeared either without starting or finishing the work.''

Mr Howard said he was aware of at least eight clients who had been burnt. ''Of these about four are in a reasonable position in that they have valid contracts and builders' insurance premiums have been paid,'' he said. ''In the case of the other four, Zivkovic took the money and did not pay the insurance premium (either with MBA or QBE). These people have no recourse at all and appear the victims of deliberate fraud.''

Anita and Dino Taglieri, of Rosa Tina Plumbing Services, and Ken McRae, a concreter, are three of the tradespeople left with accounts not paid. The Taglieris say they are owed up to $40,000 and Mr McRae is about $35,000 out of pocket.

Mr McRae, who said he confronted Zivkovic over the debt after having tracked him to a bottle shop in Gungahlin on or about November 28 last year, was one of the last people to speak to the builder in Canberra.

''I told him, 'I don't want to be bailing people up in car parks but I'm getting a lot of bad signals','' he said. ''Zivkovic looked me right in the eye, told me not to worry and that I'd have the money in a few days. That's the last anyone ever saw of him.

''It left me in a hole; we had to use our own savings and whatever was in the overdraft - at 15 per cent - to pay my suppliers. In this game if you don't pay your suppliers you're gone.''

Mrs Taglieri said her family cancelled their own Christmas to pay their workers' holiday entitlements. ''You have to explain that to your children,'' she said.

Mr Howard said the Zivkovic case highlighted the need for potential clients to do their own due diligence before paying a builder a deposit. ''Clients should not pay any deposit until they see a certificate of insurance and they should never pay more than $10,000 deposit as that is the maximum that is covered.'' He said the case highlighted the need for a local version of the website recently launched in Queensland that allows potential clients to check out builders' histories.

Mr Zivkovic had been operating as a builder in Queensland and may have moved to the ACT in response to the establishment of the website, he said.