As Chair of Quipex, I am proud to support a company that embodies the principles of transparency, accountability, and consumer protection that have guided my career in public service and market regulation.
Throughout my tenure as Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), I witnessed firsthand how market failures can disadvantage consumers and undermine economic efficiency. The building and construction industry today faces exactly such a market failure - a fundamental lack of transparency that leaves consumers vulnerable and markets inefficient.
When consumers purchase a vehicle, they expect and receive comprehensive service records, warranty information, and performance history. Yet when Australians make the largest financial investment of their lives - purchasing a home or commercial property - they often receive little more than basic documentation, with critical building information scattered, incomplete, or simply unavailable.
This information asymmetry creates market distortions, increases risks, and ultimately costs consumers billions of dollars annually through insurance premiums based on incomplete data, unexpected maintenance costs, and diminished property values.
Quipex addresses this market failure through a simple yet transformative principle: the building should be the custodian of all its data for its economic life, including the providence of all material used. This approach creates the transparency and accountability essential for well-functioning markets.
Having spent decades promoting competition and protecting consumer interests, I recognise that Quipex's platform delivers exactly what efficient markets require:
Transparency: Complete, verified building information accessible to all stakeholders
Accountability: Permanent records of construction quality, materials, and maintenance
Competition: Data-driven differentiation between high and low-quality buildings
Consumer Protection: Informed decision-making based on comprehensive building intelligence
The economic case for building data transparency is compelling. Insurance companies currently operate with incomplete information, leading to conservative pricing that penalises quality construction and rewards poor practice. Maintenance contractors work without access to building histories, creating inefficiencies and safety risks. Emergency services respond to incidents without critical building intelligence.
Quipex transforms these market inefficiencies into competitive advantages. Quality builders can demonstrate their work. Responsible building owners should be able to access lower insurance premiums. Emergency services can respond more effectively. Most importantly, consumers gain the information they need to make informed decisions about their most significant investments.
During my time at the ACCC, we consistently supported innovations that enhanced competition and protected consumers. Quipex represents exactly this type of market-improving innovation. By creating unprecedented transparency in building data, the platform enables true competition based on quality, performance, and value rather than information gaps and market opacity.
The platform also demonstrates how private sector innovation can address regulatory challenges more effectively than heavy-handed government intervention. Rather than creating new bureaucracies or complex compliance regimes, Quipex provides market-based solutions that align economic incentives with consumer protection.
Australia has the opportunity to lead the world in building intelligence and transparency. Just as we've been pioneers in areas like superannuation and corporate governance, we can establish global standards for building data management.
This leadership position would create significant export opportunities for Australian technology and expertise whilst ensuring our own built environment meets the highest standards of safety, quality, and sustainability.
My decision to chair Quipex reflects my deep conviction that markets work best when information flows freely and competition rewards quality and innovation. The building industry's current opacity serves neither consumers nor the broader economy.
Quipex's commitment to transparency, accountability, and consumer empowerment aligns perfectly with the principles that have guided my career in public service. The platform doesn't just improve building management - it creates the market conditions necessary for sustained improvement in building quality, safety, and value.
I am confident that Quipex will continue to demonstrate how private sector innovation, guided by clear principles of market transparency and consumer protection, can transform industries and deliver lasting benefits for all Australians.
The future of Australia's built environment depends on the quality of information available to guide decision-making. Quipex provides that information, and I am proud to support its mission.
Graeme Samuel AC
Chair, Quipex
Former Chairman, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Companion of the Order of Australia