After four decades in property development, including 18 years in executive roles at Frasers Property Australia, I have witnessed both the excellence our industry can achieve and the failures that have eroded public trust. As co-founder of Quipex, our objective was simple: to restore public confidence in the Australia’s building and construction industry through radical transparency and uncompromising accountability.
Quipex was born from a sobering realisation that our emergency services lack critical information when they attend buildings in crisis. Fire brigades arrive at apartment complexes generally without current floor plans; not knowing how many apartments are in the building or if any of the residents have disabilities requiring special assistance.
This information gap isn't just inefficient - it can costs lives.
My co-founder, David Graham, and I have heard stories of our first responders working heroically with inadequate intelligence, knowing that somewhere in filing cabinets or scattered digital folders, the information they desperately needed existed but remained inaccessible. This realisation sparked what would eventually morph into Quipex: a platform where emergency services will be able to download critical building information en-route to an incident. And we will provide this service for free because they save lives.
To drive industry adoption, Quipex has been developed through a developer and industry lens focused on one fundamental principle: risk mitigation saves stakeholder money. This isn't idealistic thinking -it's pragmatic business reality that creates sustainable change through self interest.
Every building defect, every compliance failure, every maintenance oversight represents financial risk for building owners. Insurance premiums reflect this uncertainty throughout both the construction and pos occupancy process, with quality buildings, and builders, subsidising poor performers because insurers lack the data to differentiate risk accurately.
When a building joins Quipex, stakeholders can be certain of one thing: whether it's developers creating new buildings, individual homeowners protecting their family's investment, institutional investors managing portfolios, public entities overseeing community infrastructure, or owners corporations acting on behalf of apartment residents -they are all committed to maximum compliance because it demonstrably lowers building risk and, consequently, insurance costs. This creates a virtuous cycle where transparency drives better building practice, which reduces risk, which lowers costs, which ultimately lowers payouts for the insurance industry. It’s a win win win all round and encourages further adoption.
Our ultimate aim is for an apartment owner, institutional investor, or anyone considering purchasing a building, to ask one question before purchasing: "Is this building using Quipex?"
This simple inquiry will tell you everything about the seller's commitment to transparency, compliance, and ongoing building management. A building on Quipex represents owners who prioritise accountability over opacity, quality over shortcuts, and long-term value over short-term savings.
For institutional investors managing portfolios worth hundreds of millions, Quipex provides the due diligence infrastructure that traditional building inspections simply cannot deliver. For individual apartment purchasers making the largest investment of their lives, it offers unprecedented insight into what they're truly buying and how it has been managed.
Quipex has been designed for universal application - from single-storey homes to complex commercial developments, from apartment buildings to public infrastructure like the MCG. This scalability reflects our conviction that every building deserves the same standard of documentation and accountability, regardless of size or complexity and that it (the building) should be the custodian of that data for its economic life.
The platform's flexibility means a suburban home renovation and a CBD office tower use the same fundamental principles of transparency and verification. This consistency creates network effects where improved standards in one sector benefit all others.
The building and construction industry faces a crisis of confidence. High-profile defects, compliance failures, and safety incidents have left consumers questioning whether the homes and workplaces they occupy meet basic standards. This erosion of trust damages not just individual projects but the entire industry's reputation and viability.
Quipex directly addresses this trust deficit by making building accountability visible and verifiable. Instead of asking consumers to trust on faith, Quipex provides evidence. Instead of relying on reputation alone, Quipex offers data. Instead of accepting opacity as industry standard, Quipex demands transparency as the price of participation.
The Quipex board, chaired by former ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel AC, operates on the principle that profit, and purpose are not mutually exclusive. Quipex is not sacrificing commercial viability for social good - its demonstrating how market-based solutions can deliver superior outcomes for all stakeholders.
With Bronwyn Weir, co-author of the Building Confidence Report for federal and state governments, on our board ensures that Quipex doesn't just talk about regulatory alignment - we embody it. Her involvement represents the convergence of policy intent and practical implementation.
From a development perspective, Quipex represents the infrastructure our industry has needed for decades. Quality developers have always wanted to differentiate their work from inferior competitors but lacked the platform to demonstrate that difference credibly.
Scott Keck, Chairman of Charter Keck Cramer and Quipex advisor, reinforces this financial reality: "If a used car with a full service history is worth more, why not a building? Quipex will fundamentally change how buildings are valued. Currently, incomplete building information forces valuers to apply conservative 'uncertainty discounts.' With comprehensive, verified building data, these protective adjustments become unnecessary. For a $50 million commercial building, if transparency allows a valuer to reduce the capitalisation rate by just 15 basis points - from 6.00% to 5.85% - the resulting valuation increase exceeds $1.2 million."
Scott's analogy is profound in its simplicity: we expect comprehensive service records when buying a $10,000 car, yet accept incomplete documentation when purchasing multi-million-dollar buildings. This market dysfunction penalises quality while rewarding opacity - exactly the opposite of what efficient markets should deliver.
This isn't theoretical - it's following the money. When buildings can demonstrate their quality through verifiable data, the financial rewards are immediate and not insignificant. The platform enables what I call "competitive transparency" - where excellent building practices become competitive advantages rather than hidden virtues.
Scott's involvement as an advisor demonstrates how Quipex's underlying purpose attracts industry leaders who recognise the platform's potential to transform their own sectors.
Similarly, Neil Savery, former CEO of the Australian Building Codes Board and current Managing Director of International Codes Council Oceania (ICC), serves as an advisor, bringing his expertise in regulatory harmonisation and national building standards. These industry leaders aren't participating for altruistic reasons alone - they recognise that transparent, well-documented buildings create better outcomes for their own professional practices while serving the broader public interest.
Emergency Services: Our Moral Imperative
While commercial benefits drive industry adoption, providing free access to emergency services represents our moral commitment. Every fire fighter who enters a building should have immediate access to current floor plans and know if there is anyone in the building that has a disability and may need special assistance - these are the real-world impacts that justify everything else we do. This isn't corporate social responsibility as an afterthought - it's the foundational purpose that guides our entire platform development.
The decision to co-found Quipex stems from 40 years of watching an industry I love struggle with challenges that technology could solve. I've seen quality developers, brilliant architects, skilled builders, and dedicated property managers undermined by poor information management and lack of transparency both during construction and post settlement.
The building industry employs millions of Australians and creates the physical infrastructure where our society functions. It deserves better than fragmented systems, scattered documentation, and defensive practices that protect poor performers at the expense of quality practitioners.
Quipex isn't just a business venture - it's a contribution to an industry transformation that's long overdue. We're not just managing buildings; we're rebuilding trust in the people and processes that create Australia's built environment.
Trust, once lost, takes years to rebuild. But transparency, consistently applied, creates the foundation for renewed confidence. Every building that joins Quipex, every emergency service that accesses better information, every purchaser who makes more informed decisions - these represent steps toward an industry that serves the Australian people as it should.
The future of building and construction isn't about new materials or innovative techniques alone. It's about creating systems that ensure excellence is visible, accountability is embedded, and trust is earned through demonstrable performance.
That future begins with a simple question: "Is this building using Quipex?" The answer tells you everything you need to know about the people behind the building and their commitment to doing things right.
Robert Pradolin
Co-founder, Quipex
Former Executive, Frasers Property Australia
40 Years in Property Development
Board Member, Housing All Australians