Victim of failed Gold Coast company Queensland One Homes develops app to help others

A Homebuyer burnt by the collapse of Queensland One Homes has developed an app he thinks could prevent the disaster happening to others.

David Adams at his unfinished home at Wavell Heights. Pic Annette Dew

A Homebuyer burnt by the collapse of Queensland One Homes has developed an app he thinks could prevent the disaster happening to others.

Dave Adams is out of pocket up to $100,000 after dealing with the failed Gold Coast construction company and found a lack of shared evidence at each stage of building had made it difficult to get help through the building regulator or legal system.

The software developer, who already has contracts with Brisbane City Council and several utilities companies, has teamed up with a Brisbane builder to create BASe, a portal he hopes the Queensland Government will implement ahead of a rollout to other states and territories.

Mr Adams said having a central system would make it easier for subcontractors to prove they’d done work so they could be paid, and would also allow builders to show tradies what needed addressing before their payment was released.

Building company collapses have wide ranging impacts. Photo: Jodie Richter

His software would allow anyone related to the build to upload contracts, photos, licensing information, legal documents and queries directly, with building regulators allowed unlimited access at any time, ensuring complaints could be easily and thoroughly investigated.

An alert system would instantly notify users when a QBCC licence was cancelled, or if a company was the subject of a winding-up order or liquidation.

The new technology would also enlist 3D photographers to allow builders and consumers to log on and see high-definition images of every room as it progressed

“You can actually see where all the framework is, where all the electricals have been laid, all the pipework — so it also helps down the track if you want to do some renovations, you’ve got a record of where everything is,” Mr Adams said.

The extra cost, about $2000 per build, would be built into the contract — a cost Mr Adams said was low for the peace of mind he never had during his first home build.

Mr Adams said it would allow regulators like the QBCC to increase enforcement without increasing site inspections.

“Rather than saying ‘I don’t have the information, I can’t do anything, I suggest you get a lawyer’ — which is what I got — they could log on and see the evidence.”