The dispute centres on Hubexo, a building industry data provider that tracks construction projects and leads for subscribers and its larger competitor, CoreLogic, now trading as Cotality. Hubexo, previously known as BCI Central, runs a subscription service called LeadManager, which helps clients monitor commercial building opportunities and market activity across the sector. That sort of information has become a key tool for builders, suppliers and consultants, making access to accurate project data commercially valuable.
Hubexo alleges that from July 2016 through to March 2020, CoreLogic used login details from other companies to access the LeadManager system, export thousands of reports and plug holes in its own offering, helping it pitch for new customers at Hubexo’s expense. It claims this pattern of access overlapped with an unexpected loss of clients and amounted to millions of dollars in lost business over roughly four years. CoreLogic does not deny that its team accessed the rival database in this way but argues it was not hacking and plans to challenge whether Hubexo can actually link those logins to measurable commercial harm.
The case looks likely to test how far competitive research can go in subscription-based data markets before it crosses into unlawful conduct and what evidence is needed to prove financial loss from unauthorised access. Depending on how the Federal Court rules, data providers and their customers may rethink how they share credentials, monitor usage and enforce digital boundaries, even though the precise impact on pricing, competition and innovation across the property information industry still seems uncertain.
