The Master Integrator Podcast

Paul Skelton
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The Master Integrator Podcast is where Australia’s smart home technology industry gets real. Hosted by Paul Skelton — a longtime industry journalist and current Regional Development Consultant for CEDIA in Australia and New Zealand — this series goes beyond product hype to explore the people, policies, and practices shaping the future of home integration. Each episode features candid conversations with integrators, educators, builders, designers, and policy leaders who are challenging the status quo and building a more professional, sustainable, and inclusive industry. Whether you’re on the tools, running a business, designing the systems, or shaping the rules — this podcast is for you. No fluff. No buzzwords. Just honest, grounded conversations about what it takes to make this industry better.

  1. 4d ago

    Technology, Independence and Inclusion with Michele Verdonck

    How can systems integration technology improve quality of life for people living with disability or navigating the challenges of ageing? And is our industry doing enough to recognise the opportunities? In this episode of the Master Integrator podcast, host Paul Skelton speaks with Michele Verdonck about the role of technology in creating more accessible, inclusive and independent living environments. The conversation explores why collaboration between technology professionals, healthcare practitioners and the disability and aged-care sectors is essential, and how systems integrators can contribute their skills to delivering meaningful outcomes. Paul also discusses Master Integrator's involvement in a research initiative with the University of the Sunshine Coast, designed to better understand opportunities at the intersection of health and technology. Get involved in the research Master Integrator is seeking industry participation in the University of the Sunshine Coast research project. To learn more and contribute: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=UOywkz_87UeTRZ_8YBJUHHinBbPQfDJMrTP1S9wV0RFUMFQzT1NWNjlGNThIM1U4RDVLNFZEQ0FZQS4u Be sure to check out Michele's research: Verdonck, M., Craven, D., Kean, B., Fowler, J., Merollini,K., Dermody, G., & Ripat, J. (2026). Electronic assistive technology use in the home (EAT-H) by people with spinal cord injury in Australia. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2026.2699839 Yaffe, J. C., Ripat, J., Dermody, G., & Verdonck, M. C. (2026). "Assistive technology in the home is choice and control... it's freedom": perspectives of people with physical disability using electronic assistive technologies in the home. Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technology, 21(2), 636-650. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2025.2542376 Thanks to our supporters! The Master Integrator podcast is made possible with the support of ADI, Sonance by Amber Technology, Somfy, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), Kolosseum and Connected magazine. Find out more about Master Integrator: https://masterintegrator.org #MasterIntegrator #AssistiveTechnology #SystemsIntegration #AccessibleLiving #Disability #AgedCare

  2. Oct 11

    The trades business that gave away a million dollars: Kat Dekker of Give Industries

    Ten years ago, an arts and community worker in Brisbane swiped right on an electrician. On their first date, they got talking about what we owe each other, and how to use privilege for good. Eight years after that conversation turned into a business, Give Industries has given more than a million dollars to charity. Kat Dekker is one of three co-founders of Give Industries, alongside her partner Calvin Baker and their friend Jeremy Chirpaz. Give operates as a commercial electrical contractor across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Melbourne. It's triple ISO certified, a national NECA Gold Medal winner, and Master Electrician accredited. It's also structured as a registered charity, so every dollar of profit at year end is committed to giving. In this conversation, Kat walks through what a social enterprise actually is, how the profit-for-good model works in practice, how the team hit their first million dollars donated at the end of last year, and why the impact side of the business cannot come at the cost of the electrical side. She's honest about the pressure of running a business where the stakes are bigger than yourself. And she puts an invitation on the table for someone from another trade, the same kind of crazy as her co-founders, to help build the next branch of Give. In this episode: • How a first date about philosophy turned into an electrical contracting business • What a social enterprise actually is, and how the profit-for-good model works • Why Give had to be a serious electrical contractor first, and a charity second • Hitting the first million dollars donated, and the target of a million per year by 2030 • Using charity evaluators like GiveWell and The Life You Can Save to give strategically • The Against Malaria Foundation, and the case for direct cash transfers • The four-day work week, and why diverse teams are also profitable teams • How social procurement is opening doors: Kinetic, CDRE, and Social Traders • The mental health of running a small business where the stakes are bigger than yourself • The open invitation: Give Industries, not Give Electrical, and what that means for tradespeople in other disciplines Sponsors: ADI is one of Australia's largest distributors of security, audio visual, smart home and low voltage products. Its branch network, online ordering and technical support give integrators access to the brands and stock that keep jobs moving. Sonance’s Mariner MX Series delivers high-performance outdoor audio with durable, weather-resistant speakers designed to withstand the elements while delivering exceptional sound. This October, dealers can take advantage of a special Mariner MX offer from Sonance. For more information, contact Amber Technology at https://share-ap1.hsforms.com/1tIbjnGIWSWOBPFWg56wZ-w6r5sSomfy is a global manufacturer of motorisation and automation solutions for blinds, curtains, awnings, shutters and screens. With more than thirty years in Australia and New Zealand, Somfy supports integrators across residential and commercial projects with motors, controls and the TaHoma smart home hub. Kolosseum provides design and documentation services built specifically for integrators. From system design through to as-built documentation, the team works as an extension of your business so the paperwork stops being the thing that holds a job up. Connected Magazine is Australia's trade publication for the custom installation and smart home industry. It covers the products, projects and people shaping residential and commercial integration across the country.

    The trades business that gave away a million dollars: Kat Dekker of Give Industries

  3. Sep 27

    Are you actually covered? Daniel Webber on the insurance gap and the package built to close it

    Almost every integrator carries insurance. Far fewer are actually covered for the work they do. Insurance runs on occupation classifications, and the integration industry has never fit neatly into one. Call yourself an electrician, an IT contractor or an AV installer and you have described a fraction of the job, which is exactly the fraction an insurer will hold you to when a claim lands. Daniel Webber co-directs Webber Insurance, a general brokerage that deliberately niches into construction and technology. Over a series of conversations with Master Integrator, he helped build what Webber believes is the first insurance package written specifically for Australian integrators, general liability, professional indemnity and cyber in one place, with the insurer involved from the ground up rather than a generic policy relabelled after the fact. This conversation is the honest version of a subject most integrators avoid. Why the cover you hold may not describe your business, the gap that opens between a public liability policy and a professional indemnity policy, the claim general liability will never pay, why cyber is the threat that can shut you overnight, and how to find out whether you are protected before you need to be. It is a launch, and neither Daniel nor Paul pretends it is finished. It is a starting point for an industry to finally be insured for what it actually does. In this episode: • Why insurance has never fit the integration industry, and the problem of occupation classifications • Where an integrator's risk actually sits, spread across general liability, professional indemnity and cyber • The gap that opens when you stack a public liability policy and a PI policy that each exclude the other's territory • General advice, personal advice and no advice, and why the way you buy insurance decides who carries the risk • Why the aggregator sites that hand you ten quotes are not doing the job you think they are • What professional indemnity actually protects, and why an industry built on design services cannot go without it • Three ways to find out whether you are covered, including where AI helps and where it does not • Why cyber is the threat that can shut a business overnight, and the first party cover the other policies do not give you • Inside the new package, general liability, professional indemnity and cyber, built from a technology base with room to ramp cover up or down • How to get a quote, and the one thing that will make or break the scheme Sponsors ADI is one of Australia's largest distributors of security, audio visual, smart home and low voltage products. Its branch network, online ordering and technical support give integrators access to the brands and stock that keep jobs moving. This episode of Master Integrator is brought to you by Sonance, available through Amber Technology. This September, Sonance is turning up the value on outdoor audio. Buy a Garden Series 8.1 System and Amp and receive a FREE 10-inch In-Ground Subwoofer, valued at $2,775. That’s more bass, more impact, and an even better outdoor listening experience for your customers. Don’t miss this limited-time offer. Click this link. Somfy is a global manufacturer of motorisation and automation solutions for blinds, curtains, awnings, shutters and screens. With more than thirty years in Australia and New Zealand, Somfy supports integrators across residential and commercial projects with motors, controls and the TaHoma smart home hub. Kolosseum provides design and documentation services built specifically for integrators. From system design through to as-built documentation, the team works as an extension of your business so the paperwork stops being the thing that holds a job up. Connected Magazine is Australia's trade publication for the custom installation and smart home industry. It covers the products, projects and people shaping residential and commercial integration across the country.

  4. Sep 13

    The Future of Master Integrator

    Master Integrator is evolving. What began as a podcast is becoming a dedicated industry body for residential, commercial and AV integration professionals across Australia and New Zealand. In this special announcement, founder Paul Skelton explains why Master Integrator has been created, who it represents and what it intends to deliver. The episode explores the challenges facing the systems integration industry, including limited recognition, fragmented representation, workforce shortages and the need for stronger education and career pathways. You’ll also hear about Master Integrator’s work across: Industry advocacy and government engagementSystems Integration qualifications and the next stage of securing government fundingProfessional standards and consumer recognitionBusiness support and practical member resourcesIndustry research, including the State of the Integrator report and Manufacturer Channel Report CardEvents, education and professional developmentThe Founding 50 and how to become a memberMaster Integrator is only just getting started. A substantial program of work is already in development, with several exciting announcements coming throughout launch week and beyond. Membership is now open to integrator companies, sole traders and industry service providers. Find out more: https://www.masterintegrator.org Become a member: https://www.masterintegrator.org/join Complete the Industry Survey: https://masterintegrator.org/resources/report-card/ Follow Master Integrator on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Contact: info@masterintegrator.org With thanks to our sponsors: ADI is one of Australia's largest distributors of security, audio visual, smart home and low voltage products. Its branch network, online ordering and technical support give integrators access to the brands and stock that keep jobs moving. Visit adiglobal.com⁠ This September, Sonance is turning up the value on outdoor audio. Buy a Garden Series 8.1 System and Amp and receive a FREE 10-inch In-Ground Subwoofer, valued at $2,775. That’s more bass, more impact, and an even better outdoor listening experience for your customers. Don’t miss this limited-time offer. Contact Amber Technology at https://share-ap1.hsforms.com/1tIbjnGIWSWOBPFWg56wZ-w6r5s ⁠Somfy ⁠is a global manufacturer of motorisation and automation solutions for blinds, curtains, awnings, shutters and screens. With more than thirty years in Australia and New Zealand, Somfy supports integrators across residential and commercial projects with motors, controls and the TaHoma smart home hub. Visit somfy.com.au ⁠Kolosseum ⁠provides design and documentation services built specifically for integrators. From system design through to as-built documentation, the team works as an extension of your business so the paperwork stops being the thing that holds a job up. visit kolosseum.io⁠ Connected Magazine⁠ is Australia's trade publication for the custom installation and smart home industry. It covers the products, projects and people shaping residential and commercial integration across the country. Visit connectedmag.com.au

  5. Aug 30

    The human element: Daniel Grozdan on how integrators sell, market and lead without losing what makes them worth working with

    The integration industry is full of technically gifted people who find the business side of their work uncomfortable. Selling feels like a word that applies to someone else. Marketing means spending money they are not sure they have. Leading a team is something they will get to once things settle down. Daniel Grozdan has spent most of his career watching that play out. After years in retail, national account management and a senior role at Samsung, he now manages marketing across 12 brands at Canohm and writes for Connected Magazine. His view, developed across a long time on the distribution side of the industry, is that the integrators who build good businesses are rarely the ones who know the most. They are the ones who have figured out how to talk to people. This conversation covers the part of running an integration business that nobody trained you for. What AI is actually useful for, and where it gets in the way. How to think about sales when the word itself makes you uncomfortable. What a discovery conversation should do that most integrators skip. How to find your ideal customer when your instinct is to say it is anyone with a house. What marketing actually costs, and what it costs you not to do it. What metrics matter when going viral is not the point. And what the one thing an integrator could do this week to be more human in the way they run their business. In this episode • What Daniel means by the human element, and why he thinks AI makes it more important rather than less • Whether sales can be taught, and what happens when you take the sales element out of a sales conversation • The ideal customer profile, what it is, why most integrators think their customer is anyone, and how to find out who it actually is • Finding common ground before you try to find common business, and why that order matters • What marketing is, and why most integrators mistake it for advertising spend • Where to start with social media if you are time poor and have never done it • What metrics actually matter for a small integration business, and why going viral is not one of them • What to do if you will not use social media and do not want to • Whether old school marketing, print, letter drops, physical mail, still has a place in 2025 • Common mistakes Daniel sees in how integrators approach sales and marketing • Reverse engineering a business goal, and why writing the number down changes how you think about everything else • The one thing an integrator can do this week to be more human in how they run their business Sponsors ADI is one of Australia's largest distributors of security, audio visual, smart home and low voltage products. Its branch network, online ordering and technical support give integrators access to the brands and stock that keep jobs moving. Bluesound delivers high resolution wireless audio across multi-room systems, home theatre and streaming components, built on the BluOS platform. Distributed in Australia by Amber Technology, the range is designed for integrators who need reliable network audio that scales from a single room to a whole home. Somfy is a global manufacturer of motorisation and automation solutions for blinds, curtains, awnings, shutters and screens. With more than thirty years in Australia and New Zealand, Somfy supports integrators across residential and commercial projects with motors, controls and the TaHoma smart home hub. Kolosseum provides design and documentation services built specifically for integrators. From system design through to as-built documentation, the team works as an extension of your business so the paperwork stops being the thing that holds a job up. Connected Magazine is Australia's trade publication for the custom installation and smart home industry. It covers the products, projects and people shaping residential and commercial integration across the country.

    The human element: Daniel Grozdan on how integrators sell, market and lead without losing what makes them worth working with

  6. Aug 16

    The qualification we nearly lost: Christina Bradley and Paul Vivian on the new Certificate III/IV in Systems Integration

    For years, the Certificate III in Custom Electronics sat on the national register and looked, from a distance, like a pathway. Up close it had no registered training organisations delivering it and no students enrolled in it, and on those numbers alone a Jobs and Skills Council is obliged to remove a training product from the register. Two years on, that qualification has been rebuilt as the Certificate III in Systems Integration, joined by a Certificate IV and a set of skill sets designed for technicians who want to cross-skill without committing to a full qualification. In this episode, Christina Bradley of Powering Skills Organisation and Paul Vivian walk through how it happened, what is actually in it, and what has to occur before anyone can enrol. Christina explains why two people asking for a rebuild was not enough, and what changed her position: roughly 150 survey responses from industry, PSO's own workforce planning data, and an email from a person with a disability describing how many separate tradespeople they needed to retrofit their own home. Paul details the content rebuild, including a dedicated assistive technology stream he believes is the first of its kind anywhere, project management placed at the centre of the qualification rather than the edge, ethics around handling client information, cabler registration units imported from the ICT package rather than duplicated, and security and access control units. The draft goes up for initial industry feedback from late August, with formal consultation running December to March. In this episode Why the Certificate III in Custom Electronics was being removed from the national register, and how close it cameWhat Christina needed before PSO would commit, and why two industry figures asking was not enough on its ownHow the systems integration subject matter expert group was formed, and who sits at the tableWhat is now in the qualification: assistive technology, project management, ethics, IP distribution, data, fibre and coaxial cabling, CCTV, access control and security integrationWhy nobody can deliver this yet, and the ASQA requirements around trainer capability and currencyHow manufacturer training can be mapped to performance evidence, and what suppliers need to do to get involvedThe funding problem, jurisdictional funding lists, and the fee for service cost of a Certificate III without itWhat success looks like in year one, and why Christina wants no more than 50 studentsHow the training products have been future-proofed, and what can be changed without reopening the whole processThe consultation windows, the Integrate launch, and the 12 month runway Sponsors ADI is one of Australia's largest distributors of security, audio visual, smart home and low voltage products. Its branch network, online ordering and technical support give integrators access to the brands and stock that keep jobs moving. Find out more at adiglobal.com. Bluesound delivers high resolution wireless audio across multi-room systems, home theatre and streaming components, built on the BluOS platform. Distributed in Australia by Amber Technology, the range is designed for integrators who need reliable network audio that scales from a single room to a whole home. Learn more at ambertech.com.au/brands/bluesound. Somfy is a global manufacturer of motorisation and automation solutions for blinds, curtains, awnings, shutters and screens. With more than thirty years in Australia and New Zealand, Somfy supports integrators across residential and commercial projects with motors, controls and the TaHoma smart home hub. Learn more at somfy.com.au. Connected Magazine is Australia's trade publication for the custom installation and smart home industry. It covers the products, projects and people shaping residential and commercial integration across the country. Read it at connectedmag.com.au.

    The qualification we nearly lost: Christina Bradley and Paul Vivian on the new Certificate III/IV in Systems Integration

  7. Aug 2

    The First MP: Aaron Violi on Cyber Security, AI and the Future of the Smart Home Industry

    Over the past year, we have written to dozens of federal members and senators. We explained what the smart home and integration industry is, what it does, and how many Australians it employs, and invited them to join us on the show. Almost none of them wrote back. Aaron Violi said yes. The Federal Member for Casey holds three shadow portfolios that sit directly over this industry's work: the digital economy, science and technology and innovation, and cyber security. What follows is not a set of announcements; it is something more useful. He asked the industry in, and he did it twice: once on standards and responsibility, and once on why it is so hard to bring new product into Australia. Across the conversation Paul and Aaron cover artificial intelligence and where regulation should land, the skills pipeline for technically advanced trades, small business and productivity, and the warning Violi keeps returning to. Social media swept over this country before anyone worked out what to do about it, and connected technology is heading the same way unless we get ahead of it. For years this industry has said nobody in Canberra is listening. This week, one of them was. The question now is whether we turn up with something worth saying. In this episode: Why almost no federal politician has engaged with thesmart home and integration industry, and what that silence has costWhat 15 years in business taught Aaron that he wishesmore policymakers understoodHow the digital economy, innovation and cyber securitywork as one agenda rather than three separate portfoliosWho is actually responsible when a connected home iscompromised, and why the country has not yet defined what correct looks likeWhether certification should sit with industry or withgovernment, and why Aaron is genuinely undecidedWhere AI regulation should land, and how small firmscapture the upside rather than getting left behindThe skills pipeline for technically advanced trades,and the blurring line between electrician, network technician and integratorThe social media warning: solving problems beforepeople know they are a problemHow industry can put its case to government Thanks to our sponsors: ADI is a leading distributor of security, AV and connected technology products across Australia and New Zealand. Its range spans the categories integrators work in every day, backed by branch and logistics support. Find out more at adiglobal.com This episode of Master Integrator is brought to you by Bluesound (BluOS), the audiophile-grade multi-room audio platform designed for both discerning listeners and custom integration professionals. Supporting high-resolution 24-bit/192 kHz audio, BluOS delivers exceptional sound quality while offering flexible, scalable deployment across residential and commercial projects. With no mandatory cloud accounts required, BluOS can operate entirely on a local network, providing a secure, privacy-focused solution with reliable local control. Find out more at ambertech.com.au. This episode is brought to you by Somfy. If you're tired of juggling multiple apps and protocols for your clients, Somfy's TaHoma switch hub connects over 300 brands, so you can control blinds, lights, cameras, garage doors, HVAC, sound systems and more, all from a single app. One ecosystem, endless possibilities. Visit ⁠somfy.com.au⁠ to learn more.Kolosseum provides design and documentation services for integration professionals, helping businesses deliver consistent, well documented systems without carrying the drafting workload in house. Find out more at kolosseum.io. Connected Magazine covers the custom installation and integration industry across Australia and New Zealand, reporting on products, projects and the people behind them. Find out more at connectedmag.com.au.

    The First MP: Aaron Violi on Cyber Security, AI and the Future of the Smart Home Industry

  8. Jul 19

    Openness is a Sales Tool, with Andrew 'Gleeo' Gleeson

    Andrew Gleeson has spent his career on the supplier side of the Australian integration industry, and he has watched more sales conversations unfold than most integrators have had. He is currently Area Sales Manager for South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria at ADI Global Distribution, and this year he is nominated for Best Sales Representative at the CEDIA Awards. Andrew is unusually clear about what actually wins integrator-client relationships, and what breaks them. The through line of the conversation is openness. Openness with the homeowner from the very first meeting. Openness in the quote. Openness about what a smart home actually costs, what will need to change, and what the rack will look like on the day the electrician turns up. Andrew argues that the projects that go best are the ones where the homeowner is on the journey from day one, and the disputes that never happen are the ones that were headed off in a conversation 18 months earlier. In this episode How Andrew went from healthcare and aged care toLegrand's smart home program and, eventually, to ADIWhy bringing the homeowner on the journey from day one is the single biggest predictor of a project going smoothlyThe 7 to 10% of build value rule and how Andrew uses itto qualify a prospect in one questionThe quarter of a million dollar button and why everyfinished project needs one obvious moment of wowWhat separates a quote that lands from a quote thatgets picked apart at the kitchen benchHow documentation quietly settles most disputes sixmonths before they happenHow assumption gaps between supplier and installer kill the customer experienceOpenness from the supplier's side: introducing a customer to a competitor when it is the right thing to doThe CEDIA Best Sales Representative nomination, lastyear's near-miss, and what a good sales rep actually looks like Sponsors ADI Global Distribution ADI Global Distribution is one of the most active distributors in the Australian smart home channel. Their portal, sales team and training program cover every state in Australia, with expansion into New Zealand underway and a new training centre being built in Sydney. If you haven't caught up with your local ADI rep recently, the national roadshow calendar is the fastest way to fix that. http://adiglobal.com Bluesound by Amber Technology This episode of Master Integrator is brought to you by Bluesound (BluOS), the audiophile-grade multi-room audio platform designed for both discerning listeners and custom integration professionals. Supporting high-resolution 24-bit/192 kHz audio, BluOS delivers exceptional sound quality while offering flexible, scalable deployment across residential and commercial projects. With no mandatory cloud accounts required, BluOS can operate entirely on a local network, providing a secure, privacy-focused solution with reliable local control. Visit https://share-ap1.hsforms.com/1tIbjnGIWSWOBPFWg56wZ-w6r5s SomfyThis episode is brought to you by Somfy. If you're tired of juggling multiple apps and protocols for your clients, Somfy's TaHoma switch hub connects over 300 brands, so you can control blinds, lights, cameras, garage doors, HVAC, sound systems and more, all from a single app. One ecosystem, endless possibilities. Visit somfy.com.au to learn more. Kolosseum Kolosseum is a design and documentation services provider working with integrators across Australia. Their support of Master Integrator underpins the work we do around documentation standards for the industry. If your quotes are still leaving the office as bare spreadsheets, Kolosseum is the conversation to have next. Visit http://kolosseum.io Connected Magazine Connected Magazine is Australia's dedicated publication for smart home, AV and integration professionals. They tell the stories of the projects and the people building this industry, month in and month out. Master Integrator is proud to have Connected as a founding podcast sponsor. www.connectedmag.com.au

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The Master Integrator Podcast is where Australia’s smart home technology industry gets real. Hosted by Paul Skelton — a longtime industry journalist and current Regional Development Consultant for CEDIA in Australia and New Zealand — this series goes beyond product hype to explore the people, policies, and practices shaping the future of home integration. Each episode features candid conversations with integrators, educators, builders, designers, and policy leaders who are challenging the status quo and building a more professional, sustainable, and inclusive industry. Whether you’re on the tools, running a business, designing the systems, or shaping the rules — this podcast is for you. No fluff. No buzzwords. Just honest, grounded conversations about what it takes to make this industry better.

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