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Electronic conveyancing
The New South Wales land title system has a deserved reputation for efficiency and reliability. Early adoption of new technology in the 1970s and 1980s paved the way for the first automated Torrens title register in the world, and a range of very successful online search services. However, property transactions in NSW today still depend on the initial completion and lodgment of paper documents.
Extensive discussions with a wide variety of conveyancing and mortgage industry participants led to the development of a proposal to move to electronic settlement and lodgment of property transactions in NSW. A Public Consultation Document outlining the proposals was published in May 2004, and a PCD Feedback Report summarising submissions received from industry participants was published in March 2005.
The most significant outcome of the consultation was the strong commitment from the major banks, the wider mortgage industry, the property industry, the legal profession and conveyancers to a national approach. Industry comment identified a number of opportunities associated with a move to a national system including:
- operational efficiency inherent in a national system;
- jurisdictional requirements and practices becoming transparent to users;
- Facilitation of cross-border transactions;
- consistency of approach to issues involving Commonwealth legislation, and
- review of the need for alignment of jurisdictional legislation and practices among jurisdictions.
Development of a national approach will require close and careful co-ordination of the requirements of the differing regulatory environments and business practices of multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders. To facilitate this, all State and Territory governments have committed to working together with industry to develop a national online system that will streamline the settlement process for the millions of properties sold across Australia each year.
A National Electronic Conveyancing System (NECS) Steering Committee representing key government and industry stakeholders has been established and is chaired by former Chief Solicitor and General Counsel for the Commonwealth Bank Group, Les Taylor. To support the National Steering Committee and facilitate the development of NECS, a National Electronic Conveyancing Office has been established. The Office’s Executive Director is Simon Libbis, former Registrar-General of South Australia.
A key initial step in the development of NECS is the establishment of Consultation Forums to discuss the National Business Model and Implementation Strategy and other key issues relating to the realization of NECS. State and Territory project teams are also being established to advise on specific jurisdictional activities and requirements.
Please visit the NECS website for updates on development progress. The draft National Business Model and National Governance Arrangements documents, published in mid 2005, are available in our publications along with newsletters and other materials to help industry and practitioners remain aware of developments to toward electronic conveyancing in NSW.
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