NECS - Updates to the National Business Model

At its meeting in early June 2006 the National Steering Committee guiding the development of electronic conveyancing considered a couple of significant changes to the National Business Model (NBM).

New Definitions of Industry Roles
The announcement by the Victorian Government in January 2006 that it intends to regulate conveyancers in Victoria with a licensing scheme similar to those already in place in NSW, SA, WA, NT and Tasmania provided the opportunity to tighten up the definitions of industry roles that will use the NECS to conduct electronic conveyancing.
The model now provides for three distinct roles:

1. Subscribers, who are the insured user of the NECS and generally a corporation, partnership, government agency or sole trader


2. Users, who are employees or contractors of the Subscriber and work under the Subscriber’s day to day supervision preparing the information required for settlements and lodgments


3. Certifiers, who are Users as well as legal practitioners, licensed conveyancers, or employees or contractors of the Subscriber specially authorised by the Subscriber to certify and sign instruments and settlements on its behalf

These changed arrangements provide a much stronger control framework for the benefit of all participants in electronic conveyancing and their benefits include:

• clear allocation of respective responsibilities in use of the NECS


• full control for Subscribers over who is covered at any time by their professional indemnity and fidelity insurance


• confidence for all transacting parties that only regulated practitioners can certify and sign instruments and settlements


• flexibility for practitioners and non-practitioners to work for multiple legal and/or conveyancing practices


• freedom for practitioners to use the same digital signature certificate with multiple concurrent or sequential employers.

National Licensing of Licensed Service Providers (LSPs)
The previous intention to license LSPs separately in each jurisdiction has been changed to a single licensing system determined and managed by the NECS. The change will:

• reduce duplication in licensing processes


• provide greater market scope for and competition among LSPs


• benefit Subscribers who choose to use an LSP to connect to the NECS.

All jurisdictions and potential licensees are to be consulted on the criteria and process for licensing LSPs. By LSPs I presume this will mean the current list of certificate brokers and possibly legal software providers.

Source Electronic Conveyancing in NSW - Newsletter No. 19