Talks begin on national e-conveyancing system

Chris Merritt | September 04, 2009 the auztralian

THREE state governments have opened talks with lawyers and bankers aimed at establishing a company to run the long-promised national electronic conveyancing system.

The proposed company would be owned initially by the governments of NSW, Victoria and Queensland but those close to the talks say equity would later be offered to other jurisdictions.

Senior officials representing the three founding equity holders have distributed documents outlining the proposed corporate structure.

The company's board would consist of representatives of each of the three state governments as well as representatives of the legal profession, the major banks and non-lawyer conveyancers. An independent board member would be appointed to chair the new organisation.

If the talks succeed, it could help all state governments qualify for $550 million in commonwealth funding for undertaking 27 major reforms that have been endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments.

The national e-conveyancing system is not a priority under the COAG agreement, but its successful completion would help persuade the federal government to make the $550m reward payments to the states.

NSW Land Minister Tony Kelly, who helped drive the latest initiative, said his government supported "a truly national scheme that all stakeholders can access and use easily, wherever they might be, whatever state they might be in".

"The system will work best only if all the states come on board, which is why we have been working closely with the other states, in particular Victoria and Queensland, to make this happen," he said.

"To realise savings to industry participants and the community, it is essential that the system be integrated with the systems and standards used by the lending and conveyancing industries today."

Mr Kelly said technology had provided an opportunity to modernise "one of the most traditional, most basic transactions at the core of both business and family life, so it is important to get it right".

"To do that, we have to bring along all the industry peak bodies to ensure that the lawyers and bankers are secure enough with the system and its governance arrangements that they encourage their members to use it.

"This would mark a huge technology shift in conveyancing business practices and processes but I think there is the collective will to make that shift.

"Certainly the technology is here but it has to be cost-effective and it has to meet industry requirements," Mr Kelly said.

The initiative by the three states comes soon after Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and Deregulation Minister Craig Emerson rejected a plea for $20m in federal funding to establish the e-conveyancing company.

Les Taylor, who chairs the steering committee that has been planning the new system, had warned that unless the company is established, there is a risk that the savings from the project will be "lost for at least a generation".

Those savings have been estimated by industry groups to be worth $250m annually.