Preparing industry for change - a consultation process

The intended move to an electronic business environment for conveyancing represents a significant change in industry practices. The roles, relationships and responsibilities of many of the participants in the industry must change and new ones will be introduced to facilitate the new way of working. Legislation will be adjusted in the States and Territories, business practices changed and new requirements and controls introduced that will change existing risk allocations and mitigation responsibilities. NECS necessarily requires major development in the systems, procedures and practices of the conveyancing and mortgage financing industry in NSW and nationally. Acceptance of these new arrangements by industry participants generally and by key industry and government stakeholders in particular is dependent on their confidence that the NECS is:

• a secure, robust and reliable platform on which to base their conveyancing business
• a convenient, efficient and user-friendly means for completing conveyancing transactions
• a portable, renewable and sustainable facility that will continue to be available in the future.

It is therefore vital that industry participants are actively involved in the consultation arrangements for NECS, and two significant opportunities for industry participation in NECS consultations are presented during 2009, as follow:

NECS National Project Team consultations

The National Electronic Conveyancing Office (NECO) has been coordinating a national program of consultation with stakeholders in the conveyancing industry, convening a National Project Team (NPT). The NPT includes representation from all major stakeholder industry sectors, to develop legal framework, business practices and systems requirements for NECS. See information on the National Project Teams work program, consultation and issue papers and discussion outcomes may be viewed at NECS website www.necs.gov.au.

Development of revised and nationally consistent business practices will involve close collaboration between LPMA, industry participants, representative bodies and regulators in NSW, the NECS NPT and national consultations, and Land Registry agencies in other jurisdictions.

NECS in NSW industry consultation during 2009-2010

The LPMA is conducting a NECS Readiness program to prepare and implement business practices, operational systems, legislation and stakeholder communication in NSW for national electronic conveyancing, targeted to service NECS transactions from 2010-11. The work includes informing and preparing NECS enabling legislation in NSW which provides the legal framework, business practices and system functionality suited to NSW industry and government requirements.

LPMA is conducting a significant program of industry consultation, to ensure that business practices and the supporting legal framework for NECS are designed so as to facilitate prompt and widespread adoption of NECS by lending and conveyancing industry participants in NSW. For further information on this consultation, see NSW Consultation documents page.