E-conveyancing system Sympli not ready, new operator says

A new operator in the electronic title transfer market says it shouldn’t be compulsory for consumers to use the system until security, regulatory and competition issues are resolved.

Australia’s two biggest states are leading a decades-long quest to entrench digital e-conveyancing as the norm across the property sector, which settles $300 billion of transactions annually.

Victoria has mandated for all property titles to be exchanged in electronic format from this October, shredding 150 years of paper title history.

NSW is expected to follow suit next year.

More than half of all property transactions in Victoria last month were done on monopoly property e-transfer platform Property Exchange Australia (PEXA), a private company owned by major banks, state governments, private equity and property developer Paul Little.

But new entrant Sympli, an equal joint venture between the ASX and property data provider Infotrack, says flaws in the regulation of e-conveyancing are hindering competitors like Sympli from entering the market.

Sympli's David Wills says PEXA's control of data standards is hampering competition.

Chief executive David Wills said state governments did not control the “data standards” used by electronic exchange providers to communicate with state land registry offices, which was hampering competition.

Each state’s Land Registry Office is the ultimate arbiter of property title ownership.

“It’s a complete failing of the regulatory model if PEXA have control of these data standards,” Mr Wills said.

The government body overseeing the Australia-wide e-conveyancing transformation, Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC), confirmed it was unclear who owns the crucial data set.

“ARNECC is working with PEXA to clarify ownership of the data standards,” chairwoman Jean Villani said.

Meanwhile, the authority was “committed to ensuring that incoming electronic lodgement network operators [like Sympli] have access to information necessary to enter the market”, she said.

CEO Marcus Price says PEXA is working to create a secure and independent means of maintaining and managing the data standards.Credit: Pat Scala

PEXA chief executive Marcus Price said it had shared the most recent version of the data standards with Sympli and another company.

“The original regulatory framework only contemplated a ‘single national electronic system’ for property transactions so until this time, PEXA has taken accountability for, and invested significantly in the build and upkeep of those data standards,” he said.

It was working to create a “secure and independent means of maintaining and managing the data standards” between all operators, he said.

Sympli expects its platform to be up and running by year’s end.

Dani Venn, with husband Chris Burgess and their children, had $250,000 stolen.Credit: Chris Hopkins

The looming October e-conveyancing deadline has sparked concern among lawyers, conveyancers and other property practitioners, particularly after a security breach in June of PEXA’s platform allowed fraudsters to steal $250,000 from the home sale of MasterChef finalist Dani Venn and her family.

Property developers are also alarmed deficiencies in the embattled platform mean it cannot efficiently handle the bulk property settlements needed to distribute ownership of large apartment projects.

State governments are set to launch a review of the e-conveyancing system’s operating requirements and rules of participation. At the same time, competition watchdog the ACCC has been called in to advise ARNECC.

“Why are several states running the risk of rushing headlong into mandating a technology and regulatory model that isn’t close to being ready?” Mr Wills said. “Before the states mandate, they should make sure there is competition in the market.”