Legislative Update 2022: Introducing more competition into the conveyancing space

The Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Amendment Act 2022 (NSW) (the Act) has mandated interoperability between e-conveyancing services in NSW which will introduce more competition into the conveyancing space. PEXA as the dominant e-conveyancing service currently holds 86% of the market share across Australia, but interoperability requirements will allow lawyers and conveyancers to explore alternatives such as Sympli and LEXTECH.

This Act also signals a movement in the national property space towards a completely online workspace. In February 2022, companies being able to lawfully sign documents electronically became a permanent amendment to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). In June, Western Australia passed a bill removing paper Certificate of Titles. In September, Queensland passed a regulation requiring electronic lodgement of all transfer, mortgage, caveat and priority notice documents from 20 February 2023 onwards. While each state is moving at different speeds, paperless transactions are quickly becoming the norm.