Welcome to NECSpress, the e-newsletter for the National Electronic Conveyancing System.

In this Issue :

• Big Turn Out At Electronic Conveyancing Workshops
• Hot Topics 

 BIG TURN OUT AT ELECTRONIC CONVEYANCING WORKSHOPS

The recent workshops on national electronic conveyancing have attracted unprecedented interest accross the country. Over 300 people attended the sessions already held in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and there are presently over 50 registrations for Adelaide on 27 August and just as many for Hobart in September. Further workshops have now been scheduled for –

Perth – 2nd September
Hobart – 15th September
Darwin – 8th October
Canberra – 16th October

To register for one of the remaining workshops or obtain more information, send an email to info@necs.gov.au.

The workshops focus on the practical issues that will have the greatest impact on industry as electronic conveyancing is introduced. With all industry sectors represented,  the interactive parts of each session have been extremely valuable in providing input that will ensure the rapid uptake of the NECS in all jurisdictions.

Your feedback on any issue is always welcome. Each industry sector is represented on the National Project Team. To obtain details of your representative,click here . You can provide your input through your industry representative  on the NPT,or you can contact us directly at info@necs.gov.au.  

HOT TOPICS 

Among the issues covered in the workshops are  Client Identity Verification (CIV), Client Authorisation (CA) and the operational roles that will make NECS a reliable, secure and trusted way of completing conveyancing transactions conveniently and efficiently. The NPT Papers on these and other issues  are available on our website  along with convenient feedback forms.  The NPT members are keen to hear what every practitioner and other industry participant thinks about these issues.

Client Identity Verification

In the electronic environment of NECS the transacting parties will not  generally sign Land Registry instruments. Instead they will authorize a Subscriber to do so on their behalf. It is, therefore, essential that the Subscriber is satisfied about the identity of their Client.

The standard of Client Identity Verification is a critical risk mitigation measure in NECS.  It gives all of the participants in a NECS transaction confidence about who they are dealing with.After considering the existing options for a CIV standard the National Project Team came to the conclusion that there needs to be a purpose-built standard for NECS. The standard will need to facilitate electronic property transactions,be compatable with current banking industry practice and expected future legal and conveyancing industry practices under the Anti Money Laundering legislation,and satisfy the Land Registries concerns for mitigating fraud and minimising compensation claims on their assurance funds.
 
More work is currently being done on determining the detail of the CIV standard for NECS and how it will be applied in particular circumstances. 

Client Authorisation

Subscribers must be specifically authorised by their Clients to transact on their behalf in NECS. The form of that authorisation is another critical risk mitigation measure to give all participants confidence and certainty in their use in NECS.  

The National Project Team has agreed that the  CA must contain -
• the identities of each of the transacting parties making up the Subscriber’s Client
• the identity of any person representing a transacting party making up the Subscriber’s Client
• the nature of the transaction to which the authorisation applies
• the identity of the Subscriber accepting the authorisation
• the identity of any person acting as an agent for the Subscriber in obtaining the authorisation
• certification by the Subscriber and  by any Subscriber Agent used in obtaining the authorisation
• authorisation by each transacting party of the Subscriber’s Client or their representative

The draft CA form together with its terms and conditions and associated completion guide are included in the NPT Paper on our website. An intelligent version of the form for the completion online will be available on our website shortly.

Operational Roles

Each user of NECS will be entitled to carry out specific functions.  Determining the eligibility requirements for different roles is necessary for assuring confidence among all users that key participants are suitably qualified, insured and accountable for the functions they are performing. 

The key operational roles described in the National Business Model are those of Subscriber and Certifier.  The Subscriber is the organization that enters into a Participation Agreement with NECS and a Client Authorisation with the transacting parties they are representing.  The Certifier is the individual employee or contractor of the Subscriber who confirms that the subscriber has satisfied all prescribed requirements and each document prepared in NECS complies with those requirements and signs on behalf of the transacting parties represented by the Subscriber.

The National Business Model of NECS envisages that  Subscribers will need to meet certain business requirements, such as credit checks and minimum levels of insurance, to be registered to use NECS and that  Certifiers will need to be regulated practitioners (either a legal practitioner or licensed conveyancer / settlement agent ) when certifying documents for a Subscriber and signing them on behalf of Independent Clients of the Subscriber.  

Industry consultation has revealed that this arrangement may not accommodate current business practices in some areas and changes are currently being considered by the National Project Team.It is likely that an alternative arrangement will be allowed wherby a Certifier can also be an unqualified employee of a regulated legal or conveyancing practice working under the close supervision and control of a regulated industry practitioner.

Once again, the NPT papers on this issue are available on our website and all comments and contributions are welcome. You can provide your thoughts to your industry's NPT member or to us at info@necs.gov.au.   

Want to know more?

Please check out the NECS website www.necs.gov.au or contact us at:
Level 2, 10-16 Queen St
Melbourne Vic 3000
Ph: 03 8626 4545
Email:info@necs.gov.au