MANDATORY E-CONVEYANCING

E-conveyancing has now been in place since 4^th July 2016 and the conveyancers in South Australia have been embracing the change since then.

On Friday 17th April the Office of the Registrar General announced that from 3rd August 2020 the electronic lodgement of documents would be mandatory.  Many factors were considered when reaching this decision and it was decided that these had all been satisfied or were well on the way to being so. It was of prime importance that the reliability and security of the land registry was safeguarded before making any final announcements.

This is exciting news for all conveyancers and their clients and will change the way we interact when dealing with real estate. This will bring more flexibility and benefits to the industry and this method of transferring property will assist during the difficult times with the current restrictions due to the CoVid 19.

BENEFITS

What are the benefits of E-conveyancing? Firstly, the Purchaser gets the security of Title Registration taking place within 48hours of settlement and the vendor gets cleared funds almost immediately. No more bank cheques and waiting for clearance. No more delays and waiting in long lines at settlement for the conveyancers.

TORRENS TITLE

The industry has seen many changes since the introduction of the Torrens Title System in 1858. This system is a South Australian invention that revolutionised the method of recording and registering land ownership.

Ownership of land is transferred by registration of a transfer of title, instead of by the use of deeds. The Registrar provides a Certificate of Title to the new proprietor, which is merely a copy of the related folio of the register. The main benefit of the system is to enhance certainty of title to land and to simplify dealings involving land.

Its name derives from Sir Robert Richard Torrens (1814–1884), who designed, lobbied for and introduced the private members bill which was enacted as the Real Property Act 1858 in South Australia, the first version of Torrens title in the world. Torrens based his proposal on many of the ideas of Ulrich Hübbe, a German lawyer living in South Australia. The system has been adopted by many countries and has been adapted to cover other interests, including credit interests (such as mortgages, leaseholds, strata and community titles.

Watch this video to find out more: Overview of the Torrens Title

CHANGES TO THE CONVEYANCING INDUSTRY

The last 5 to 6 years have probably had the most notable changes to the conveyancing industry in South Australia, as the process by the Registrar General to get ready for e-conveyancing in SA was commenced during this time. Verification of Identity was introduced in April 2014 along with other documentation that would protect the integrity of the land registry throughout these changes. Electronic conveyancing was finally implemented in SA in July 2016 and slowly but surely conveyancing firms and individuals have come on board. These two items alone have required drastic changes to the systems and thought processes for conveyancers in South Australia.

Then of course the government has made radical changes that have also affected conveyancers and their clients. A few of these that have been introduced recently are the FRCGW, GST Withholding Tax, and have caused more changes and additional work to what a conveyancer is required to do.

Land Tax is another issue that will affect conveyancers and their clients as it will no longer be a simple matter as to what the affect and the proposed changes to the land tax mean to all property owners.

We at McKay Business Services have been utilising the e-conveyancing platforms since the introduction in 2016 and are fully prepared for when mandating arrives.

The team at McKay Business Services are all members of the AICSA and are proud Adelaide Conveyancers