The Queensland Law Society has joined Australia’s peak legal body in expressing disappointment after state and territory government regulators announced they would not proceed with an eConveyancing interoperability program without Commonwealth regulatory assistance.
The decision by the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) to pause the reforms was announced recently.
The Law Council of Australia (LCA) said it was disappointed by this decision and did not accept that the challenges of achieving interoperability outweighed the potential benefits to consumers and the broader property market.
“Over many years, the Law Council and other industry participants have invested significant time and effort to progress interoperability,” LCA President Tania Wolff said.
“It has the potential to strengthen competition, reduce costs through greater efficiency, drive innovation and maintain downward pressure on prices.
“It would also enhance consumer choice and reduce the need for lawyers and conveyancers to subscribe to multiple ELNO [Electronic Lodgment Network Operators] platforms.”
QLS CEO Matt Dunn said the Society agreed with the LCA’s position, having long held that interoperability between ELNOs was critical to delivering competition in the market and ensuring legal practitioners have a choice of eConveyancing providers.
“Interoperability would enable a subscriber on one platform to transact seamlessly with a subscriber on another,” Mr Dunn said.
“The decision not to pursue the Interoperability Program at this time is a poor outcome for competition in the market.”
Mr Dunn indicated QLS will continue to work with the LCA and all stakeholders to pursue reform in the eConveyancing market.
“It is critical we look beyond the practicalities of getting today’s settlements done – we need to have an eConveyancing market which is fit for purpose into the future,” he said.
“In light of this disappointing outcome, it is now even more crucial that ARNECC pursues an improved national enforcement framework.
“If competition in the eConveyancing market is to be delayed, then we must ensure the state and territory registrars are equipped with the powers necessary for them to regulate in the public interest.”
The ARNECC ministerial statement said it had published two independent reports commissioned to assist in determining the future of the program – a Functional Requirements Review of the direct connect model of interoperability and a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) of different competition models, including interoperability.
“Without Commonwealth Government support, ARNECC will not proceed with the Interoperability Program at this time, including not proceeding with implementing direct connect interoperability, the practitioner choice interoperability model or the other models for competition considered in the CBA report.”
It said state and territory Ministers had agreed to formally request engagement from the Commonwealth Government and its agencies to deliver improved competition and more effective regulation of the eConveyancing industry.
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