Electronic conveyancing (eConveyancing) is an efficient, accurate and secure way of conducting the settlement and lodgment stages of a conveyancing transaction. It replaces many of the paper and manual processes traditionally involved in property transactions.
eConveyancing allows lawyers, conveyancers and financial institutions to interact and transact together online. These users must conduct certain steps before each transaction, such as verification of all the parties involved establishing their right to deal with the property and ensuring express authorisation for the transaction to be conducted.
Within the digital environment, information is automatically fed in from the original source and used to populate all documentation, while the system cross-checks that information, reducing errors. Documents are created, signed and lodged within the online environment.
The move away from paper towards electronic began several years ago as part of the NSW Government’s commitment to leading digital innovation. Since 11 October 2021 all land transactions that require lodgment with NSWLRS must be done electronically.
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Legal framework for electronic conveyancing
Find out more about the legal framework.
What we do
The body known as ‘ARNECC’ (Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council) sets the rules and it's up to each state’s Registrar General to enforce them. As the regulator of the land title system in NSW, this Office ensures that participants, known as ‘subscribers’, in the eConveyancing system are following the rules as set by ARNECC.
Audits, in the form of compliance examinations from NSW Land Registry Services, are conducted on every subscriber to monitor compliance with the rules. The purpose of the rules is to reduce the chance of fraud being perpetrated. Compliance examinations are covered in more detail in ARNECC’s MPR Guidance Note #6 – Compliance Examinations.
See the subscriber compliance page for more information.
A compliance examination looks at the following:
Verification of identity is a process to ensure a person is who they claim to be.
The NSW Participation Rules require a Subscriber to take reasonable steps to verify the identity of:
- Clients
- Mortgagors
- signers
- subscriber administrators.
For more information see ARNECC’s MPR Guidance Note #2 – Verification of Identity.
Right to deal is the entitlement of a person to deal with the land in a particular conveyancing transaction. The NSW Participation Rules require a Subscriber to take reasonable steps to verify the right to deal of their client. If the Subscriber is, or represents a mortgagee, they must verify the right to deal of the mortgagor for a mortgage.
For more information see ARNECC’s MPR Guidance Note #4 – Right to Deal.
A Client Authorisation is a Document that enables a Party to a transaction (the Client) to authorise a licenced conveyancer or lawyer to act on their behalf in that transaction.
While acting on behalf of the Client under a Client Authorisation, the licenced conveyancer or lawyer can:
- sign Registry Instruments or other Documents
- present Registry Instruments or other Documents for lodgment with the Land Registry and
- authorise or complete any associated financial aspects of the transaction.
The Client Authorisation clearly sets out the details of the authorisation and the completed form must be retained as supporting evidence of authority for the transaction.
For more information see ARNECC’s MPR Guidance Note #1 – Client Authorisation.
Subscribers are required to retain the evidence supporting the transaction for a period of seven years. Evidence is required to be retained in order to demonstrate that the transaction was completed in accordance with legislative and other requirements and that the certifications required were accurately made.
For more information see ARNECC’s MPR Guidance Note #5 – Retention of Evidence.