Standards Convey the E-Message
Standards Convey the E-Message
May 17, 2007: An agreement between the National Electronic Conveyancing Office and the Lending Industry XML Initiative (LIXI) brings e-conveyancing one step closer to reality with common data standards now on the agenda.
It’s small step towards the realm of e-conveyancing which could one day see swifter property transactions for vendors and buyers alike. “There is around 55,000 property transactions in Australia per month of which 2700 are new,” says Socrates Vasliadis, CEO of LIXI. “That number of transactions amounts to a lot of paper generated.”
While there are still industry policies, practices and jurisdictional matters that need to be overcome, NECO says data standards are crucial for the e-conveyancing project’s progression. “We’re hoping this LIXI initiative will start the ball rolling for all the processes involved in actually making this happen,” says Vasliadis. “One of the new components now is that we’re going to have joint NECS and LIXI steering committed, with working groups constructed out of this committee to define various deliverables for the project.”
LIXI, who frequently exchanges ideas with OASIS and collaborates with NICTA, is a not-for-profit group working for business enabled standards to allow a greater level of interoperability. “We don’t develop standards, but rather business agreements that get turned into standards,” says Vasliadis.
28 percent of Australia’s GDP can be attributed to property transactions. It’s a heavy load not just for the economy, but also for the processes and the volume of paper (contracts, cheques and preparation materials) needed for property to change hands. In Victoria alone, the amount of paper generated every year from these transactions amounts to a line 24 kilometres long.
With a national electronic conveyancing system, NECO says both consumers and practitioners will benefit from efficient, straight-through processing that combines both deal preparation and registration. With a single interface for national businesses and common functionality for users across all jurisdictions, transaction processes will.
Vasliadis says an e-conveyancing system would work like an electronic check-list as all the various materials required for property transactions are ticked off throughout the process. “So rather then having to go to the physical location, once all are the materials are received you could hit the submit button could be hit and all money and titles transferred, stamp duty deducted, documents stamped accordingly and registered with Land Titles’ Office immediately,” he says.
“We could be talking about a process that now takes hours and days, taking just a matter of minutes from submit to having that transaction confirmed and settled,” adds Vasliadis.
But it’s only through the development of national electronic data standards, that the ultimate goal of e-converyancing can be achieved. “It is invaluable that these data standards will be consistent with those currently used in the mortgage processing industry,” says Simon Libbis, executive director of the NECO. “NECS is excited to have the assistance of such an innovative organisation as LIXI.”
For Vasliadis, it’s also an opportunity spread the achievements of LIXI to the industry. “It also creates this validation of LIXI in the eyes of many of the possible members out there who haven’t yet made the decision to join.”