What is E-Conveyancing

What are ELNOs?

ELNOs like PEXA or Sympli are online platforms which facilitate an online transaction between parties. Using an ELNO, lawyers or conveyancers can:

• Prepare documents;
• Sign documents;
• Lodge documents for registration; and
• Authorise financial aspects of the transaction.

Can I use the ELNO?

Only a lawyer or conveyancer can access the ELNO on their client’s behalf. As a result, a key part of the conveyancing process will be obtaining client authorisation. A client may provide authorisation to their representative to deal with either a specific transaction, or standing authorisation to deal with all of their matters for a period of time. Once a client has authorised their representative to use the ELNO on their behalf, the representative may use this authorisation to perform the above duties.

How do I grant Client Authorisation?

To obtain authorisation from a client, your representative will need to verify your identity. Under the current legislation, this will be fulfilled if your representative has taken “reasonable steps” to verify your identity. This will include:

• Verifying identification documents in accordance with one of the standards prescribed by the Land Registry Services; and
• Conducting a face-to-face interview to ensure that the person in the identity documents has a ‘reasonable likeness’ to the person in the interview.

Additionally, if you have verified your identity with your representative in the last two years, you do not need to do so again for a separate transaction.

The Benefits and Risks of e-Conveyancing

E-Conveyancing is a much quicker and easier process than conveyancing conducted on-paper. This is because it eliminates the need for physically delivering, signing, exchanging and registering legal documents. As a result, e-Conveyancing will often be cheaper than regular conveyancing. It will also allow for more flexibility for both yourself and your lawyer, with the only required face-to-face meeting being for the verification of identity.

However, as with all online platforms, there may be a risk of cyber-attacks or fraud in an online settlement that is not an issue for regular, on-paper settlements. This has been minimised through the security measures introduced by ELNOs through the introduction of protection and monitoring of changing usernames, passwords and account numbers. Both ELNOs also have Residential Seller Guarantees in place, which protect vendors in the event that a fraudster re-directs settlement funds from a vendor’s account. Overall, these online platforms are constantly improving their security measures to ensure that these transactions are safe.

If you are interested in conducting a sale or purchase of real property using e-Conveyancing, and would like to speak with a solicitor about this, please feel free to contact us on (02) 8580 2312 or send us an email at info@atalegal.com.au.