The NSW Parliament scheduled the tabling of Applied Law Legislation into the NSW Parliament for Tuesday 15th February. AIC National met urgently last Friday afternoon to discuss and consider AIC National view to the recent Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law Amendment Bill 2021). Correspondence from AIC National has been submitted and AIC Victoria have supported AIC National.
In summary, there are risks that are likely to be imposed on Conveyancers and we have reiterated our concerns on the impact of outages, security, misappropriation of funds and AIC do not support the Amendment Bill in its current format, as it does not meet the necessary requirements or concerns raised many times by AIC National.
AIC VIC is, in principle, supportive of achieving interoperability, however, we share the collective opinions of AIC National that acceptance of the amendments outlined in the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Amendment Bill 2022 (the Amendment Bill) is premature and requires further consultation and consideration of additional amendments. In its present form, we believe the Amendment Bill is not fit for purpose and should not be enacted into law until the matters raised in consultations are appropriately addressed.
If adopted in New South Wales, and subsequently in other jurisdictions, we believe the Amendment Bill will have national implications. The amendments expose a lack of a national approach to regulation and the powers and expectations of The Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) to ensure appropriate regulation. AIC National’s position is clear, there are significant consumer protection concerns as to the possible and quite likely incremental risk of introducing additional ELN’s. Consideration must be given to the overarching significance for delivering positive and effective consumer outcomes through appropriate regulation.
Further information:
Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of. National Law) Amendment Bill 2022
AIC National letter to Minister Dominello
Ministerial-Statement October 2021
AIC Vic letter to Minister Dominello
We will keep you informed as this proposed Bill progresses. If you have any feedback or comments please email admin@aicvic.com.au.
Joan Lentini
AIC Vic President