Disruption prompts calls from conveyancers for action against PEXA
Up to 10 per cent of those trying to settle just before lunch last Friday were impacted by a problem with the Jellyfish mobile app that is used by PEXA subscribers to sign off on settlements.
CONVEYANCING industry leaders have renewed calls for more competition in e-Conveyancing following the latest “technical issue” at PEXA.
Up to 10 per cent of those trying to settle just before lunch last Friday were disrupted by a problem with the Jellyfish mobile app that is used by PEXA subscribers to sign off on settlements.
A PEXA spokesperson apologised for the incident, which left many conveyancers and solicitors facing delays or having to reschedule settlements just before the weekend – traditionally conveyancers’ busiest time.
The issue has prompted sector leaders to call for more action against PEXA’s “defacto monopoly” – in the week when rival platform Lextech ended its efforts to compete with the ELNO.
Australian Institute of Conveyancers Nationals President Michelle Hendry said the latest issue highlighted the serious consequences of a single point of failure.
“Feedback from our members nationwide highlights the wider consequences of even short outages, particularly on high-volume settlement days like Friday,” she said.
“Clients were left waiting, settlements were delayed, and practitioners had to manage operational pressures without clear real-time updates.
“This incident, while not a full platform outage, underscores growing concerns about system resilience and contingency planning.
“As the industry becomes more reliant on digital platforms like PEXA, there must be stronger transparency, better communication during incidents, and real alternatives in the event of major disruptions.
“The reality is that PEXA currently operates as a de facto monopoly.
“With no meaningful alternative available to practitioners in most jurisdictions, any outage, no matter how brief, can have far-reaching consequences for consumers and conveyancers alike.
“Greater competition and genuine interoperability are urgently needed to ensure resilience, choice, and continuity in the digital property settlement space.”
“We acknowledge the resolution efforts made, but the time has come for deeper industry collaboration and more robust safeguards to ensure consumers are not left bearing the brunt of system failures.”
All Hours Conveyancing Melbourne conveyancer Shakila Maclean, who is President of the Victorian division of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers, said that while it was difficult to quantify the exact number of clients affected, it was “safe to say that the disruption was widespread in VIC”.
“Many firms had settlements delayed or rescheduled,” she said.
“Outages like Friday’s add a huge amount of pressure to our day.
“As practitioners, we’re already working under tight timelines, and when systems go down unexpectedly, it creates a stressful scramble to manage delays, communicate with all parties, and find solutions on the fly—often with very little information to go on.”
Around 89 per cent of all digital property transactions in Australia go through PEXA, which estimates around 20,000 families settle their property transactions each week through the exchange.
A PEXA spokesperson said: “The PEXA Exchange experienced a technical issue affecting mobile signing capability on Friday, May 16, between 10.30am and 1.15pm.
“From 11.50am the system gradually allowed customers to use mobile signing and by 1.15pm the issue was fully resolved.
“We estimate that the disruption impacted less the 10 per cent of settlements during that period, which then went on later to settle or reschedule.
“We take any interruption to our customer’s very seriously and worked hard to ensure that booked settlements occurred. We are grateful that customers were able to settle across Friday afternoon once the service was restored.
“We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of service and transparency, and we sincerely apologise to any customers who were inconvenienced by Friday’s disruption.”
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