Federal government should take over from ARNECC – Law Council

LAW industry leaders have called for a federal government regulatory body to take over from ARNECC.

Law Council president Juliana Warner oversaw a submission into competition in eConveyancing that highlighted the council’s frustrations over the implementation of interoperability.

It highlighted the choice and pricing benefits of allowing third party platforms to integrate with the PEXA platform.

The submission also notes how the technical innovation brought about by competition was necessary, citing issues around “user-unfriendly screens and system unreliability” that users currently must tolerate without a viable alternative.

“We reiterate our concerns that these reforms are now long overdue in a context where eConveyancing is mandatory,” the submission says.

“It is therefore critical that interoperability is prioritised and progressed without further delay.

“A particularly important aspect is that intellectual property claims, and security and logistical concerns, have been cited as reasons for delaying the implementation of full interoperability.

“In the Law Council’s view many of these claims deserve closer scrutiny.

“Finally, the Law Council submits that ARNECC should not be the regulating body for any future Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) in view of the fact that its members, as registrars, would also be users of the ESB.

“The Law Council recommends that a federal regulatory body with a broader skill set than ARNECC allows for would be more appropriate to regulate eConveyancing going forward.”

The introduction of interoperability would allow a subscriber – such as a lawyer – connected to one ELNO to conduct a transaction with a subscriber connected to a different ELNO.

This would allow subscribers to choose the ELNO that is best for them and ensure that they are not required to subscribe to multiple ELNOs.

“In the Law Council’s view, this choice will encourage competition between service providers,” the submissions says.

This, in turn, would “achieve more efficient outcomes for subscribers and their clients; maintain pressure on prices; and stimulate innovation in this fast-moving space.”

The submission goes on to say: “Whilst often assumed to only enhance competitive pricing, the more important factor is technical innovation that makes it easier for lawyers, especially those without a substantial conveyancing practice, to perform conveyancing transactions at much lower risk due to workflow functionality.

“There are examples of both user-unfriendly screens and system unreliability, which users currently have to tolerate for lack of a viable alternative ELNO.

“Only interoperability as part of true competition will unlock solutions to these practical impediments to lower cost conveyancing.

“Regrettably, progress towards interoperability has been subjected to repeated delays.”

The original commitment was for the first interoperable transaction by the end of 2021 and broader implementation in 2022.

“We are now well beyond the implementation timetable that had initially been agreed upon,” the submission says.

“Each setback has a compounding effect on the prospects of true competition in the eConveyancing landscape.”

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