Calls for government to step up to prevent ‘risks’ of monopoly
ARNECC says there is no need for further review into e-conveyancing but others say there is still much more to be done.
E-CONVEYANCING challenger Sympli has urged the federal government to take charge of long-awaited interoperability reform after ARNECC halted the industry shakeup on Tuesday.
ARNECC (Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council) said it would not advance the overhaul without federal government support, endorsing the view of state and territory ministers at a joint meeting on March 24.
“Rather, ARNECC will strengthen the existing e-conveyancing national regulatory framework to protect consumers,” it said, referring to the reforms which have been on hold since 2024.
“Ministers recognised critical aspects of interoperability, including financial settlement and banking integration, fall within the regulatory jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, as states and territories do not directly regulate banks and other financial institutions,” it added.
ARNECC had faced calls to boost competition in the highly-concentrated sector by adopting interoperability, which would allow practitioners using an electronic lodgement network operator (ELNO) to complete transactions with entities on other digital platforms.
ASX-listed PEXA holds around 99 per cent market share of digital transactions in Australia, with nearly 90 per cent of all Australian property transfers processed on its exchange platform.
Sympli, the only challenger to PEXA in the $300 million settlement market and an advocate of interoperability, remained hopeful the federal government will step up on the issue.
“We have confidence that the federal government understands the need to protect Australian home buyers and sellers from the risks of having a single, monopoly provider for home settlements,” CEO Philip Joyce told AC in a statement.
“Interoperability can be delivered effectively, within 12-18 months, and Sympli will work collaboratively with all levels of government to help realise the benefits of competition for Australians.”
Sympli has previously argued that interoperability is the only way to deliver true competition to tens of thousands of legal and conveyancing practitioners nationwide.
Without the revamp, a monopoly will be permanently entrenched in the market, it claims.
PEXA CEO Russell Cohen defended the sector’s existing framework, saying the network was “price-regulated, performance-regulated and designated as critical national infrastructure”.
“It is low-cost, highly resilient and a world-leading innovation,” Cohen said in a statement.
“While we were a willing participant in the Interoperability program until it was paused, it had become clear that pursuing it was not in the best interests of customers or Australian home buyers and sellers,” he added.
President of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW Jennie Tonner said she hoped the shelving of the reforms did not negatively impact clients.
“I hope that the consumer will always be protected and that PEXA and all industries involved will continue to collaborate and work together,” Tonner told AC.
“Consumers’ interests must be first and foremost, particularly the banks, and ensure that settlements occur on time for the consumer and not when it suits the bank.”
ARNECC’s decision comes after the federal government this week said it would not back a parliamentary committee call for the ACCC to launch a probe into the market, citing “substantial work” already underway to address competition and interoperability issues.
Conveyancers told the Economics References Committee inquiry last year that the federal government must play a role in funding interoperability with strong ACCC oversight.
Meanwhile, the sector is still awaiting the findings of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into various market issues including outages, pricing, enforcement and interoperability.
Nearly all e-conveyancing transactions in NSW use PEXA’s exchange process, giving it an effective market monopoly in Australia’s largest state.
