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‘Practitioner-first’ interoperability release proposed
The Australian government has been urged to implement a “practitioner-first” interoperability release in a bid to increase competition in the e-conveyancing market.
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E-settlements provider Sympli has called on the government and the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) to deliver a practitioner-first release as an initial release of interoperability to enable choice for lawyers and conveyancers.
This would mean that banks can remain on the monopoly network, while Sympli offers choice to tens of thousands of lawyers and conveyancers.
PEXA currently holds around 90 per cent of the e-conveyancing market share. Last month, legal services and mortgage processing provider Lextech withdrew from the race to become an electronic lodgment network operator (ELNO), leaving Sympli as the only other provider working to be part of the government’s interoperability regime.
The interoperability regime, due to be completed by the end of 2025, aims to drive more competition in the market and will allow parties in the settlement process (including lawyers and conveyancers) to transact with other parties during the e-conveyancing process while being able to subscribe to specific operators, such as PEXA and Sympli.
A practitioner-first approach, according to Sympli, would enable tens of thousands of lawyers and conveyancers to use their platform of choice now and enjoy the lower fees and features available through Sympli’s platform. The provider has consulted with industry stakeholders and reportedly received wide support for the practitioner-first release.
Sympli chief executive officer Philip Joyce said that while this approach will not immediately address the need for market resilience, it will mean that more choices for small businesses can be delivered sooner.
“Sympli remains fully committed to delivering competition as the second ELNO in this market and choice to tens of thousands of lawyers and conveyancers across [the] industry,” he said.
“A practitioner-first release means that practitioners can get that choice sooner – and that’s a great result for lawyers and conveyancers across Australia. We are calling on [the] government to deliver on their commitment to deliver competition to our industry through this practitioner-first release.”