The Victorian Government’s Land Exchange has begun piloting an e-conveyancing network, and because it is the closest to implementation, it was expected this system could be the basis for the national network.

However, after receiving an independent report that found only part of the ECV would be useable nationally, late last year the National Electronic Conveyancing System’s (NECS) steering committee organised a meeting of all jurisdictions to discuss the report .

After a meeting in Melbourne from 1 to 2 February, NECS reported that Victoria has given assurances it will be able to modify its system to suit national requirements.

“Despite the Alignment Review’s conclusions, Victoria believed that its ECV system could be readily and economically modified when required to satisfy all of the requirements of NECS,” said a report on the meeting issued by NECS.

“On the basis of this assurance, the jurisdictions resolved that ECV should continue to be a viable option for provisioning NECS.”

The review originally found the Victorian electronic lodgement process had not been designed for multiple jurisdictions, and therefore would have to be re-engineered to take into account variations for property transactions across borders.

“The [Victorian electronic conveyancing system] has been designed and built specifically to meet the requirements of parties dealing in land transactions in Victoria,” the report stated.

“Whilst it is acknowledged that attempts have been made to architect the ECV to accommodate additional jurisdictions, the review team is of the opinion that the underlying architecture, particularly the software design of the system, is inadequate to satisfactorily meet the requirements of the NECS.”

But the report found the financial settlement processes of Victoria’s model could be readily adapted for re-use nationally, as they are not subject to differing rules across the states and territories and are at an early stage of development.

The meeting this month also discussed ways to speed up the detailed specification of national and jurisdiction-specific requirements for NECS.

It was also agreed that NECS should be provisioned through a competitive tender process that “clearly demonstrates probity and value for money” and satisfies government procurement policies.