The Queensland Government’s electronic conveyancing mandate commenced on 20 January 2023. The mandate is aimed at modernising and streamlining the process of property transactions by requiring all transactions in Queensland to be conducted through an electronic conveyancing platform, rather than the traditional paper based system.
There are many advantages to electronic conveyancing, including improved speed, accuracy and efficiency, enhanced security and reduced environmental impacts.
The mandate applies to all transfers, mortgages, releases of mortgages, most caveats, priority notices and in some cases, transmissions by death. There are some limited exemptions which allow documents to be lodged outside of the electronic system, however, you cannot simply decline to use electronic conveyancing.
If the document you want to lodge is exempt from the mandate, the lodging party is required to complete an Exemption Request Form and deposit it in conjunction with the paper titles forms.
The REIQ property contracts were amended in January 2023 to take into account the mandate. The changes include:
- Removal of the requirement for parties to agree that settlement will be electronic.
- Insertion of a requirement for the Seller to nominate the electronic conveyancing platform that will be used for Settlement. PEXA is the widely used platform in Queensland for electronic conveyancing, however, there are more platforms in production.
- A clarification has been inserted to confirm that conversations sent through the electronic conveyancing platform do no not constitute “notices” given under the contract.
- If the Deposit is held by the Real Estate Agent, and the funds are required to discharge an Encumbrance or pay an Outgoing at Settlement, then the Deposit Holder must, if directed to do so, play the Deposit to the Seller’s Solicitor’s trust account upon request. The Buyer’s authority is not required.
The Property Team at Plastiras Lawyers have been settling matters via electronic conveyancing for a number of years and are readily available to assist clients with electronic settlements, and any questions or concerns they may have.
