Tasmanian Land Titles Amendment Bill
29 September 2022
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) welcomes the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania’s engagement with industry regarding the proposed amendment to the Land Titles Act 1980. The ABA and its members are broadly supportive of the proposed amendment but make two observations for the Land Titles Office’s consideration.
Download PDFELNOs Interoperability Pricing Issues Paper July 2022
12 August 2022
The ABA and its members remain supportive of the realisation of a functioning interoperable e-conveyancing market. A functioning interoperable e-conveyancing market should benefit subscribers and other stakeholders, including everyday Australians. The ABA and its members encourage IPART to consider the implications of its recommendations on all e-conveyancing market participants, paying particular attention to the potential cost consequences of subscribers, some of which have little negotiating power.
Download PDFMandating eConveyancing in Queensland
5 May 2022
The Australian Banking Association continues to support efforts to accelerate the adoption of electronic mortgages and settlement for the convenience of consumers and the associated economic benefits. The banking industry is supportive of mandating electronic conveyancing in Queensland, which is a pragmatic and natural development from the current regime. Mandating e-conveyancing in Queensland will create greater certainty for consumers and drive greater efficiencies.
Download PDFElectronic Conveyancing National Law
11 March 2022
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) continues to support efforts to accelerate the adoption of electronic mortgages for the convenience of consumers and the associated economic benefits. The ABA and its members have actively contributed to the development of e-conveyancing since its infancy as well as interoperability and the associated reforms. The banking industry is supportive of progressing the Electronic Conveyancing National Law to implement interoperability, with further consultation to consider in detail the issues that ABA and other stakeholders have raised. This 2-step process is a pragmatic response to the complexity of the reform, and the need to balance certainty of the reforms with addressing important issues that stakeholders have raised.
Download PDFARNECC – Modification of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law
24 November 2021
The ABA welcomes the changes included in the consultation draft and have some minor comments, contained in the attachment, regarding aspects of the drafting where further consideration may be warranted. The ABA is available to assist ARNECC in considering these issues.
Download PDFModernising Document Execution
8 October 2021
Currently, significant delay, financial costs and opportunity costs result from the need to sign and witness deeds and statutory declarations on paper; these costs also result from inconsistent and uncertain regulations under Commonwealth, State and Territory laws. The ABA strongly advocates for the reforms to remain technology neutral and provide a single, consistent approach to executing deeds and statutory declarations. Otherwise the reforms may make it harder to use, and therefore disincentivise the use of, electronic execution.
Download PDFTreasury Laws Amendment Bill 2021
10 September 2021
The ABA supports the proposed amendments being considered by Parliament expeditiously to give industry ample time to implement changes to comply with the reforms. As such the ABA strongly supports the proposed bill being finalised and introduced into Parliament as soon as practicable. However, the ABA also asks Treasury to consider making a number of further amendments and clarifying a small number of matters in the Bill. Doing so would enhance the effectiveness and benefit of the Bill for industry.
Download PDFElectronic Mortgages in WA
31 August 2021
Electronic signatures can mitigate fraud risk by implementing multi-layers and factors of security and authentication, and the technology can generate an auditable electronic record, tamper proof seal, and use multiple ways to authenticate the signatory's identity. Most mortgages are not created pursuant to deeds. As such consideration of reforms in Western Australia should distinguish between the reforms that are necessary to enable electronic mortgages including the counterpart mortgage, and the reforms that need to be made to enable electronic deeds. The ABA strongly supports reforms to enable electronic deeds and not requiring most types of deeds to be witnessed.
Download PDFUsing technology to hold meetings and sign and send documents
16 July 2021
The ABA supports legislation being technology neutral and facilitating innovation in how companies and businesses engage with shareholders and other stakeholders.
Download PDFCorporations Amendment (Virtual Meetings and Electronic Communications) Bill 2020
30 October 2020
We strongly welcome the Government’s proposal to make the electronic execution of company documents and virtual meetings reforms permanent for the benefit and convenience of customers and to improve efficiencies in the processing of critical documents. The ABA considers: • Deeds should be able to be created and signed electronically by companies and individuals. • Electronic signatures rather than wet signatures should be able to be used for a broader range of legal and business documents. • Remote witnessing should be legally valid.
Download PDF