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| Real Property Amendment (Land Transactions) Bill 2009 |
| Monday, 21 September 2009 | ||||||
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(a) to enable the electronic lodgement of a notice of sale, and (b) so that the Registrar-General may require a certificate of correctness in relation to a notice of sale (whether or not the notice is lodged electronically), and (c) to clarify the circumstances in which compensation may be payable from the Torrens Assurance Fund in relation to the details supplied in a notice of sale, and (d) to make other minor amendments. I note that notice of sale forms are required by law to accompany all transfers and other dealings that change the ownership of land. The notice of sale contains details of the transaction, such as the settlement date and sale price, and provides an updated address for service of notices on the new owner. This information is used by rating agencies, for example, councils, water authorities, the Valuer-General and the Office of State Revenue, as a basis for assessment and collection of rates, with associated potential for error and delay. The current notice of sale system is still a manual system involving significant manual data entry—and the bill does not make clear how much it costs. I assume that cost savings will be made with this proposal, something which the Opposition welcomes. It would be helpful if in reply the Minister articulates how much the State will save through this process. The Opposition wonders why this legislation has taken such a long time to be introduced but it is a positive step that we are debating it. The Opposition also notes that Land and Property Information has developed a new product and that the electronic preparation and lodgement of the notice of sale has enhancements to assist with the accuracy of data and eliminate the need for ongoing manual data entry. I note that in eliminating the need for manual data entry of notices of sale the amendments should reduce errors. Apart from allowing electronic lodgement of these forms in place of written forms, thus facilitating the roll-out of new lodgement system for land dealings, the amendments make no changes to the land transfer system. Compensation from the Torrens Assurance Fund will not be payable in relation to any loss or damage arising from the provision by the Registrar General of information supplied in the notice of sale except in relation to an error—it is not clear how that is defined in the legislation, but I assume it would be a wholehearted error—of the Registrar General in recording the details supplies in such notice. That is a sensible proposition and I understand the clarification. The Opposition supports this bill, which is a step forward, but is interested in what the Minister says in reply about the savings that this legislation may well engender in the bottom line in the State budget. Add to: Write Comment
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