Transfer Guidelines | Help Centre

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Transfer Guidelines - Current as at July 2021

The Transfer Guidelines, developed in close consultation with all industry stakeholders, are published to assist Subscribers with what they should be doing, and when, in order to ensure the timely and successful completion of a PEXA settlement.

We have updated the Transfer Guidelines to incorporate the newly refined Financial Settlement Summary (FSS), which has now been rolled out nationwide, and the subsequent process changes associated with this deployment. Changes have been made to Sections 11-19 in line with the FSS, previously known as the ESS. It’s important to note that this latest iteration of the Transfer Guidelines is interim – we are undertaking a broader review of the guidelines to incorporate current member feedback and to best reflect the latest established processes within the industry.

The guidelines are:

• not intended to override existing obligations between parties to a transaction, such as those contained in the Contract of Sale.
• to be read sequentially therefore start at step 1 and work through the stages that are relevant to your role. 
• not intended to cover sub divisions.
• For any escalations relating to your transaction please contact the Financial Institution via their current settlement booking line. For members that are not Financial Institutions please use the Subscriber Search functionality in PEXA to obtain their contact details. 

NOTE: You can download a PDF of the Transfer Guidelines at the bottom of the article. A copy of the old Transfer Guidelines are also attached below, for the instances where the new Financial Settlement Summary doesn’t apply.

1. Workspace Preparation and invitations

Stage	Guidelines	Timing
1 -  Incoming Proprietor  or Proprietor on Title  or  Incoming Mortgagee  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	Creates the Workspace with the settlement date and time, creates/edits the party (or parties) details and invites the other Parties as applicable.  Minimum recommended timeframes to ensure the Mortgagee has sufficient time to complete the transaction:  Invitation to be sent to Mortgagee on Title  at least 10 days prior to settlement Invitation to be sent to  Incoming Mortgagee  at least 10 days prior to settlement Note: Contract of Sale may specify which Party is to initiate the workspace. If a Workspace with the same Title already exists a message will alert the Party attempting to create the duplicate workspace. Please avoid creating duplicate workspaces. Invitations should be sent as soon as possible once the Workspace is opened to reduce possibility of duplicates	Send invitation when contract/s have been received.

2. ACCEPT/DECLINE INVITATIONS

Stage	Guidelines	Timing
2 -  All Roles  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	All Roles should respond to invitations and create/edit the party (or parties) as soon as possible.  If accepting, Parties should note on the acceptance any conditions such as “subject to receipt of instructions from Client”. If declining, Parties should include a decline reason code and additional text to fully explain why the invitation has been declined. Note: Invitations should be sent as soon as possible to reduce possibility of duplicates	All invitation responses should be completed within 2 business days of receiving the invitation.

3. WITHDRAWING FROM PEXA

Stage	Guidelines	Timing
3 - Withdrawing from PEXA       0000000000000000	If a party cannot progress in PEXA, inform the other parties and advise reason for withdrawal (using the PEXA Conversation tool). Un-sign all documents, withdraw from and abandon the workspace. Note: if withdrawal occurs within 5 days of settlement, delays may be experienced when booking a paper settlement with the Mortgagee on Title  or Incoming Mortgagee. Any contractual obligations concerning changes to the format of settlement should also be observed. Please refer to state based contractual requirements as to timeframes that the matter can revert to paper.	As soon as possible once the party knows they cannot proceed in PEXA.

4. CONVERSATIONs IN PEXA

Stage	Guidelines	Timing
4 - Conversations in PEXA	A comprehensive understanding of and rigorous adherence to these Guidelines should reduce the need to communicate via the PEXA Conversation Tool such that it should only used to communicate information that is not already in the workspace or to escalate an issue. It is important that all participants: ›   Respond to conversations in a timely manner. ›   Send a conversation only if changes are made after either the Financial Settlement Schedule and or a document have been signed, detailing the changes. To minimise the number of messages each party receives: ›   Avoid conversations to all workspace participants, only send to your client’s lender or practitioner (or practitioner to practitioner) ›  the Incoming Proprietor  to the Incoming Mortgagee and vice versa, › Proprietor on Title to Mortgagee on Title and vice versa.  There is no need to respond to a conversation requesting completion of a task if the task is completed and visible in the Workspace.	Within 8 business hours after receiving the notification. OR Within 4 business hours after receiving notification, if settlement is in 2 business days or less.

5. DOCUMENT CREATION

Stage	Guideline	Timing
5 - Incoming Proprietor	Incoming Proprietor completes Transfer document.	When the workspace has been created or an invitation has been accepted.

6. DISCHARGE AUTHORITY SENT AND RECEIVED

Stage	Guideline	Timing
6a -   Proprietor on Title                      00000000000000000	Proprietor on Title checks the “Discharge Authority Sent” checkbox on the Workspace Summary.  Note: Refer to Banks’ Transfer Checklist on the eConveyancing Community to find the latest Discharge Authority form and where to send.	When the Discharge Authority has been sent to the Mortgagee on Title
6b -   Mortgagee on Title	Mortgagee on Title checks the “Discharge Authority Received” checkbox on the Workspace Summary. Note: Once received, the Discharge Authority will be verified. Refer to Banks’ Transfer Checklist for timeframes for verification. If a new Discharge Authority is required, this checkbox will be unchecked.	When the Discharge Authority has been received.

7. LOAN DOCUMENTS SENT AND RECEIVED

Stage	Guideline	Timing
7- Incoming Mortgagee  0000000000000000	Incoming Mortgagee Checks the “Loan Documents Sent” and “Loan Documents Received” checkboxes on the Workspace Summary.	When documents have been sent and received from  Customer.

8.SETTLEMENT DATE AND TIME

Stage	Guideline	Timing
8a -  Mortgagee on Title               00000000000000000	Mortgagee on Title should accept the proposed settlement date and time. If they are not yet able to, a conversation should be sent to the Proprietor on Title to advise of the reason for the delay If the Discharge Authority has not been received 5 business days before settlement, or security packet is not available, the Mortgagee on Title  should send a conversation to Proprietor on Title to advise of delay in acceptance	Once Discharge Authority and security packet has been received.
8b -  Incoming Mortgagee	Incoming Mortgagee accepts the proposed settlement date and time.	Once the mortgage document has been signed by the customer.
8c -  Incoming Proprietor	Incoming Proprietor accepts the proposed settlement date and time or proposes an alternative settlement date and time.	At the same time as accepting invitation.
8d -  Proprietor on Title	Proprietor on Title accepts the proposed settlement date and time (where the Incoming Proprietor has opened the workspace) or proposes an alternative settlement date and time.	At the same time as accepting invitation.

9. STAMP DUTY ASSESSMENT

Stage	Guideline	Timing
9 -  Incoming Proprietor     00000000000000000	Outside of PEXA, login to online revenue office system, and provide relevant transaction details for duty assessment If NSW › EDR requires the Lodgement Case ID not the transfer doc id. › Once record is completed user enters transaction id into PEXA.  If QLD: › OSR Online does not require any input as the record is automatically created against the Subscribers profile after they have Entered Duty Information in PEXA. › Once record is completed in OSR Online the user just needs to come into PEXA and click verify duty. If VIC: › Duties Online requires the user to claim the PEXA transaction by entering the Transfer Document ID and SRO Transaction ID together with the Form ID into Duties Online › Once record is completed in DOL user just needs to come into PEXA and click verify duty.  If WA: › Print duty certificate in Revenue Online.  › Enter Certificate number into PEXA workspace stamp duty tab. If SA: › Log into Revnet for duty assessment and select ‘e-conveyancing batch’ › Enter reference number into the PEXA workspace Stamp duty tab	In accordance with jurisdictional requirements. NSW/QLD: at least 2 weeks prior to settlement SA: no more than 9 calendar days before settlement VIC: at least 1 week before settlement WA: at least 2 days before settlement

10. DOCUMENT COMPLETION AND SIGNING

Stage	Guideline	Timing
10a -  Incoming Mortgagee 000000000000000000	The Incoming Mortgagee prepares and signs Mortgage document in PEXA	Prepare Mortgage: When accepting settlement date and time and mortgage documents have been verified by the Incoming Mortgagee and are deemed ready to settle. Signing Mortgage: When required information in Transfer Document is viewable.
10b - Mortgagee on Title  or  Proprietor on Title	Mortgagee on Title creates and signs the discharge of mortgage document.  If NSW: › Where there is a mortgage on the title, the Mortgagee on Title  also creates and signs the Consent document for both an electronic and paper Certificate of Title. › Where there is no Mortgage on the title, the Proprietor on Title creates and signs the Consent document. If VIC: › Where there is a mortgage on the title, and the certificate of title is paper, the Mortgagee on Title also creates, signs and lodges the Nomination document. › Where there is no mortgage on the title, and the certificate of title is paper, the Proprietor on Title creates, signs and lodges the Nomination document.  › Where the certificate of title is electronic and the CT Controller is also a party in the Workspace, no nomination is required › Where the certificate of title is electronic and the CT Controller is not a party in the Workspace, the CT Controller needs to be invited into the Workspace to create, sign and lodge the Nomination document.	Once the Discharge Authority has been received
10c -  Incoming Proprietor	The Incoming Proprietor signs the Transfer document, lodgement instructions and: If QLD: › Form 24 Part A&B If NSW: › NOS If VIC: › NoA	Once all documents in the Workspace have been created and lodgement verification has occurred.
10d -  Proprietor on Title	The Proprietor on Title should sign all documents and: If QLD: › Form 24 Part A&B If VIC: › NoA	Once all documents in the Workspace have been created and lodgement verification has occurred.

11. BALANCE DUE TO VENDOR

Stage	Guideline	Timing
11 -  Incoming Proprietor  and Proprietor on Title         0000	The Incoming Proprietor  and Proprietor on Title calculate the amount required to settle and either party can enter this amount into “Balance due to Vendor”*. The party who has not entered the amount needs to select “confirm”, if agreed, or amend it. *Note: “Balance due to Vendor” varies in each jurisdiction NSW—Amount due on Settlement ACT—Amount due to Seller VIC—Balance due to Vendor QLD—Balance due to Vendor SA—Balance due to Vendor by Purchaser WA—Balance due to effect Settlement The “Balance due to Vendor” includes the purchase price minus the deposit paid, plus/minus the net adjustments as per the Statement of Adjustments. This figure is used to calculate “Purchaser funds required to settle”.	3 business days before settlement. 0

12. PAYMENT DIRECTIONS

Stage	Guideline	Timing
12 -  Incoming Proprietor  and Proprietor on Title         0000	The Incoming Proprietor  and Proprietor on Title enter payment destination line items into the Financial Settlement Schedule	At least 8 business hours before settlement.

13. INDICATIVE PAYOUT FIGURE

Stage	Guideline	Timing
13 - Mortgagee on Title	Enters indicative payout figure into the Financial Settlement Schedule.	At least 2 business days before settlement. 000000o00000000000

14. LOAN PROCEEDS

Stage	Guideline	Timing
14-  Incoming Mortgagee	Enters the Loan Proceeds into the Sources Tab of the Financial Settlement Schedule, once Loan Documents have been received and verified NB: This timeframe may be impacted by Customer’s unsecured debts.	At least 5 business days before settlement.

15. Authority to Debit & Draw Down Amount

Stage	Guideline	Timing
15a -  Incoming Mortgagee	Where the Incoming Mortgagee holds an authority to debit the Customer’s account for the shortfall amount required to settle, they answer “Yes” in the field on the Financial Settlement Schedule under the heading “Transfer Indicators” and enter the last four digits of the authorised account in the relevant fields. If the Incoming Mortgagee is not providing shortfall, they enter “No” under the heading “Transfer Indicator”.	At least 2 business days before settlement.
15b -  Incoming Proprietor	If the Incoming Mortgagee is providing shortfall, the Incoming Proprietor is to enter their final adjustments into the workspace and select “Ready for Shortfall Funds”. This indicates to the Incoming Mortgagee that they may now enter shortfall amount.	At least 8 business hours before settlement.
15c -  Incoming Mortgagee	If the Incoming Mortgagee is providing shortfall, they select “Add a Shortfall” or “’Update a Shortfall”; and enters the shortfall funds or confirms the amount which has been auto-calculated.	Once the Ready for Shortfall button has been indicated, ideally at least 8 business hours before settlement.

16. Purchaser’s Equity (no authority to debit)

Stage	Guideline	Timing
16 -  Incoming Proprietor	If the Incoming Proprietor is providing shortfall, they must create a source line item in the Financial Settlement Schedule and ensure funds are deposited into the relevant account (either their own trust account or the PEXA Source Account).	No later than 10am day of settlement (in jurisdiction of the land where the property is situated). NB: When using the PEXA Source Account, enter source line item at least 5 business days before settlement to generate account deposit details.

17. FINAL PAYOUT FIGURES

Stage	Guideline	Timing
17 -  Mortgagee on Title	Enters final payout figure	No later than 10am day of settlement (in jurisdiction of the land where the property is situated).

18. Collecting Vendor Surplus

Stage	Guideline	Timing
18a -  Mortgagee on Title	If the Mortgagee on Title has authority to collect Vendor Surplus funds, they select “Assign to me".	At least 2 business days before settlement.
18b-  Proprietor on Title	If the Proprietor on Title is collecting Vendor Surplus funds, they should select “Assign to me” and select "Add Vendor Surplus" or "Update Vendor Surplus" and enter the Vendor Surplus amount.	At least 2 business days before settlement.
18c -  Proprietor on Title	If the Mortgagee on Title is collecting surplus funds, the Proprietor on Title to enter their final adjustments into the workspace and select “Ready for Surplus”. This notifies the Mortgagee on Title that they can now enter the Vendor Surplus amount.	At least 8 business hours before settlement.
18d -  Mortgagee on Title	If the Mortgagee on Title is collecting surplus funds, they select “Add Vendor Surplus” or “Update Vendor Surplus” and enter the amount for Vendor Surplus or confirm the amount if it is auto-generated.	Once the Ready for Surplus button has been indicated, ideally at least 8 business hours before settlement.

19. SETTLEMENT PREPARATION

Stage	Guidelines	Timing
19a -  Proprietor on Title	Signs the Financial Settlement Schedule	At least 2 hours prior to settlement or once balanced.
19b-  Incoming Proprietor	Completes and signs the Financial Settlement Schedule	Sign once the IP is satisfied that the Financial Schedule is balanced.
19c -  Mortgagee on Title	Signs the Financial Settlement Schedule.	No later than 10am on the day of settlement (in jurisdiction of the land where the property is situated).
19d -  Incoming Mortgagee	Signs the Financial Settlement Schedule and Lodgement Instructions.	No later than 10am on the day of settlement (in jurisdiction of the land where the property is situated).