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From 1 August 2019, Land Use Victoria begins its final chapter of its transition to 100% digital, when all remaining Victorian property transactions move online. As part of this transition, the State Revenue Office (SRO) of Victoria is delivering its Duties Online (DOL) solution to allow transfers requiring complex assessments to be settled and completed electronically. Therefore, complex matters initiated in your PEXA Workspace from 17 June 2019, must be commenced in PEXA and submitted in DOL at least 30 calendar days prior to settlement for a duty calculation. Once an assessment is submitted in DOL and identified as complex, the earliest possible settlement date will be returned from the SRO (30 calendar days from lodging with the SRO). The SRO has supplied a full list of complex assessments and is hosting multiple webinars in the lead up to 17 June. View a recording or register for an upcoming webinar here.   From 17 June 2019, we recommend lodging all duties transactions with the SRO 30 calendar days prior to settlement, whether it’s a simple/non-complex or complex assessment, to avoid any possibility of the settlement date shifting beyond the intended settlement date. For more information on complex assessments, please contact the SRO. Below are FAQs to further assist you with the complex assessment process in PEXA.   What are complex assessments? A duties transaction, lodged with the SRO, containing supporting documents that requires manual examination is considered complex. What are simple/non-complex assessments? Simple/non-complex assessments are those that do not require manual examination. The vast majority (approximately 90%) of duties transactions are completed instantaneously via DOL. What happens if I do not lodge a complex assessment with the SRO 30 calendar days before settlement? Your settlement will be pushed back automatically to meet the 30 day requirement. Where will I see the settlement date returned by SRO? The settlement date returned by the SRO will be viewable on your Workspace’s Stamp Duty screen. Will the settlement date provided by the SRO populate automatically into my PEXA Workspace? - If you already have a settlement date applied to your Workspace, it will automatically update with the settlement date provided by the SRO. - If you do not have a settlement date applied to your Workspace, you must then input the settlement date provided by the SRO as normal. The settlement date provided by the SRO is viewable on your Workspace’s Stamp Duty screen. Can I manually change the settlement date submitted by SRO? The PEXA platform will not allow you to manually change the settlement date provided by the SRO to an earlier date.   However, if for some reason the transaction rolls-over and does not settle on the predetermined date, there is a grace period of three business days. If the transaction doesn’t settle within these three business days, a new assessment will be required, and an additional 30 calendar days will be added to the transaction. Whose responsibility is it to manage the duty assessment? One Participant will take responsibility of the assessment i.e. a Participant representing one or more incoming (purchaser) parties in the Workspace. When should I claim a simple/non-complex duties with the SRO? We recommend lodging/claiming with the SRO 30 calendar days prior to settlement whether it’s a simple/non-complex or complex assessment to avoid any possibility of settlement date shifting beyond the intended settlement date. When should I submit complex lodgements with the SRO? You must submit all complex lodgements with the SRO at least 30 calendar days prior to settlement to avoid any possibility of settlement date shifting beyond the intended settlement date.   ... View more

Hi Community,   Very excited to announce the Victorian State Revenue Office updates to the Land Tax Clearance Certificates. You can now pay the tax listed on land tax clearance certificates by credit card or BPAY. This continues the move to convenient, online payment options. From 27 March 2019 you will also be able to pay the tax listed on land tax clearance certificates via PEXA. To do this: 1. Navigate to your Financial Settlement Schedule 2. In the Destination Funds Details section, select Land Tax Clearance Certificate Liability Payment from the dropdown (this will allow both the proprietor on title and incoming proprietor to see the BPAY reference in the FSS) 3. Select an Associated Subscriber (your counterpart in the workspace) 4. Enter the biller reference number located in the Payment Options section of your clearance certificate 5. Enter the amount you are paying and select Save * Please ensure that the BPAY Reference Number is correct as provided by State Revenue Office Victoria. PEXA does not validate the BPAY Reference Number details provided. Any error in these payment details may result in the delay of processing the payment of funds.   ... View more

Hi Community, I’m pleased to announce that from 17 December 2018, a number of changes to PEXA’s Notice of Acquisition (NoA) will be released. The updated NoA will now include the field ‘Lot and Plan’ among others. Your feedback has been instrumental to these upgrades and a full list of changes can be found below. PEXA’s updated NoA document will be officially available from Monday next week and will include important fields required by councils and water authorities. These additional fields remove the need for external NoA generating software, helping ensure a streamlined experience.   How to access the NoA Go to the documents page of your PEXA workspace, click the Notice of Acquisition cog and click “View” The rendered NoA Document will be displayed: Finally, right click on the document, print or save to PDF and email to the relevant local council Thank you for your feedback. Please continue to share your ideas and suggestions as we are always looking to improve our services for you.   List of NOA changes VIC stylesheet with the following fixes Transferor’s Representative Details (Name, Telephone Number / Email Address) now shown Lot and Plan Numbers are now shown The ‘Address for Future Correspondence’ and ‘Address at Time of Transfer’ values are no longer combined, i.e. they are now correctly mapped as the current and future addresses Multiple Titles are now reflected to NoA Cheers Jonathan   ... View more

Hi Community,   Victoria is leading the country’s transition to 100% e-Conveyancing. Currently, the majority of transfers in the state are being completed through PEXA, enabling benefits to flow to all parties including consumers. Industry is now focused on enhancing the quality of interactions between parties transacting online. The following tips are designed to support you in streamlining this experience.   One | Follow the Transfer Guidelines The Transfer Guidelines assist PEXA members in the timely and successful completion of PEXA settlements. They have been developed through industry-wide collaboration to meet the needs of all PEXA members. An important guideline for practitioners who are acting for the purchaser is the provision of the Total Funds Required to Settle five business days before settlement.   This is the sum of the adjusted balance due to the Vendor (from Statement of Adjustments), all lodgement fees, stamp duty, the PEXA fee, and your professional fees (if payment is required at settlement). In other words, it's the total amount payable by the purchaser.    Two | Refer to Bank Transfer Checklists Some banks, including the major four, have posted a checklist of recommendations to guide practitioners through interdependent tasks in a workspace. See links below. Find out where and how to send a Discharge Authority (DA), how to contact the bank if you have an issue, special provisions for business lending, additional information to include in invitations, and further details regarding provision of shortfall funds and collection of surplus funds by mortgagees. NAB Checklist ANZ Checklist Westpac Checklist CBA Checklist Suncorp/FMS Checklist   Three | Send invitations early The Transfer Guidelines recommend that invitations to an Incoming Mortgagee and/or Mortgagee on Title be sent a minimum of ten days prior to settlement. Banks have indicated that they require at least ten days to complete all necessary internal processes.  The tasks that participants in a workspace are required to complete are tightly inter-reliant and dependent on timely and accurate completion for a successful settlement. When this doesn’t happen, the root cause is not always apparent. For example, what looks like a delayed signing of the Financial Settlement Schedule (FSS) by one party might have been caused by a late change to a financial line item by another.   Note: When inviting a bank to complete and lodge a nomination of an electronic Certificate of Title (eCT) in Victoria, please invite them in the role of CT Controller (not Mortgagee on Title) to avoid requests landing in the wrong queue. It’s also important to include the tasks you’d like them to complete and the nature of the transaction in the invitation notes.   Four | Have productive conversations The PEXA conversation tool works most effectively when used exclusively to provide or request information that is not already available in a workspace. Avoid using it to a) Inform other participants of tasks you’ve completed and are expecting them to complete; b) Advise that the DA has been sent (use the checkbox and upload the DA into the ‘Files’ tab); c) Inquire about the status of loan documents (refer to checkboxes); d) Send unnecessary messages (for example, asking other participants how their day is going); and e) Send messages to all participants when only relevant to some (this could compromise the privacy of your clients). Larger financial institutions can manage over 1,000 conversations per day. For every conversation, select a relevant predefined category to classify your message as this helps them to allocate messages to the right team and increase the speed of response.   Five | When using PEXA’s Source Account, provide cleared funds three business days before settlement PEXA’s Service Charter (section 2.4) requires cleared funds to be available in PEXA’s Source Account no less than three business days before settlement day. For the month of September 2018, 79% of deposits made into the Source Account by clients of Victorian conveyancers were made fewer than three days from settlement. If cleared funds are not available early, parties may be impacted by a delay in settlement; unnecessary stress for practitioners and clients; and an overall negative online settlement experience which could’ve easily been avoided. Conveyancers may consider over-estimating the amount of funds required to be transferred to the Source Account and recommending to their client that they transfer the estimated amount. The surplus funds can then be disbursed back to the client via the FSS. The sum deposited into the account must match the source line item created in PEXA. If not, it will be difficult for PEXA to identify the funds received, which may cause a delay in verifying them in time for settlement. In circumstances where funds are transferred into the Source Account within three days of settlement, the availability of cleared funds for settlement cannot be guaranteed. Note: Funds can only be received electronically. Deposits made by cheques or cash are not accepted.   Six | Verbally confirm bank account details It is recommended that you confirm all important information verbally with your clients, especially bank account details before entering them into the FSS. A benefit to consumers of settling using PEXA is that vendors may receive quick access to cleared funds. The timing of receipt will vary between financial institutions. For example, funds from settlement can appear within minutes or in excess of 24 hours.     Cheers Jonathan Teh  ... View more

Hi Community,   1 October is just around the corner and I’d like to share with you some important exemptions and out-of-scope instruments. These will help you recognise the few instruments that will not be possible online. To recap, Land Use Victoria announced that any instrument or combination of instruments signed on or after 1 October 2018 and available in PEXA, must be lodged electronically. The requirement to lodge electronically applies to conveyancers and lawyers acting for a party or themselves, and PEXA subscribers.   Exemptions If any instrument in a case is signed prior to the 1 October, then the requirement to lodge electronically will not apply.   For example, a combination of instruments to be lodged might include a Withdrawal of Caveat signed on 10 October 2018, a Discharge of Mortgage signed on 25 September 2018, a Transfer of Land signed on 10 October 2018 and a Mortgage signed on 10 October 2018. In this example, because the Discharge of Mortgage was signed prior to the 1 October 2018, the requirement to lodge electronically would not apply and the instruments could be lodged in paper.   Please note, the above example can be completed electronically however is not a requirement from 1 October.   Out-of-scope If your transaction falls into one or more of the below ‘out-of-scope’ categories it cannot be completed electronically and must revert to paper. Parties with a single name e.g. Madonna or no last name Holding in dual capacity (where a party holds a property in two capacities i.e. John Smith as Executor ½ share and John Smith ½ share) Furthermore, the following transfer types are not yet available in PEXA, therefore they cannot be completed electronically: a folio of the Register that cannot be dealt with in an ELN an instrument affecting more than 20 folio by a minor where the minor is transferor creating an easement of an interest, e.g. a lease of part of land in a folio of the Register of a tenant in common’s share a survivorship or transmission application that is not available electronically, such as a survivorship application by an interest holder. that cannot be assessed in Duties Online (www.sro.vic.gov.au/dutiesonline).   The Registrar’s Requirements Exceptions letter should be completed and attached to your paper settlement Victoria (will be made available at www.propertyandlandtitles.vic.gov.au ).   SRO update From 1 October, Duties Online transaction types must be processed electronically using an electronic lodgement network operator. All remaining complex transactions which cannot be completed in Duties Online and PEXA, still need to be lodged electronically with the State Revenue Office for a duty determination before registration. The SRO is planning functionality to enable the electronic completion of complex transactions. In all cases, practitioners need to be registered for Duties Online and PEXA.   To help prepare for 1 October, PEXA’s training team are hosting a number of webinars to help you get ready. The list of webinars are registration links and can be found here . If you have any questions, feel free to add your questions below.   I have also attached Land Use Victoria's Customer Information Bulletin 180 which has further details.   Cheers Jonathan ... View more