About HeatherC

Hello Community,   As more of our members are keeping their businesses operating with staff working at home, we thought it would be worth sharing some tips that may assist with the transition, insofar as PEXA is concerned. Although PEXA is a web-based application, and can be used anywhere you have an internet connection, there are some factors to be mindful of –   Digital Signing Certificate Software If you are a signer in PEXA, and will be signing on a computer you haven't signed on before (perhaps a personal laptop, as opposed to your desktop computer in the office), you will need to ensure you have downloaded and installed the digital signing software, which may be found here. Please take note of the number of steps you need to follow for your preferred browser, and proceed through them sequentially. If you do not have administrator rights to your computer, you may need to ask your administrator to complete the download and installation for you. If you are using a Mac computer, please note that the signing software is not yet compatible with their latest operating system, Catalina. For other Mac operating systems, please follow the instructions in this link.  Of course, it goes without saying, please remember to take your digital certificate home with you, and ensure it is stored safely when not in use.   Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) Although users have the option of receiving their MFA code via SMS or the smartphone app, we find the most reliable option to be the latter. The code is generated immediately in the smartphone app for users to transcribe into PEXA, and while it is likewise generated immediately for the SMS option, there can be latency issues with some telecommunication providers that mean the code is not received by the user for some time. For more information, please see this article, and if you would like assistance moving from SMS to the smartphone app, please contact our Support Centre on 1300 084 515.   Verification of Identity (VOI) We know many of our members are hesitant to meet with clients face-to-face now to complete their VOIs, which is perfectly understandable. At this stage, Australia Post, ZipID and ID Secure are conducting VOI appointments as per usual, so you may opt to outsource at the moment.   Using PEXA Key PEXA Key provides your business with an extra layer of security when communicating bank account details and allows homebuyers and sellers to track their settlement on their phone. Bank and trust account details are communicated via the PEXA Key app, removing the need to use email and mitigating you and your client’s risk of succumbing to  phishing  attacks. For more information about PEXA Key, visit our help page.   Help Resources PEXA has a fully stocked Help Centre right here on Community where you can find articles, helpcards, videos, simulators and more that can help you with your work. We also have an abundance of webinar recordings here that may be useful, particularly as the end of CPD year approaches in many jurisdictions. Please see information about claiming CPD points here. Our Support Centre remains available on national business days, and can be contacted by phone on 1300 084 515 or email at support@pexa.com.au.   If there is anything else we can do to support you as you transition to working from home, please let us know.   Heather ... View more

Hello Community,   In conjunction with our recent Member Open Day on 28 February, we were pleased to host PEXA’s 2020 Community Super Users – our third cohort of Super Users since the launch of Community back in 2016. What is a Super User? Great question! Super Users are members of this forum who regularly showcase a willingness to assist others in our Community, and to share their experiences of using PEXA in the hope that doing so will help other members. In an increasingly busy world, that these people take the time to participate so actively here on Community truly is inspiring.   We had nine Super Users, with representatives from practitioner firms and financial institutions all over Australia, join us (@vanessarota, @LaurenMcMahon, @EmmaWu, @Marty and me) in Melbourne, the evening prior to our Member Open Day. We had a great time getting to know one another while testing our putting skills at Holey Moley’s mini golf course at Crown, before heading off for dinner and drinks. Well done to @Robyn1 for taking out mini golf, and thank you to all for your enthusiastic participation. The next day was action-packed for our Super Users, who had an exclusive program before the formal Open Day agenda commenced at lunchtime. They had the opportunity to meet with a number of PEXA’s Group Executives, participated in an ideation session with @NancyMadafferi on the future of Community’s Help Centre, learnt about what goes in in Member Support with @shauny and @Josh_McCutcheon, and had a chance to speak with @GeorgePolus about what’s coming up in future PEXA releases.    We are so fortunate to not only have such engaged PEXA members, but to have them so active here on Community as well, helping others in the network. Keep an eye out on Community for their special Super User 2020 badges, which will appear next to their names very soon. These things don’t get organised on their own, and I would like to extend my gratitude to @vanessarota, @LaurenMcMahon and @HannahNichols for their assistance pulling the event together – thank you! Presenting our 2020 Community Super Users (below with the PEXA team, post golf) - @Claudia11, @Sonia77, @stevenmorgan, @KarlaS, @Annelie, @EmmaD, @Robyn1, @HeathHill-WBC and @CT        Heather   ... View more

Hi Community,    PEXA has been made aware of a sophisticated phishing incident targeting an Australian conveyancer. In this instance, an email was sent to a client of a practitioner purporting to be from the practitioner. The sender of the email had established a similar email address to that of the practitioner, and subsequently telephoned the client to advise of a change to bank details.    PEXA reminds all members of the importance of having processes in place to obtain or share account details with clients, and to confirm those by a secondary means. We have previously posted about this here.    PEXA also recommends members implement multi-factor authentication for email accounts that are used for business purposes to reduce the risk of compromise.    Members are also encouraged to consider using PEXA Key to securely communicate and receive bank account details with their clients.    Heather   ... View more

Hi Community,    PEXA is aware of an issue impacting our business website, pexa.com.au.    While this does not affect the PEXA Exchange, we are aware that many members navigate to the Exchange via our website.    Members may access the Exchange directly via workspaces.pexa.com.au and we recommend, in any event, that this page be bookmarked for ease of access.    Instructions on how to do this for Google Chrome may be found here, and for users of other browsers, we suggest searching for instructions via Google or your preferred search engine.    We are currently working with our vendor to resolve this issue, and will provide an update shortly.    Kind regards,    Heather ... View more

We know that change can sometimes be a difficult thing to embrace, and the more prepared you are, the higher the likelihood of you feeling comfortable with a new process. Therefore, when your firm decides to embark on the digital settlement journey with PEXA, it’s important that it is set up for success. Done correctly, your firm will be more able to smoothly adapt to changes that come with adopting a new process. Below, you’ll find a handy guide to help those new to PEXA that experts may also refer to as a checkpoint.   1. Setting up user profiles The first and only user PEXA will set up for your organisation’s profile is a Subscriber Manager. Subscriber Managers have the highest level of access in PEXA, and the Participation Agreement provides that every Subscriber must have at least one. There are two other user types in PEXA – 1) Subscriber Administrators, who have certain administrative rights below the Subscriber Manager, e.g. can add or remove Users; and 2) Users/Signers – the latter having signing rights. Access more information here about these user types. These will be set up by the Subscriber Manager. When a User first accesses PEXA, they will be required to set up both their password (we recommend a minimum of ten characters, and a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters) and two security questions. These security questions will be used by our Member Support Team to authenticate users when they call requesting assistance. It is important that neither one’s password nor the answers to their security questions are shared. Every person in an organisation who is required to access PEXA must do so via their own User profile. Sharing of User profiles is prohibited by the e-conveyancing legal framework. Unless an exemption applies, only ‘natural persons’ may have a User profile, which means that teams, divisions, and those who ‘job share’ cannot share a User profile. Note that Users must regularly log in to PEXA to maintain their profiles. Users who do not log in to PEXA for 100 days will be considered ‘inactive,’ and will have their profiles suspended. Should this occur, Subscriber Managers may reinstate their access. Access frequently asked questions on inactive Users here.   2. Securing your access with Multi-Factor Authentication Following the establishment of their profile, a User will be required to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) using their mobile phone. Further information about MFA can be found here. When logging in to PEXA, Users will be required to enter a one-time passcode following their password. This password can be received via SMS or a smartphone app. For Users who intend on accessing PEXA via multiple devices (for example, both an office and home computer), or will be using PEXA whilst abroad, it may be preferable to use the smartphone app. More information here.   3. Digital Certificates A firm can have as many Signers as required, subject to regulatory requirements and the firm’s internal policies. Every User who has authority to sign in PEXA must have their own Digital Certificate and PIN. Sharing of Digital Certificates is prohibited by the e-conveyancing legal framework. The following signing activities occur in PEXA, and should be considered when planning who in an organisation requires a Digital Certificate (ensuring that there are a sufficient number of persons with signing capability in place for employee leave, etc) – Signing of land registry instruments – this permission should only be assigned to people who are permitted to sign land registry instruments (please note, each jurisdiction has different rules governing this, more information here) Signing of the Financial Settlement Schedule (by all parties/Subscribers to the transaction) Authorising the use of trust money – this permission may only be assigned to someone who is on record with a Subscriber’s bank as being a trust signatory, and their name in PEXA must perfectly match the name recorded by the bank Activating new Users after they have been created Authorising corrective payments, in circumstances where incorrect account information has been entered into PEXA and a settlement payment rejected   4. Standard Operating Environment Information about minimum system requirements and supported browsers may be found in PEXA’s standard operating environment here. For the best and most effective access to PEXA, it is recommended these requirements be followed.     ... View more

The introduction of e-Conveyancing has afford ed  industry  greater flexibility  in their work life ;   f rom  signing  in Slovakia  to  ad opting flexible work hours .   Whether you’re working from home or overseas, we recommend the following when using PEXA outside the office.     Take your laptop   When  using PEXA  outside of  your usual environment , we recommend you use your own device because:   U nfamiliar  device s , such as  a  hotel’s computer,  might not have   the  level of virus protection  necessary  to comply with  PEXA’s Subscriber Security Policy  to protect you and your clients.   Your own device should already have signing software downloaded, a n unfamiliar  device will not.  As a result ,  you’ll have to download and install the software onto the new device – which may not have the correct level of protection.         2. Do not use public  WiFi   We r ecommend  you  use your mobile  as  a  hotspot  (or purchase a  4G mobile router ). This will provide you with a safer connection online.   C heck with your mobile carrie r  as data roaming charges from mobile devices may apply .   Public  WiFi   – whether it’s at your hotel or at McDonalds  - is easily compromised  by hackers and your  personal information can be  obtained .         3.  Keep you r   DigiCert  safe   Ensure you pack your   digital certificate (DigiCert) .   Y ou’ll need it to sign   in PEXA  as no one else is   permitted to   do so  on your behal f .   When out of the office we recommend you:   Disconnect your DigiCert from  your  computer when no longer accessing PEXA   Do not leave it unattended or in a public place   Keep it in a secure, lockable location  (unless you are taking it with you)          4.  Use MFA via the  smart phone app   M ulti-factor authentication (MFA)  via  PingID  gives  PEXA Members  an extra layer of security as  they   are required to provide both  a  password and  a  one-time passcode  when logging into PEXA .    When out of the office or overseas, the  PingID  smartphone  app works best  as it  provides the code instantly.  A  code via SMS   can sometimes be delayed  if  your mobile phone service is limited  or disrupted.   F u rther, i f you ’ re travelling overseas and have not enabled roaming, you ’ ll still receive your authentication code if your phone is   connected to the internet .          5.  Use PEXA Key If you’re working remotely and cannot attend face-to-face client meetings, PEXA Key provides your business with an extra layer of security when communicating bank account details and allows homebuyers and sellers to track their settlement on their phone. Bank and trust account details are communicated via the PEXA Key app, removing the need to use email and mitigating you and your client’s risk of succumbing to phishing attacks. For more information about PEXA Key, visit our help page.         6.  Getting help while you’re away   PEXA  Support Centre  is available by phone on 1300 054 515 between 8.30am – 8.00pm AEST/DT. You can also e-mail the team at  support@pexa.com.au . If you e-mail outside  of operating hours the team will respond   the following business day.   The  e-Conveyancing Community is another excellent resource you can access for help online via community@pexa.com.au.   ... View more