About HeatherC

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. 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

PEXA offers a range of training and educational activities to assist Members in transitioning to, and becoming proficient in, lodging and settling electronically, including –   On-site and online training with your PEXA Direct Specialist Regular webinars The PEXA Certified program Train the Trainer, for appropriate organisations Roadshow events, across metropolitan and regional areas   Practitioners often ask us if they are able to claim Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for these activities, which makes sense given they are designed to broaden and improve their professional knowledge and competence.   PEXA also offers an abundance of online resources in our Help Centre – how-to articles, help cards, videos, simulators and past webinar recordings – which some practitioners read and watch for CPD purposes also.    For lawyers, CPD is self-regulating in QLD, NSW, VIC and SA. Lawyers in these states are therefore permitted to determine for themselves if any PEXA-related training is able to be claimed for CPD purposes and, if so, the number of points. The nature of the content and type of activity should help practitioners form an opinion as to what is the most appropriate CPD category to claim points in. If you are unsure about what category points should be awarded in, or the number you may claim, we suggest you contact the regulator of CPD in your state.   The situation is a little different in WA, however, where CPD points must be awarded by an approved provider. Unfortunately, PEXA is not an approved CPD provider in WA, but we will provide an update if this changes.   Please find a table below which outlines the above.   For conveyancers, we suggest you contact the regulator of CPD in your state to ascertain whether any of the above are sufficient for CPD purposes.   We encourage anyone planning on claiming points for PEXA-related training to consider the following –   Recording each appointment with your PEXA Direct Specialist, including the length of the appointment, and what you covered with them Keeping any certificates or confirmation of attendance for webinars or face-to-face events Saving your module completion records for PEXA Certified Noting the time taken to read or watch online content   State Points based on self-assessment Points awarded VIC ✓   NSW ✓   QLD ✓   SA ✓   WA   ✓   ... View more

Many of our members will remember when PEXA introduced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) last year, which provided additional security to all users logging into the PEXA Exchange.   Two options were made available to our members – PingID app authentication on smartphone SMS authentication   Information about each of these may be found on our MFA FAQ page here.   We are often asked which option is best, and although this is very much a matter of personal taste, I thought I would share my thoughts on why I love the smartphone app.   Users can access PEXA on any device they wish – having the PingID app on your smartphone means you can change between computers, tablets and smartphones with ease. This is likewise the case with SMS authentication. If you change phones, as I recently did, you can unpair your old device and pair your new device without having to call PEXA Support (this is available in the Settings menu of the app). Those who have opted for SMS authentication will need to contact PEXA Support if they change telephone numbers (but not phones), as there is no app they can use to amend their details. Users receive their authentication codes in front of their eyes when requested – there is no need to wait to receive their code via SMS, which can sometimes be delayed if you are in an area with poor service, or there are other issues with your telco. Further, if you are travelling overseas and have not enabled roaming, you will still receive your authentication code if your phone is connected to the internet.   I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic also – please feel free to share below. ... View more