Subscribers must ensure their Users are aware of the Participation Rules
While Subscriber Managers should be familiar with all the Participation Rules, their staff need only know those that are relevant to their use of PEXA.
It’s important that Subscribers have training programs in place for new staff to ensure this occurs, whether or not they have used PEXA before. A great starting point could be the free PEXA Certified program , but we do recommend organisations run their own follow-up, in-house sessions where internal procedures and expectations about how PEXA is to be used are made clear.
Although not an exhaustive list, internal training programs could cover elements of the Participation Rules such as use of the Client Authorisation (MPR 6.3), Right to Deal (MPR 6.4), Verification of Identity (MPR 6.5), compliance with jurisdictional requirements (MPR 6.15), user management (MPR 7.2 – 7.4), certifications (MPR 7.10) and compliance with PEXA’s Subscriber Security Policy (MPR 7.1).
Subscribers must protect information from unauthorised use, reproduction or disclosure
During a PEXA transaction, Subscribers will be provided with information from other Subscribers, their clients, the Registrar in their jurisdiction, PEXA or both. This could include residential addresses of parties and Subscribers must take reasonable steps to prevent its unauthorised use, reproduction or disclosure.
PEXA has facilitated an increase in flexible working arrangements for Subscribers and afforded many the ability to work outside of their office environments. However, this also raises the risk of people who are not PEXA Users (as defined) being able to see, for example, the contents of a Workspace, particularly in cafes, shared working environments and public transport.
Subscribers should have policies in place for staff using PEXA outside of their offices to minimise the possibility of information that should remain confidential.
6.12 Subscribers cannot transfer ELN subscriptions
Although the business name of a Subscriber is what is mentioned extensively in PEXA, the registration/subscription is referenced to the legal entity that owns the business, be this an individual, partnership, company or otherwise.
For each new registration, PEXA will check the relevant government registers to ensure that the legal entity noted on the registration forms does in fact exist, is the owner of the named business and is adequately insured. Post registration, we continue these checks at regular intervals to ensure nothing has changed.
In today’s world, it’s not unusual for businesses to restructure their ownership, such that a business once owned by an individual may transition to corporate ownership. In this instance, a new PEXA registration is required. The same applies where a business is sold. The existing profile cannot be transferred across to a new entity.
Subscribers must comply with the laws of their jurisdiction
Although PEXA is a national platform, the sale and transfer of property is regulated by state laws, and PEXA has not removed the need for state legislation to be observed.
In addition to nuances between documents, states have different rules about who may conduct conveyancing transactions, and who may digitally sign electronic registry instruments. For example, only legal practitioners are permitted to complete conveyancing work in Queensland.
ARNECC has produced a handy guide for practitioners summarising who may sign registry instruments in each jurisdiction. This may be found on its website here .
We recommend reviewing this information when ordering digital signing certificates for staff.
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