First four-party digital settlement lodged in the ACT

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has reached another key milestone, with the first four-party transaction having been lodged this week. This follows the inaugural transaction officially lodged with the Territory’s land registry on 8 December 2021.

Velocity Conveyancing and National Australia Bank (NAB) were the representative parties for the buyer, a Canberra family purchasing their first home, while Chamberlains and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) acted on behalf of the seller.

Today, more than 80% of all property settlements are processed digitally. This ensures 20,000 Australian homebuyers and sellers each week are serviced by a homegrown, globally unrivalled exchange experience – with Territory residents now also set to benefit from the system.

Consumers will soon also be able to utilise PEXA Key – an award-winning application which provides high-level settlement tracking and importantly, a secure method for homebuyers and sellers to exchange bank account details with their lawyer.

Velocity Conveyancing’s Directors, Andrew Satsias and Peter Romano, said: “The introduction of electronic conveyancing is a monumental change to the settlement process in the ACT and will deliver both efficiencies for lawyers and significant savings for consumers. We commend both PEXA and the ACT Government for their innovation and we’re exciting to see more progress in 2022 and beyond.”

Chamberlains’ Senior Lawyer, Eliza Carter and Ben Hatte, Director said: “We have always advocated for technological advancements in our industry, and we feel that PEXA is an integral part of bringing the ACT into step with the rest of the nation.

“Our clients are able to receive their funds instantaneously, register their names on title and engage with PEXA Key to securely communicate account details and oversee the settlement process. We will continue to advocate for the uptake and eventual mandate of electronic transactions in the ACT – we look forward to engaging with our colleagues in this space.”

PEXA’s Chief Customer Officer, Lisa Dowie said: “Buying and selling a home is a landmark occasion in one’s life – and it’s an honour to be helping facilitate these special moments for ACT residents.

“This is another huge stride forward for the local property network. I’d like congratulate the trailblazing organisations involved and look forward to many more successful settlements in the Territory to come.”

PEXA has worked for a decade with registrars, practitioners and lenders to build e-conveyancing, and it is now an essential service delivering enormous benefits for the Australian property industry. PEXA is humbled to add this transaction to the more than 10 million transactions settled via the PEXA Exchange since 2014.