Mandating eConveyancing in Queensland
5 May 2022
The Australian Banking Association continues to support efforts to accelerate the adoption of electronic mortgages and settlement for the convenience of consumers and the associated economic benefits. The banking industry is supportive of mandating electronic conveyancing in Queensland, which is a pragmatic and natural development from the current regime. Mandating e-conveyancing in Queensland will create greater certainty for consumers and drive greater efficiencies.
Download PDFElectronic Conveyancing National Law
11 March 2022
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) continues to support efforts to accelerate the adoption of electronic mortgages for the convenience of consumers and the associated economic benefits. The ABA and its members have actively contributed to the development of e-conveyancing since its infancy as well as interoperability and the associated reforms. The banking industry is supportive of progressing the Electronic Conveyancing National Law to implement interoperability, with further consultation to consider in detail the issues that ABA and other stakeholders have raised. This 2-step process is a pragmatic response to the complexity of the reform, and the need to balance certainty of the reforms with addressing important issues that stakeholders have raised.
Download PDFARNECC – Modification of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law
24 November 2021
The ABA welcomes the changes included in the consultation draft and have some minor comments, contained in the attachment, regarding aspects of the drafting where further consideration may be warranted. The ABA is available to assist ARNECC in considering these issues.
Download PDFDigital Identity Legislation
27 October 2021
ABA reiterates our view that there is significant potential economic benefit in the government’s digital identity initiative for consumers and businesses. The development of both government and private sector digital identity systems is needed to achieve wider adoption, and therefore realise the potential economic benefits of this government policy. That will continue to depend on whether the proposed legislative framework provides clarity, ensures robust privacy safeguards for users, provides flexibility to innovate and incentives to participate, while minimising the potential for conflicting or inconsistent data and privacy obligations for participants.
Download PDFModernising Document Execution
8 October 2021
Currently, significant delay, financial costs and opportunity costs result from the need to sign and witness deeds and statutory declarations on paper; these costs also result from inconsistent and uncertain regulations under Commonwealth, State and Territory laws. The ABA strongly advocates for the reforms to remain technology neutral and provide a single, consistent approach to executing deeds and statutory declarations. Otherwise the reforms may make it harder to use, and therefore disincentivise the use of, electronic execution.
Download PDFTreasury Laws Amendment Bill 2021
10 September 2021
The ABA supports the proposed amendments being considered by Parliament expeditiously to give industry ample time to implement changes to comply with the reforms. As such the ABA strongly supports the proposed bill being finalised and introduced into Parliament as soon as practicable. However, the ABA also asks Treasury to consider making a number of further amendments and clarifying a small number of matters in the Bill. Doing so would enhance the effectiveness and benefit of the Bill for industry.
Download PDFElectronic Mortgages in WA
31 August 2021
Electronic signatures can mitigate fraud risk by implementing multi-layers and factors of security and authentication, and the technology can generate an auditable electronic record, tamper proof seal, and use multiple ways to authenticate the signatory's identity. Most mortgages are not created pursuant to deeds. As such consideration of reforms in Western Australia should distinguish between the reforms that are necessary to enable electronic mortgages including the counterpart mortgage, and the reforms that need to be made to enable electronic deeds. The ABA strongly supports reforms to enable electronic deeds and not requiring most types of deeds to be witnessed.
Download PDFUsing technology to hold meetings and sign and send documents
16 July 2021
The ABA supports legislation being technology neutral and facilitating innovation in how companies and businesses engage with shareholders and other stakeholders.
Download PDFModernising Business Communications
3 March 2021
The ABA welcomes the Government’s establishment of the Deregulation Taskforce (Taskforce). The proposed reforms to modernise business communications have the potential to reduce business costs and reflect the way Australian consumers and businesses prefer to manage their financial affairs today. The ABA particularly welcomes the Taskforce’s whole-of-economy approach by working to improve technology neutrality across Commonwealth laws, and importantly - partnering with states and territories to explore opportunities to achieve national consistency.
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