Are you ready for your Compliance audit? Do you have the appropriate records and paperwork to support your transactions? Would you pass?
Subscribers to an ELNO are aware of their ongoing obligation to ensure compliance with the Model Participation Rules. Pursuant to the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ECNL) the respective Registrar in each State or territory can conduct a compliance examination, either as a result of a complaint or on their own initiative. These compliance examinations have two purposes – either to ascertain whether the participation rules are being complied with; or, where the investigation is as the result of a complaint, to investigate any alleged case of misconduct with respect to the use of an ELN.
The consequence of a failure to meet the obligations and demonstrate compliance during a compliance examination are significant for subscribers. They range from being required to rectify the non-compliance, to, suspension, termination or referral to the appropriate authority including the relevant regulatory or disciplinary body or even law enforcement. Costs can also be ordered to be paid by the Subscriber where they are found to be in material breach of the Participation Rules including the costs incurred by the Registrar in the compliance examination.
ARNECC lists the common compliance errors arising from Compliance examinations including:
- Client Authorisation (CAF) – incorrect authority type, name errors, date errors, use of outdated CAF’s, agent details amongst others
- Verification of Identity (VOI) – insufficient or incomplete VOI standards applied, multiple client names; lack of evidence linking VOI to CAF. See also the recent case of C&F Nominees Mortgage Securities Ltd v Karbotli & Ors [2020] VCC 987, where a failure to take reasonable steps to verify identity for the purposes of a mortgage was found
- Right to Deal – lack of sufficient evidence supporting right to deal and linking to the transacting party; and
- A general lack of retention of supporting evidence for the prescribed period.
The requirements for verification of identity, client authorisation, and right to deal can feel overwhelming particularly if you don’t process property transactions on a regular basis.
For busy practices, ensuring compliance is yet another time-consuming task. This is especially so when you are dealing with large volumes of transactions and need to ensure compliance and cross-check the CAF and VOI for each matter, in addition to reviewing all the other documents required to process a transaction.
An automated process is the solution for compliance requirements. Automation increases confidence in the process by reducing human error and essentially removing this step from the process in completing a transaction.
That’s why the team at LodgeX built eCAF and VOI right into our e-Settlement and e-Lodgement platform, Lapp. We carry out compliance checks on your CAF and VOI and validate those that comply with our green ticks, so you’ll be passing your compliance audit in flying colours. Lapp also retains all your documents in one handily accessible booking card ready for retrieval for 9 years. Offering you compliance peace of mind, freeing you up to deal with your primary practice focus: your clients, your staff and building your reputational excellence.
Want to see how we’ve streamlined compliance requirements in the e-Conveyancing process to help you with passing your compliance audit? Contact our team for a demo of LodgeX Lapp and see how we can help you to green tick your compliance and process your matters without losing time watching a workspace.