The REISA will support privatisation of the Lands Title Office if it satisfies the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (SA), the Law Society of South Australia and the Registrar General.
Over the last few weeks, I have had an extraordinary amount of calls from (REISA) members expressing concern over the sale of the Lands Title Office – for the sake of this information’ let’s just all agree it is either a sale, an outsourcing or a commercialisation, but let’s not get caught up in the nuances. The LTO, and the Registrar General (along with the other Generals) undertake a very important task for the State of South Australia – the management and protection of title to land. A number have expressed concern about the privatisation of such a role (s) – both transactionally as well as with regard to the commercial value of the data it holds.
Many have suggested that we should mount a publicity campaign against such a sale. According to many factors, including the announcement on Budget Day of it being ‘commercialised’, it appears it is a done deal – it will be sold. The only question that remains is the conditions upon which a sale might take place. To the Government’s credit, they have put together a stakeholder engagement group with all of the relevant stakeholders on board.
So if it’s being sold, the only question left to influence is how well and quickly it gets sold such that the proud and important role the LTO undertakes on behalf of every South Australian is not compromised. I again reiterate that the part of the transaction workflow that is to be sold is really the purview of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (SA) and the Law Society of South Australia. As such the position REISA has taken (even at the risk of being accused of removing ourselves from the process) is to say that should three stakeholders be satisfied (ie ‘can live with it’) being the AIC(SA), Law Society and the Registrar General, then REISA would also support the process and direction of the commercialisation. As such, I along with the AIC and the Law Society have requested that the Government support a delegation made up of the AIC, Law Society and the Registrar General to visit sites where this privatisation has already occurred. Again, what is left from a REISA perspective is ‘how well it gets sold’ and we believe that those three stakeholders are key in achieving the best outcome for all of South Australia.
This article first appeared in the REISA's weekly newsletter.
See also:
Lawyers critical of plan to privatise land title registry
What's happening with the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal