Client Spotlight

Client Spotlight on… KDD Conveyancing Services

Over the last 15 years or so, the demands on conveyancers have changed quite dramatically. Consumer expectations have evolved, regulatory obligations have increased, and many conveyancers we speak to are unsure of how to transition their business into this modern conveyancing landscape. One firm that has done this, though, is WA’s KDD Conveyancing Services.

KDD Conveyancing Services is one of Western Australia’s largest conveyancing firms, and over the last 10 years, they’ve not only embraced cutting-edge technology but have also set new industry standards for modern conveyancing practices. In this Client Spotlight, we take a look at KDD’s journey of transformation, including their commitment to innovation, their journey to paperless operations how flexible working arrangements are now commonplace in their business, all made possible by their partnership with Realtime Conveyancer.

Leading the way from the beginning of eConveyancing

KDD, having recently celebrated its 20th year in operations, has a long history of being at the forefront of technological advancements in the conveyancing industry. Take their commitment to embracing econveyancing in their business – back in December 2016, having settled a mere 100 settlements, KDD was Australia’s top transfer transactor on PEXA. Less than eight years later, they’ve now settled thousands.

Grace Boyle, KDD’s Licensee & General Manager, reflects on this milestone, saying, “We’ve always believed that embracing technology is essential for the future of conveyancing. It’s about providing better, more efficient services to our clients.”

Settling properties from Broome to the Nullabor and beyond

One of the standout stories of KDD’s digital embrace is that of Maddison Westlake, one of their longest-serving team members. Joining the KDD team in 2016 as their receptionist, Maddi built up a wealth of knowledge and genuine connections with many of KDD’s clients and referral partners. 

When she made the decision to travel around Australia with her partner in 2023, Grace realised that she was too good an asset for KDD to lose and was able to create a remote working role for Maddi.

This role has allowed Maddi to work remotely for KDD from some of North West WA’s most picturesque locations, and now as she travels across the Nullabor into South Australia.

Becoming paperless in a paper-heavy industry

KDD Conveyancing Services made the decision to become a paperless office back in 2017, driven by a vision to enhance efficiency and minimise their environmental footprint. In what is traditionally a very paper-heavy industry, KDD proudly stands today as one of the industry leaders, with operations that are almost entirely paperless. 

This transformation has not only streamlined their processes and saved the business money but has also contributed to a more sustainable and eco-friendly approach to conveyancing. Grace says, “Our transition to a paperless office is more than just modernisation. It’s a testament to our commitment to innovation and efficiency in conveyancing, and future-proofing our business.”

Supporting their team with flexible working arrangements

In addition to the flexibility offered to Maddi in her role whilst travelling, KDD Conveyancing Services also identified the need for increased flexibility for the rest of the Ellenbrook-based team. A considerable number of the team now work in hybrid office/remote roles, demonstrating just how easily modern technology can redefine work arrangements.  

Grace says that these arrangements offer her team a greater work-life balance but also that time has proven that this has not come at the cost of productivity. In fact, KDD’s conveyancers consistently settle an above-industry-average number of properties, thanks to the efficiencies and automations offered by Realtime Conveyancer’s Transaction Management Software.  

“Our team’s ability to work remotely and efficiently has been pivotal in achieving our goals. It’s about redefining traditional boundaries in conveyancing.”, says Grace.

A modern conveyancing experience for today’s clients

KDD’s commitment to innovation also extends to their clients by offering the Pathway to Settlement app to all buyers, sellers and real estate agents. This app by Realtime Conveyancer empowers KDD’s clients to track their property settlements 24/7 from their smartphones and securely share their account details with the KDD team. This not only reduces the risk of cyber-attacks but also enhances customer satisfaction and bolsters the firm’s reputation as a modern, tech-savvy conveyancer.

Navigating digital transformation and embracing innovation

Realtime Conveyancer’s CEO and Founder, Kylie Dillon, is undeniably proud of the team at KDD, stating, “KDD Conveyancing Services exemplifies what forward-thinking conveyancing firms can achieve with the right technology partner. We’re proud to partner with them in their mission to support their staff in modern work practices and to continue to deliver exceptional customer experiences to WA homebuyers and sellers.”

KDD Conveyancing Services has laid a sturdy foundation for the future of conveyancing by making strategic choices in their tech stack, including Realtime Conveyancer. This deliberate approach has enabled them to drive changes that extend beyond their settlement processes. With a focus on paperless operations, flexible work arrangements, and delivering exceptional client experiences, KDD is well-positioned to enter the era of modern conveyancing. To find out more about how the team at KDD Conveyancing Services is embracing digital change, visit their website.

Ready to make the leap into modern conveyancing like KDD have? Book a personalised demo of Realtime Conveyancer and transform your operations!

Education

ELNO Interoperability Update – Nov 2021

The Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) has published a Ministerial Directions Statement following a meeting on 18 October 2021 between relevant Ministers and representatives across all jurisdictions.  The Statement outlines the progression of national e-conveyancing interoperability reform, with regulation rolling out from early 2022.  

The interoperability reforms are designed to offer choice to Electronic Lodgement Network (ELN) subscribers, who must currently use the same Electronic Lodgment Network Operator (ELNO) to complete a transaction.  Various government and non-government stakeholders have been campaigning for these reforms in recent years to help to support a sustainable and competitive e-conveyancing market structure across Australia.

It is intended that the changes will allow differing ELNO systems to communicate with each other, resulting in ELN subscribers being able to choose their preferred ELNO. 

Over the past three years, progress to interoperability has included:

  • The Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ECNL) Amendment Bill being made ready for targeted consultation;
  • The initial version of the Application Programming Interface (API) specification being developed, with the design of the API specifications required for the first interoperable transaction in its final stages;
  • The Model Operating Requirements (version 7) has been updated with stakeholder feedback, with the second round of consultation expected in November 2021; and
  • A working group (observed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)) and consisting of jurisdictions, peak bodies and ELNOs continuing to work together to define the ELNO interoperability agreement

Feedback from incumbent ELNO, PEXA, suggested that a realistic timeframe for the first interoperable transaction would be October 2022.  PEXA Chief Operating Officer Simon Smith said that PEXA’s approach was based on maintaining the security and reliability of Australia’s e-conveyancing system.

“Thousands of property transactions pass through the PEXA exchange every day so while we’re building for interoperability, we’re also ensuring the integrity of the most important purchase someone will ever make.”

Simon Smith, PEXA Chief Operating Officer

Chair of the ACCC, Mr Rod Sims urged governments to include clear and accountable timeframes, and consequences for ELNOs not meeting these.  As a result, all State and Territory ministers agreed to the following key dates for interoperability implementation:

  • February 2022: NSW to introduce changes to the ECNL into NSW Parliament;
  • 3rd Quarter 2022: Commence with ‘Day 1 transaction’ (slated to be a limited scope refinance); and
  • Mid-2023: all interoperable transactions functional, with roll-out commencing across the jurisdictions in the second half of 2023.

Philip Joyce, CEO of Sympli said welcomed the positive outcomes of the October meeting, stating “The benefits [of interoperability] to customers and the industry are too great to allow any further delay.”

The relevant State Ministers are arranging for their jurisdictional approvals to be ready for introducing the changes to the national law in early February 2022, and for the Model Operating Requirements to require interoperability to be available by the first half of 2023. 

The next meeting is expected to take place in early 2022, to coincide with the amendments to the ECNL.

Media Releases

Realtime Conveyancer partners with eCAF to offer conveyancers improved efficiency and security

Realtime Conveyancer has announced a new integration with leading digital solution eCAF to further enhance the overall digital property transaction experience for Realtime clients. 

The seamless integration of eCAF will provide Australia’s only solution for combining contactless digital Client Authorisation Forms (CAFs) with simultaneous, real-time Verification of Identity (VOI) and Verification of Signer (VOS). Ian Hendey, CEO of thelawstore.com.au said that whilst digital signing is widespread across the legal and property sectors, eCAF is taking it one step further and providing practitioners with absolute certainty that the person signing the CAF is who they say they are.

“We’ve gone to great lengths with our investment in our technology and the people behind it to deliver a solution that biometrically binds the person behind the keyboard to their government issued ID, at the point of digitally signing the CAF.

The two processes are usually done at different points in time, not simultaneously, which does leave the process susceptible to issues around identify fraud.”

Ian Hendey, CEO of thelawstore.com.au
  • Combines digital verification of Identity and digital signature into a single point-in-time process;
  • Digitally extracts the most trusted government-issued ID photo of your customer;
  • Biometrically matches that trusted image to the person behind the device; and then
  • Provides you with the signed document and certificate of completion. 

eCAF is excited to provide this technology to Realtime Conveyancer’s clients, to further enhance their experience on the Realtime platform, which is already delivering WA practitioners with a new innovative way to transact online. Realtime Conveyancer co-founder and CEO Kylie Dillon said that the eCAF integration supported Realtime’s vision to make buying and selling more efficient by streamlining the end-to-end conveyancing transaction process.

“We are delighted to welcome eCAF to the Realtime digital ecosystem, as it delivers our clients with a faster and more streamlined way to meet their obligations around both signing of the eCAF and VOI at the same time, which will also reduce their exposure to associated risks.

RealTime is committed to delivering WA legal and conveyancing practitioners with an innovative solution that pushes the status quo in market. Our partnership with eCAF helps us to continue to strengthen the complete value we bring our clients, which ultimately delivers a superior online property settlement experience for all parties.”

Kylie Dillon, co-founder & CEO of Realtime Conveyancer

–BACKGROUND

Realtime Conveyancer offers transaction management software for conveyancers and solicitors, built by practitioners for practitioners. Their cloud-based workflow system makes the conveyancing process seamless while automating repetitive tasks. Embedding eCAF into their platform gives them a secure means of sending documents and obtaining digital signatures with efficient identity verification.

About eCAF: eCAF is a brand of thelawstore.com.au, a firm of specialists delivering online user-friendly legal solutions. eCAF is the only platform in Australia to offer compliant digital signing of CAFs with real-time verification of identity. Know with certainty that the person signing your documents is who they say they are while saving time and reducing errors with eCAF’s secure system.

For more information on eCAF please visit ecaf.com.au.

About Realtime Conveyancer: Realtime Conveyancer Australia is a property technology startup launched in 2020 to provide an end-to-end transaction management system that streamlines the conveyancing process from contract to keys, through digital innovation. Founders Kylie Dillon and Mike Price, both formerly of PEXA, are industry leaders in conveyancing and technology development respectively.

For more information on Realtime Conveyancer please visit realtimeconveyancer.com.au.

Education

Model Participation Rules – Version 7 Consultation

The Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC), recently published a draft of Version 7 of the Model Participation Rules (MPR). Primarily, changes suggested in Version 7 focus on interoperability between Electronic Lodgement Networks (ELNs). Feedback garnered from the consultation phase will then be considered by ARNECC, prior to the anticipated start date for Version 7 of the MPR in December 2021.

The MPR provides the basis for each State and Territory’s Operating and Participation Rules and determines the standards to which Electronic Lodgment Network Operators (ELNOs) and their subscribers must comply when operating within the eConveyancing landscape.

The key change in Version 7 of the MPR is around the added provision for interoperability between ELNs. The substance of the interoperability definition will be found within the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ECNL).

It is anticipated that the term ‘Interoperability’ will be defined in the ECNL as the interworking of ELNs in such a way that enables:
– Conveyancing practitioners using different ELNs to complete a conveyancing transaction; and
– the preparation of documents using data from different ELNs.

A draft of the amended ECNL is expected to be available to industry by October 2021, following which, all jurisdictions will be required to finalise governmental approvals. It is anticipated that following all necessary approvals, the first interoperable transaction will take place by the first quarter of 2022.

Under the proposed changes to Version 7 of the MPR, conveyancing practitioners would be permitted to be a Subscriber to more than one ELN. There must be a Subscriber Administrator for each ELN a Subscriber is registered with. This Subscriber Administrator may or may not be the same person.

The concept of interoperability between ELNs has been welcomed by key stakeholder groups, including the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (which considers interoperability essential for competition between ELNOs), along with the Law Council of Australia and the Australian Banking Association, both of which also strongly support competition between ELNOs.

Consultation closes on Monday, 6 September 2021 and feedback should be sent by email to chair@arnecc.gov.au.

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