The controversy is continuing with the NSW Government now on the brink of selling off the operation of Land and Property Information (LPI) which is the entity handling all NSW Land Titles Registry dealings.
The Government is currently in the process of conducting an auction for the right to run
Australia’s largest and oldest land titles registry for the next 35 years.
According to opponents of the move, including groups such as the Law Council of Australia,
the Law Society of NSW, Real Estate Institute of NSW and Institute of Surveyors NSW, the move threatens the integrity of the system that underpins billions of dollars of economic activity and $1.2 trillion of
real estate.
The LPI collected $190 million in revenue in 2015/2016 and contributed $130 million in profit to the NSW Government. There has been speculation that the NSW Government is hoping to receive an upfront payment of $2 billion for the right to run the LPI for 35 years. If those figures are correct, the LPI could generate an equivalent contribution to the Government in less than half of that time.
Opponents of the privatisation move argue that it will lead to degradation of LPI, higher costs for
businesses and consumers, increased risk of errors and frauds, and increased risk to the security of private and sensitive data.
All of this is happening at a time when the system of land titles in NSW is moving from paper-based to electronic documentation. In order to support
the new system of electronic records, there will be a need for a mass of personal identification data to be in the hands of whoever is appointed as the private sector operator.
The Law Society of NSW not only opposes the privatisation move but also is alarmed by the lack of public consultation, public disclosure and access to documents involved in the process.
According to Pauline Wright, President of the Law Society of NSW,“The national economy, and public confidence in the protection of every individual’s property rights, depends on the absolute security in the administration of the land titling function.”
John Clarke is the Solicitor Director of Clarke Law with a local network of offices in Narooma, Bermagui