Researchers raise alarms about a new cyber threat affecting conveyancing practices

Iron Bastion’s cybersecurity expert Gabor Szathmari, recently published novel research on abandoned domains, and how they are a significant cyber risk which threatens businesses and in particular the Australian conveyancing profession. What is an Abandoned Domain Name? A domain name is a name you can register to identify your business on the internet. For Australian

First home buyers and downsizers set to reap super benefits

Government changes to super will benefit people at the start of their home-owning journey and those later in life looking to downsize. Two Federal government housing affordability schemes that involve changes to superannuation are set to come into full effect from 1 July 2018. From July 1, eligible first home buyers and those looking to

Electronic Conveyancing

Conveyancers in New South Wales are increasingly embracing Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) online electronic settlement platform as the state continues to progress towards a digitised industry. With standalone transfers and caveats transitioning online in NSW as part of the 1 July compliance date, three NSW Licenced conveyancers who have already stepped into the digital future

Is Your Dealing Authorised?

For all electronic dealings, a Client Authorisation is now required to authorise a conveyancer to act as their client’s agent and to sign conveyancing transactions on their client’s behalf. Client Authorisations 2018: A Health-Check The cut-off dates for mandatory electronic lodgements of conveyancing transactions in NSW are fast approaching. Furthermore, Client Authorisations are becoming a

Case law updates – Do certifiers owe a duty of care to prospective purchasers when issuing an occupation certificate?

In Ku-ring-gai Council v Chan (2017) NSWCA 226, the NSW Court of Appeal considered the issue of whether Ku-ring-gai Council (the Council) owed the subsequent purchasers of a renovated property a duty to take reasonable care in issuing an occupation certificate to avoid their suffering economic loss as a result of the previous owner-builder’s defective

Case law updates – Subsequent conduct may demonstrate the existence of a new agreement

In the case of Yangdo Pty Ltd v Equiti Group Pty Ltd (2017) NSWSDC 277, Yangdo (the Landlord) argued that Equiti (the Lessee) incorrectly relied on a letter that allegedly documented a new lease agreement. The Court ultimately held that the document was in fact an agreement for a new lease and, in the alternative,

Case law updates – The sunset clause: Failure to meet notice requirements are fatal

In Klein v McMahon (2017) NSWSC 1531, Klein (the Purchaser) sought an order of specific performance against Mr and Mrs McMahon (the Vendors). The Vendors had attempted to rescind the contract in accordance with the terms of certain provisions within the agreement but without regard to Section 66ZL of the Conveyancing Act (‘the Act’). The

Ethical Conduct – An Essay

Recognising that a core reputational component of any profession is the ethical conduct of its members, we have recently introduced into the AICNSW education program several sessions on the topic of Ethics. While researching suitable content for these sessions, we were delighted to encounter an essay written by AICNSW member Michelle Sillato as part of

Regulatory issues in the performance of conveyancing services for legal practitioners (Scenario 2)

Conveyancers are seeing business opportunities in the provision of conveyancing services to legal practitioners. Before entering into any such arrangement, however, there are range of factors that conveyancers should consider, such as the potential legal implications for their business, whether the arrangements will permit regulatory and legislative requirements to be met, and what, if any,

Regulatory issues in the performance of conveyancing services for legal practitioners (Scenario 1)

Conveyancers are seeing business opportunities in the provision of conveyancing services to legal practitioners. Before entering into any such arrangement, however, there are range of factors that conveyancers should consider, such as the potential legal implications for their business, whether the arrangements will permit regulatory and legislative requirements to be met, and what, if any,