PEXA approved to operate in ACT

Property exchange settlement platform PEXA has been provided approval by the Registrar General to create and operate an Electronic Lodgement Network within the ACT. 

The ACT Government passed legislation to welcome online settlements into ACT in May last year, as part of moves to create a nationally consistent electronic conveyancing solution.

At the time of writing, PEXA had not provided an official date the network will be operational, but stated that it was currently working with the Registrar General to determine one. 

After this soon-to-be-confirmed date, practitioners, financial institutions, government bodies, and other subscribers to the PEXA network would “be able to settle and lodge conveyancing transactions in the ACT using the PEXA Exchange Platform”. 

Speaking of the company’s approval, PEXA’s managing director and group chief executive, Glenn King, said: “As disclosed in our IPO Prospectus, a key plank of our growth strategy in Australia is the continued expansion of the PEXA Exchange’s offering into the remaining non-mandated jurisdictions.

“We are delighted to receive regulatory approval to operate the PEXA Exchange in the ACT… we look forward to bringing the benefits of our platform into the ACT market and enhancing conveyancing transactions via the PEXA exchange.”

The platform has been growing recently, and last month revealed that its revenue had increased by 42 per cent during the 2021 financial year – an increase of $221 million. 

The company also announced it had seen a 37 per cent growth in year-on-year PEXA exchange transactions, including a lift in transfer volumes and refinances across all states. 

In July, PEXA reported that Queensland and NSW had the highest observed refinances in the past two years, with each state totalling 5,000 and 11,000 respectively. 

Earlier this month, PEXA Insights’ head of research Mike Gill confirmed that the company’s refinance index stood at 187 points for the week ended 29 August 2021 – an increase of 46.9 per cent year-on-year. 

[Related: Refinances hit record highs in August: PEXA]