The Conveyancing Voice Issue 18

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September 2016

Contents •

Self Managed Super Funds offer flexibility and produce best results

•

Helping you comply with VOI

•

AIC National President Attends Sir Robert Torrens Dedication Ceremony

• AICSA Conference 2016 • Updated Bank List • Encroachments & Land Divisions •

SPECIAL ANNOUCEMENT:

Calender

Roger Rasheed our special guest speaker for the Conference welcome drinks on Friday October 21.

Notice To Lodging Parties16 September 2016 No 193 Compliance Program With the introduction of electronic conveyancing and the new conveyancing requirements, a new nationally aligned Compliance Program is being introduced in South Australia.....

AICSA Annual General Meeting 2016 Wrap Up Thank you to all those who attended the AICSA 2016 AGM. The meeting was a success and finished in near record time....

Self Managed Super Funds offer flexibility and produce best results with professional support It might seem simple to park your savings in a retail or industry superannuation fund if you are an employee or to invest in property as your nest egg if you are a business owner but are you making the most out of your retirement assets?

Having a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) can provide more tax effective options for using your capital to build your business, to benefit from tax concessions and in relation to succession planning, says Hood Sweeney Accounting & Business Advisory (AFSL 485569) Representative and SMSF Specialist Craig Stone.

SMSFs can be a powerful tool for building wealth but in these days of complex taxation rules, low interest rates, and volatile markets, it is important to have integrated, professional advice.

For those with super balances between $250,000 and $300,000 or more, paying around 1.5 per cent in fees, transferring assets into an SMSF with set administration fees can be cost effective.

Having an SMSF enables businesses to use income more flexibly to grow as well building a retirement nest egg. It can provide greater control over your money compared to retail or industry funds and the opportunity to transfer assets on the death of a member to a surviving spouse.

You can use an SMSF to accumulate assets and generate retirement income, and it can include investments in a range of assets including property, shares, term deposits and managed funds.

It can make great financial sense to have a strategy that includes investments in a range of asset classes and takes advantage of Federal Government tax incentives around superannuation.

If you have net profit each year of $100,000 and are paying tax at the marginal rate of around 40 per cent, it could be worth considering the longer term benefits of taking $25,000 of that and putting that in super.

The flip side of having greater control, though, is greater responsibility for the risk involved in selecting investments and managing/monitoring the compliance aspects of a SMSF. It’s important to note that there are options to manage the SMSF yourself and simply seek accounting advice, or to have a financial adviser who manages the investments as well.

One of the advantages of a firm such as Hood Sweeney is that it can provide a suite of services for SMSFs, including tailored investment advice, financial planning and accounting in a one-stop shop.

For more information contact Craig Stone, representative of Hood Sweeney Accountancy & Business Advisory (AFSL 485569) on 1300 764 200 DISCLAIMER: This information is of a general nature only and does not take your specific needs or circumstances into consideration. Before acting on this information you should consider the appropriateness of the information with regards to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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NoticeTo Lodging Parties16 September 2016 No 193 Compliance Program With the introduction of electronic conveyancing and the new conveyancing requirements, a new nationally aligned Compliance Program is being introduced in South Australia.

The Compliance Program has been established to monitor that the obligations and practices that support the certifications made by the Legal Practitioner, Registered Conveyancer or Mortgagee (the Representative) - for both the paper and electronic transactions - are being met as they relate to: •

Verification of Identity

•

Verification of Authority

•

Client Authorisation

•

Retention of Evidence

•

Digital Signing (for electronic transactions only)

Section 220A of the Real Property Act 1886 and Section 33 of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (South Australia) Act 2013 provide the Registrar-General with the power to undertake a Compliance Examination as part of the administration and enforcement of these Acts.

Compliance Examination Procedure Representatives will be selected at random for a Compliance Examination, which will be initiated by a written notice from the Registrar-General to the Representative. The Compliance Examination Notice will be sent to the email address recorded for the Representative. The Notice will: •

outline the transaction(s) for which evidence of compliance is sought

•

detail the documents and information that are to be provided (copies only)

Timeframe for Response Representatives will have 10 business days, from the date the Compliance Examination Notice was sent, in which to produce the documents and information requested.

Provision of Evidence Copies of the documents and information requested in the Compliance Examination Notice can be provided to the Registrar-General through these methods: •

By email to DPTI.LTOCompliance@sa.gov.au

•

In person at the Lands Titles Office - 101 Grenfell Street ADELAIDE

•

By registered mail, addressed to: Office of the Registrar-General Compliance Examination

GPO Box 1354 ADELAIDE SA 5001 In each case, Representatives will receive an acknowledgement of receipt via email.

Notification of Outcome The Registrar-General will conduct a desktop evaluation of the submitted documentation against the transaction(s) selected for Compliance Examination.

Once the Compliance Examination is complete the Representative will receive notification

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(by email) of the Examination results.

A satisfactory Compliance Examination will require no further action or correspondence.

An unsatisfactory Compliance Examination result may require the Representative to: •

Provide further documentary evidence

•

Provide a written explanation addressing the deficiencies identified and outline the

controls to be implemented to prevent a re-occurrence  In particular circumstances of gross deficiency, a face-to-face interview with the Representative or an on-site visit to their office may be requested.

All Compliance Examination requests and outcomes will be recorded and held by the Registrar-General. _ The first round of Compliance Examination Notices will be sent out later this month.

Should you have any concerns regarding the Compliance Examination Notice, you can contact us at any point (i.e. before or after the notification of Examination results) at DPTI.LTOCompliance@sa.gov.au If you require additional information regarding the Compliance Program please visit www.sa.gov.au/landservices, alternatively please see the ARNECC Compliance Examinations Guidance Note.

Jenny Cottnam DEPUTY REGISTRAR-GENERAL Lands Titles Office

Members; Look up your booked events To view events that you have booked into please follow these steps; Log in to your account via our website http://www.aicsa.com.au Then proceed to login via the ‘my account’ tab found on the bottom left side of the menu.

You will be migrated to another page whereby at thebottom of this screen there is an option for ‘My Events’.

Please click here to check which events you are currently registered to attend.

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AICSA Annual General Meeting 2016 Wrap Up Thank you to all those who attended the AICSA 2016 AGM. The meeting was a success and finished in near record time.

The award of Life Membership was presented to Jeff Stevens, along with Fellowship Membership being presented to Frances Portelli and John Erskine. Fittingly, Members stayed behind to celebrate these wonderful people with a few drinks and nibbles.

The new Council will reconvene in October, in the meantime I would like to thank outgoing Councillor’s Jeff Stevens and Brad Eckermann for the tireless contribution to the AICSA and the conveyancing profession. Congratulations go to Tim O’Halloran and Jenny Raymond who were re-elected as President and VicePresident respectively. I would like to welcome new Councillor Michelle Hendry and welcome back re-elected Councillors Roger Scott, Denise McKay, Jess Caire and Stella Sinanis.

The full Council is as follows: Tim O’Halloran, President Jenny Raymond, Vice-President Ben DePalma, Councillor Penny Erskine, Councillor Stella Sinanis, Councillor Roger Scott, Councillor Jess Caire, Councillor

Jeff Stevens, Frances Portelli & John Erskine

Denise McKay, Councillor Michelle Hendry, Councillor

Council sub-committees will be established in October. Please contact me at ceo@aicsa.com.au should you wish to be a part of one of these – they are a great way to meet your peers, interact with the AICSA and see how an Association is managed. From past experience I can say it is very rewarding. Subcommittees include – Publications, Professional Development, Member Services, Finance and Audit and Professional conduct.

We have an exciting year ahead, one with still more change, but energising developments at the AICSA. We have 2 big announcements to be made at the year’s conference so make sure you book in early to hear what we have planned (and make the most of the early bird pricing).

Rebecca Hayes AICSA CEO

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Helping you comply with VOI When it comes to your clients needs, you don’t just need to know what’s what. You need to be certain of who’s who. In order to reduce the risk of land title fraud, each state authority is introducing reforms for a new Verification of Identity (VOI) policies. They are now in place in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. To comply with these policies, conveyancing practitioners need to make sure face-to-face identity checks are being made on each of their clients who are buying, selling or transferring property.

These policies mean a whole lot more process to include in your day-to-day, so if you’re finding identity checks to be a tedious distraction from your business, a VOI service can take the tedious verification off your hands and complete all the face-to-face checks for you.

How Australia Post can help: Australia Post’s Verification of Identity service makes identity checks easier, faster and safer for you and your clients. A leader in the field with over 30 years of experience in identity verification, Australia post performs over five million identity related checks every year. Our checks are performed thoroughly and are compliant with verification standards.

Australia Post will perform the identity checks on your behalf. This will save you time and paperwork so you can focus your energies on what you know best – the buying and selling of properties.

You may have seen us at the recent AIC WA Conference where we spoke about exciting new developments to our service. We will provide you with more information in the near future as these enhancements become available.

All the help you need when you need it: Australia Post’s VOI services are supported by a dedicated specialist support team who are on standby, ready to help you through the process with any questions or assistance you may need. Their professional service will help set your business up to manage your VOI needs in an efficient and secure way.

Email: landtitleVOI@auspost.com.au Call: 1300 364 543 Visit: auspost.com.au/landtitles

This article is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to be specific advice for your business needs.

Quick and easy Property Transfer ID verification If your clients buy, sell or transfer property, you must ensure Verification of Identity (VOI) steps are taken or risk potential liability.

To find out more please visit auspost.com.au/landtitles

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AIC National President Attends Sir Robert Torrens Dedication Ceremony: Last Sunday, Santina Taranto, the National President of AIC, joined with representatives of the Law Council of Australia and others in a dedication ceremony at Leusden Church in the United Kingdom to commemorate the life of Sir Robert Torrens. A plaque was laid which was a collaborative effort between the Law Council of Australia and the AIC and a copy of the wording is

The Commenerative plague given in honor of Sir Robert Torrens Contribution to the development of land registration system

Sir Robert Torrens Grave

AIC National President Santina Taranto, along with representatives from the Law Council of Australia

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Welcome Reception Sponsor:

Welcome Reception

Early bird tickets still available!

Venue: Audi Room Adelaide Oval Date: Friday 21 2016 Join us Friday night at the Audi Room for cocktails & immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Adelaide Oval. Hosted by Grand Slam Coach Roger Rasheed Purchase your ticket for the welcome recepion to be able to go into the chance to win a roof climb at Adelaide Oval.

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ONLY 3 WEEKS LEFT! GRAB YOUR TICKETS

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Tomorrow’s Firm: let’s be creative, let’s diverge and differentiate Venue Adelaide Oval Date Friday 21 – Saturday 22 October 2016 FRIDAY An afternoon of Pre-Conference workshops looking at innovating your business…

Followed by a Welcome Function at the magnificent Adelaide Oval with guest Roger Rasheed talking about his adventures in the tennis world. Attendees have the chance to win a Rooftop climb over the glorious Adelaide Oval Proudly brought to you by Vero & Marsh.

SATURDAY Business Leadership – Conveyancing Fundamentals – Conveyancing Diversities.

Click Here to Book Your Tickets

For Full Program details click here.

Tel: 08 8359 2090 Email: project@aicsa.com.au W: aicsaconference.com.au

Conference Major Sponsor:

Bank List updated The Bank List has been updated with information from Adelaide Bank and Bendigo Bank.

Click here to view the latest version of the Bank List.

News and More Snapchat in the workplace: where’s it app? (Seyfarth Shaw LLP) ‘Snapchat is about sharing moments and having fun’ reads the tagline of the mega-app that has the fastestgrowing social network in the world. But despite its phenomenal popularity, what potential impact might Snapchat have on your workplace?.....

Differentiating yourself in a cut-price market (PEXA) When it comes to differentiating yourself from your competitors, it pays to focus on value as opposed to pushing out the lowest price.....

RBA tells ASX to step up cyber resilience (The Australian) The Australian Securities Exchange should upgrade its readiness for an extreme cyber attack, ensuring by the end of June next year that it can recover.....

Frequently Asked Questions on RPA Reforms & EC- Updated We h ave re ce nt l y a dded n ew FAQ ’s to t he site. You c an access t hem via t his lin k ;

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Encroachments and Land Divisions Boundary encroachments are fast becoming one of the more stressful responsibilities of property ownership, particularly with the densification of our inner suburbs. In years gone by it was common for property owners to replace old fencing or construct a shed without considering the location of the true property boundaries. Conveyancers are often the property owners first contact when considering how to deal with a boundary encroachment.

Besides fencing and sheds, other types of encroachments can occur such as walls, concrete footings, eaves and gutters, pipes, balconies or even underground encroachments such as cellars. More extreme boundary encroachments also occur such as solid brick garages and even home extensions straddling boundaries - all of which can be prevented prior to construction by a boundary survey.

Today, most encroachments are identified by boundary survey either when sub-dividing land or during the construction of a new home or home extension. Fences are the most common form of encroachment as many were constructed by measuring from other fencing and without survey.

Importantly, the position of the fence does not change the ownership of the land being encroached upon.

It is not always the case that an owner must remove an encroaching fence, wall or other structure on the neighbour’s land. Some neighbours who occupy adjoining properties may have no concern if a wall straddles a boundary, although once aware of an encroachment the owner must disclose this fact when selling the property.

Once an encroachment is suspected, a boundary survey should be undertaken to identify the nature and extent of the encroachment. In the case where an encroachment must be rectified, there are a few options to consider: 1. Transfer of the portion of land being encroached by way of land division or lease which may also include payment of compensation; 2. Payment of compensation; 3. Removal of the encroachment, and; 4. Registration of easement(s) and payment of compensation.

If the neighbours are not able to come to an amicable arrangement, mediation between both parties is often cheaper and quicker than taking the matter to Court. As always, it is recommended to seek legal advice.

All subdivisions carried out by a certified survey will depict on the land division plan the position and extent of the encroachments along the subject boundaries. It is common for fencing to be within a few centimetres of the true boundaries - this should not be cause for concern as moving a fence by small amounts is unnecessarily costly.

On Community land division plans - the encroachment may be shown as an easement with an alpha identifier (such as “X”) and the conveyancer will need to seek consent(s) from the adjoining owner. Encroachments onto public roads (such as overhanging balconies and roof canopies) are handled in a similar fashion with the addition of a license being granted from Council or relevant statutory authority.

Regardless of the nature of the encroachment, conveyancers will continue to be integral in what can be a very stressful process for property owners. If one of your clients has an encroachment or land division query, please contact our office for an initial free consultation and advice.

David Stacey Director of Zaina Stacey Development Consultants Phone: 8379 7979 Email: planning@zainastacey.com

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AICSA is pleased to invite you to attend the The AICSA Conference DATE: Friday October 21- Saturday october 22 2016

DETAILS Click here the link to see the program details

MAJOR SPONSOR: TIMG LOCATION: Adelaide Oval INVESTMENT MEMBERS: BRADMAN: $650.00 (Incl. GST) MAGAREY: $496.00 (Incl. GST) HEWITT: $75.00 (Incl. GST) Student: View site for pricing

Professional Development & Event Cancellation, Change & Refund Policy

Diary Dates 21- 22 October - AICSA STATE CONFERENCE TICKETS AVAILABLE BOOK NOW!

PLEASE NOTE: No refund will be given unless more than 7 days notice is received by AICSA in writing.

15 November - Seminar Retirement Villages 25 Decemeber - XMAS

Cancellation may invalidate discount.

Changing between events (including from seminar to recording) after registration and less than 48 hours prior to the event will incur an administration fee of $25.00 (+ GST).

The AICSA reserves the right to cancel sessions that do not reach the minimum number of participants required (full refunds given).

Settlement Dates Click here for settlement room dates.

Member Event Photos Click on the link to view photos from our recent events Click Here

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AICSA Professional Development Calendar 2016 (September-November)

Principal Partner for Professional Development Series:

OCTOBER DATE

SESSION NAME

CPC

TIME

LOCATION

1:00pm - 5:00pm (Business sessions)

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AICSA CONFERENCE

TBA

5:00pm - 6:15pm (Welcome cocktail reception)

Adelaide Oval

6:30pm - 8:00pm (Popeye Cruise on the River Torrens + Olive Oyl Paddleboat Challenge)

22

AICSA CONFERENCE

TBC

8:00am - 5:00pm

Adelaide Oval

15

4:30pm – 6:00pm

AICSA

NOVEMBER 15

Retirement Villages

CONTACT US Ph: 08 8359 2090 E: project@aicsa.com.au W: www.aicsa.com.au

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Australian Institute of Conveyancers South Australian Division Incorporated

CONTACT

AICSA STAFF Rebecca Hayes Chief Executive Officer e: ceo@aicsa.com.au

6th Floor, 68 Grenfell Street Adelaide SA 5000 GPO Box 2402 Adelaide SA 5001

Geoffrey Adam E-Conveyancing & Legislative Projects Officer e: ecl@aicsa.com.au

Tel: 08 8359 2090

Glenys Jackson Business Manager e: business@aicsa.com.au

Fax: 08 8232 8618 DX 58223 L.T.O. Email: assist@aicsa.com.au Web: www.aicsa.com.au

Matthew Netherwood Membership & Sponsorship Manager e: matthew.netherwood@aicsa.com.au Renzo Rigano Marketing and Communications Coordinator e: communications@aicsa.com.au Karen Holt Membership Coordinator e: membership@aicsa.com.au Megan Whitford Professional Development & Events Coordinator e: project@aicsa.com.au Janette Wale Finance & Administration Officer e: assist@aicsa.com.au

Disclaimer The views expressed in this E-Newsletter are those of the author and not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. The material contained in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and neither purports, nor is intended to be advice, legal or otherwise, on any particular matter. No subscriber or other reader should act on the basis of any matter contained in the publication without considering and, if necessary, taking the appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances. The publisher, the authors and the editor expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a purchaser of this publication or not, in respect of anything set out in this publication and of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication. No correspondence will be entered into in relation to this publication either by the publisher or the editor.