LINZ News
100% e-lodgement – destination reached!
23 February marked a major milestone for LINZ with the e-lodgement of survey and title transactions becoming mandatory.
"It's been a long and challenging journey towards 100% e-lodgement. Thanks to the dedication of LINZ staff, the patience and commitment of the surveying and conveyancing professions, and the expertise of our IT partners, we've made it," says Colin MacDonald, Chief Executive.
"The effort that has gone into delivering Landonline has been tremendous, but it won't be stopping there. We've always kept our eye on the destination of 100% e-lodgement, but we've also been planning for beyond 23 February – particularly on ensuring the system is supported, stable and performing to a high standard."
Reaching the 100% landmark
Looking back, it was early 2006 when the Government announced it would enhance Landonline to enable all survey and land title transactions to be lodged electronically. At the time, the Government noted that replacing the labour-intensive paper-based system would align with New Zealand’s E-Government Strategy to improve delivery and enable greater access to information.
And improve delivery it did – the World Bank’s 2008 report on business regulations rated New Zealand as first in the world for ease of registering and transfering property. An acknowledgement that Sharon Cottrell, General Manager, Customer Services views as a collective achievement.
"Reaching this 100% e-lodgement milestone and improving the efficiency of our title and survey system would not have been possible without the cooperation and efforts of the surveying and conveyancing communities," says Sharon.
"When we set off on this journey, we knew it wouldn't be easy, but our customers' enthusiasm helped spur us on. From the first training session to the last leg of the journey with the final uptake, we’ve really valued everyone's input.
"It's always encouraging to hear how Landonline has improved businesses' efficiencies, such as lower fees and greater certainty in the property rights system," says Sharon.
So what's next for Landonline?
"We've come a long way, but we have further to go," reflects Sharon. "We have a sound system, but we will be looking to continually support Landonline and its users, and how we can make future improvements."
This means LINZ will continue to work closely with customers and stakeholders, especially around surveying and conveyancing trends.
"As the property market evolves, we will work to ensure Landonline is responsive to these changes, and ultimately, to our customers."
- November 1997 – agreement by Government to develop 'Landonline'
- 2002 – Landonline introduced
- 2000-2002 – remote access to survey and titles information in Landonline became progressively available to subscribers via the internet (e-search)
- Early 2003, Landonline was enhanced to enable conveyancers to lodge routine land title transactions in electronic form from remote locations (e-dealing)
- Late 2003, Landonline was enhanced to enable survey datasets to be lodged electronically (e-survey)
- February 2006 – announcement to phase out paper lodgement of survey and title transactions
- 1 May 2007 – electronic lodgement of Discharges
- 1 August 2007 – all Transfer and Mortgage types currently e-dealing capable
- 1 September 2007 – survey lodgements
- 23 February 2009 – all remaining title transactions
