LINZ News

News

Landonline will be unavailable on Saturday 23 September

Landonline will be unavailable on Saturday 23 September 2006 due to the scheduled 2.8 Release.

Details of the release, including what it means for Landonline customers, are included in the Landonline section of this edition of Landwrap.

The 0800 ONLINE (0800 665 463) team will also be unavailable on Saturday 23 September but will be available during normal hours both leading up to and after that date.

July figures for electronic lodgements

• A total of 542 law firms out of a possible 1320 lodged an e-dealing in July. Forty of those firms lodging were first time e-dealers.



• The e-dealing share of the total e-dealing-capable lodgements sat at 31.4% in July (up 2.7 percentage points from June).



• A total of 137 survey firms out of a possible 320 lodged an e-survey in July. Three of those firms lodging were first time e-surveyors.



• The e-survey share of the total survey lodgements was 52.7% for July (up 4.4% percentage points from June).

Landonline

Landonline 2.8 Release overview

The Landonline application is continuously being updated to take advantage of changes in technology, to make the system more robust, and to reflect changes that Landonline users suggest to help make using Landonline easier.

The Landonline 2.8 Release is the latest of these updates, focussing primarily on technology and making the system more robust. The release is scheduled to happen over the weekend including Saturday 23 September.

Changes in the Landonline 2.8 Release that Landonline users will notice include:

1. The ability to send surveyors emails when their e-survey has been requisitioned.



2. Scroll-bars on screens (e.g. the search screen) for those users who aren't able to increase their screen resolution to view all the information.

Other changes include:

1. Changing from PowerBuilder 7 to PowerBuilder 10
   
   Powerbuilder is the development tool that the Landonline application was built with. Powerbuilder 10 is the most recent version and offers more features as a development tool. Landonline users will notice no difference.



2. Changing the image storage system from FileNet to Centera
   
   The June 2006 edition of Landwrap (issue 23) describes in detail the benefits of changing to Centera. It's very much like changing from storing your music files on a CD to storing them on an MP3 player. There's no difference to the image files themselves - and the person who accesses them will experience them in the same way – but the method of storage is different. As with the PowerBuilder upgrade, during normal Landonline operation, you will not notice any difference.

These changes are part of the ongoing programme of upgrades to modernise the system that runs Landonline.

If you have any questions, please contact the Customer Support team on 0800 ONLINE (0800 665 463).

New Landonline scrollbars added

Scrollbars have been added to some Landonline screens so that all Landonline customers can view every part of every screen.

Landonline displays best if your screen resolution is set to 1024 x 768. There are some screens that require this setting to display correctly and, as more functionality is added, more screens will fall into this category.

A small number of Landonline users have been unable to change their screen resolutions to 1024 x 768 because either their office runs other applications that require a different resolution, or their systems are set up to make changing the screen resolution difficult.

The Landonline application will detect what screen resolution you use. If you use 1024 x 768 or higher, the application will appear exactly the same as before. If you use lower screen resolutions (e.g. 800 x 600), a scrollbar will appear on the right hand side enabling you to scroll up and down.

To use the scrollbar, simply click on it and drag it in the direction you want to view.

If you have any questions, contact the 0800 Customer Support team on 0800 ONLINE (0800 665 463).

Emailed requisition notification for surveyors

If a surveyor submits an e-survey to LINZ and, for whatever reason LINZ cannot accept it, that surveyor will be advised by an email sent to their email address.

The email notification will be computer-generated and will only inform the surveyor that the survey has been requisitioned - it won't go into details. The full details will still be supplied in the same manner as before, i.e. it will appear in the messages folder in Workspace.

In the past, without the email sent to their email address, surveyors could have remained unaware of e-survey requisitions for several days or until they happened to log back into their workspace.

Now they get the email immediately.

(Notes:

1. If a survey is submitted as a paper survey, there will be no email advice even if the surveyor is a Landonline user. The email service is only available for surveys submitted online.



2. If you want to change the recipient of the email message, refer to e-survey Messages to Firm Principal for Audit Purposes.)

Backing up digital certificates – what's allowed and what's not

Members of the Auckland District Law Society's Property and Business Law Committee recently asked LINZ in what circumstances can Landonline customers keep a copy of their Digital Certificate (DC).

The Landonline Digital Certificate Certificate Policy (pdf 138KB) specifies that DCs may only be backed up for Disaster Recovery purposes. The Disaster Recovery back-up copy of the DC should be stored securely to prevent loss or unauthorised use.

To help ensure the security of the database, Landonline customers may not have multiple copies of their DC for any purpose other than Disaster Recovery, or have their DC installed on more than one PC.

Regulatory

Audit pilot successful

Since October 2005, the Regulatory Quality Assurance Group has been undertaking a pilot project to assess the benefits of auditing cadastral survey firm processes as well as performing field audits.

Eleven cadastral surveying firms participated in the pilot, which produced good results from both a LINZ and survey firm perspective. Firms selected ranged from single operators to multi-office firms. The field audits were completed using the same approach that has been the norm for the last few years i.e. a re-performance survey by LINZ staff to check the accuracy of the Cadastral Survey Dataset (CSD) with respect to the field situation.

In addition to the field audit, an office visit was completed to determine the quality of the processes and controls used by the LCS (Licensed Cadastral Surveyor) in undertaking cadastral surveys. These office audits gave LINZ a greater appreciation of the processes used by the different firms and therefore greater confidence in whether the LCS was likely to provide CSD's to LINZ that meet the requirements of the Cadastral Survey Act and Surveyor-General's Rules.

The office audits not only helped firms understand their cadastral processes more clearly, they also helped identify other areas within their business operations that were well controlled and those that could be improved.

Based on the positive feedback LINZ received from the firms involved in the pilot, and the greater level of assurance LINZ obtained from the combined field and office audit approach, LINZ is adopting the combined field and office audit methodology. LINZ is now preparing information for surveyors about the way audits will be undertaken in the future and what is expected from the LCS.

During the period July 2006 to June 2007, there will be a transition phase where LINZ intends to provide information to the industry about the office checks and controls that will be assessed during both the field and office audits. Findings from the field audit will provide the main evidence of a LCS complying with the requirements of submitting CSD's to LINZ though office processes will also be considered.

From July 2007, it is intended that office audits will be the main evidence, supported by field audits, to provide the Surveyor-General with the assurance that the LCS is supplying compliant CSD's to LINZ.

e-survey

LINZ listens to surveyors' issues around the country

Since mid-July, LINZ has been attending NZIS branch meetings to give surveyors an opportunity to ask questions about e-survey and to find out what key issues and problems they are experiencing.

A number of LINZ staff attended the meetings at Timaru, Nelson/Marlborough, Dunedin, Cromwell and Taranaki. Over 100 surveyors took the opportunity to participate in these discussions, which ran for between one and two hours.

Several themes came out of the discussions and, as a result of the feedback provided, LINZ has set up a working group to examine the key issues facing surveyors as we move to 100% e-lodgement and identify actions to address them.

Some of the common themes of discussion were:

• Dealing with plan generation and complex plans in e-survey
  
  LINZ has several projects underway to provide guidance on the optimal way to complete complex surveys in e-survey. Complex surveys include large GPS surveys, Unit Title plans and easement surveys.
  
  A list of plan examples has been sent to those NZIS branches visited to date. These are available in the e-survey section of this website under Tips and Hints or can be obtained by emailing e-survey@linz.govt.nz



• Paper plan exemption process
  
  A paper plan exemption process will be designed for the 100% e-lodgement environment. This process is currently being developed and will be communicated to the survey community well in advance of the 100% e-lodgement date of 1 September 2007.



• Landonline system issues
  
  System issues including functionality improvements, web connectivity, speed of the system and its capacity, were raised and discussed.
  
  LINZ staff advised that information on technical requirements is regularly updated and available on the Technical Info and Requirements page.

LINZ will provide detailed responses in future editions of Landwrap as the range of issues are covered by the working group.

Surveyors' web forum available now on the Landonline website

Surveyors now have a dedicated forum section on the Landonline website to post questions, ideas, comments and feedback about e-survey and related topics to share them with other surveyors. The forum has a LINZ moderator who will manage the postings and obtain replies to any questions that need specialist advice from LINZ prior to posting.

The e-survey web forum is sited in the e-survey section of this website.

The purpose of the e-survey web forum is to provide a communication vehicle accessible to all the survey community that allows surveyors to post comments, questions and discussion threads, and to receive informed and accurate responses to the issues and questions posted.

LINZ aims to post comment to the forum within two working days. However, questions requiring a detailed response from a LINZ specialist may take longer and may also be responded to by email.

First forum question – how to do XML edits in e-survey

Thanks to Matt Suddaby of Wanaka for sending us the first question on how to do XML editing in e-survey. Check it out on the web forum postings page.

e-dealing

New FAQs created to help practitioners using client Authority & Instruction (A & I) forms

With the help of our Customer Support team, the Registrar-General of Land's team and the NZLS e-dealing consultant, we have developed a range of FAQs based on questions often asked by legal practitioners when using A & I forms.

The questions and answers cover a number of common situations, ranging from handling customer name changes for transfers, correcting spelling errors on titles, how to handle partial discharges and many more.

See the A & I form FAQs available via the e-dealing FAQs and Forum page in the e-dealing section of this website.

For additional information on A & I forms, see the NZLS e-dealing Guidelines on the NZLS website. Additional reference information can also be found in the e-dealing Workflow Guidance and workflow checklists on the NZLS website.

Updates to NZLS e-dealing guidelines

The NZLS e-dealing Guidelines, including Authority and Instruction Forms (A & I forms) have been updated by the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) and approved by the Registrar-General of Land. The update takes account of lawyers' experience with Landonline since the full roll-out of e-dealing in 2003. NZLS e-dealing consultant Duncan Terris' contact with property lawyers has provided useful insight into areas of the guidelines that required clarification and updating.

The new guidelines are available on the NZLS website. Some of the key changes are detailed below.

Removal of 12 Month Exception

Clients' photo identity will always be required as a matter of course, except where the client is an institutional mortgagee (where no A & I form is required) or a public corporate (where no client ID is required).

Given global trends in identity fraud, establishing the identity of the client is essential to ensure land title transactions are properly authorised by the landowner. It is also consistent with existing obligations under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act 1996 and the increasing emphasis on high-level "customer due diligence" in anti-money laundering and fraud measures internationally and in New Zealand.

The commentary to Guideline J and the A & I form previously allowed for an exception from the requirements for the client to provide photograph identity in cases where the lawyer, being the same lawyer who certified and signed the instrument, witnessed the client sign the A & I form. This exception extended only where the lawyer concerned had known the client for 12 months or more. At the time of drafting the guidelines, it was envisaged that this would be used as an exception only, and not as standard practice.

It has become clear that most firms require photo identity to be provided in all cases, even where the lawyer has known the client for more than 12 months. This maintains a consistently high standard and avoids confusion in law firms as to who may rely on the exception.

The section of the form allowing the lawyer who has known the client for more than 12 months to verify identity without obtaining the client's photo ID has been omitted, and the commentary has been updated to reflect this change. The commentary also covers situations where clients do not have any acceptable form of photo ID, e.g. elderly clients.

Public corporate A & I form

A new public corporate A & I form has been added as Appendix 3, which does not require photo identity from the person authorising the transaction on behalf of a public corporate client. Firms who have frequent dealings with such clients found that the identity checks of the authorised signatories were unnecessary, as there were already rigorous checks in place within the territorial authority or publicly listed company for such transactions.

Guideline M: capacity

Feedback from the Mental Health Commission said that a reference to the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act in the A & I form was discriminatory because it created a presumption that a client subject to an order under the Act was incapable of dealing with his or her land. To avoid this issue, the reference to the Act has been removed from the A & I form. However, the commentary reminds lawyers to make further enquiries where they suspect a client might not have the necessary mental capacity to carry out the transaction.

Future

Further changes will be required to the guidelines in the future when new electronic instrument types are introduced as part of the development of Landonline Phase 3 (2007). Proposed future changes to the Financial Transactions Reporting Act may also require a review of the guidelines at a later stage.

The current changes will take effect from 4 September 2006.

Landonline Sign-Up made simpler

Conveyancing firms are now receiving extra help with the Landonline Sign-Up process so they don't miss out on their e-dealing training.

With training ending on 30 November and spots filling up fast, firms not signed-up run the risk of missing out.

On average, it takes 15 working days for a firm to go from the start of the Sign-Up process to receiving their training. When firms contact LINZ, they are given a tentative training date which is confirmed once they have completed Sign-Up.

Sign-Up assistance

To assist firms with training, LINZ has added a Customer Support function to help with Sign-Up if they need it.

LINZ Customer Support Agent, Matt Searle, is helping firms sign up to Landonline and secure their training dates sooner.

Matt literally fills out a firm's forms for them and then lets them know what to do next.

A number of firms have found the new Sign-Up assistance very helpful with some firms booked and receiving their training within a week.

With November fast approaching, firms are advised to start Sign-Up sooner rather than later.

Sign-Up today

Firms requiring e-dealing training are urged to do it now or risk missing out. Call LINZ Customer Support today on 0800 665 463 (select option 4), or email linzinfo@linz.govt.nz

Have you booked your e-dealing training?

The free, onsite e-dealing training currently on offer to all conveyancing firms ends on 30 November 2006.

The training is proving popular with 236 firms undertaking training in the last six months.

Approximately 500 firms still haven't signed up for training and with the training cut-off date fast approaching, training spaces are rapidly filling up.

Some firms may miss out if they don't secure their training date by early September.

Firms also need to be cognisant that it takes 15 working days to complete the set-up process before trainers can come on-site.

"We can't stress enough the importance of booking training if you need it. Do it now or you'll risk missing out," Sharon Cottrell, LINZ General Manager of Customer Services, said.

In a letter to law firms last week, Property Law Section Chair, Chris Moore, said that firms yet to start e-dealing were putting themselves at risk.

"Failure to book your Landonline training and engage in the Sign-Up process will mean that you run the risk of receiving no training at all. If you miss out, you will have to rely on web-based training tools and other resources to upskill and learn the new system," he said.

Firms wanting to sign-up for training should call LINZ Customer Support on 0800 665 463 (select option 1) as soon as possible.

Landwrap

Landwrap is the authoritative news and information source for survey and title customers.

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