LINZ News

News

August figures for electronic lodgements

• A total of 618 law firms out of a possible 1,318 lodged an e-dealing in August. Sixty-six of those firms lodging were first time e-dealers.
• The e-dealing share of the total e-dealing-capable lodgements sat at 33.5% in August (up 3 percentage points from July).
• A total of 157 survey firms out of a possible 318 lodged an e-survey in August. Seven of those firms lodging were first time e-surveyors.
• The e-survey share of the total survey lodgements was 52.8% for August (up 0.2 percentage points from July).

Electronic invoicing makes on-billing more efficient

Would you like your Landonline tax invoice sent to you electronically rather than through the post?

Invoices for all Landonline products and services can be sent via email, such as search charges, lodgements, Landonline transactions and renewals of Digital Certificates.

Customers who opt for the electronic method would also receive an excel file (sent separately to the invoice) detailing transactions. This would especially benefit firms with many clients for on-billing charges.

If you would like your invoice sent electronically, simply email LINZ's finance team at enquiry@linz.govt.nz. Please include your customer number and the email address you want the invoice to be sent to (preferably a generic address that won't change).

Consider it a more cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to sending an invoice via snail mail!

Paying your Landonline invoice electronically

You can also pay your Landonline invoice electronically by either direct debit or direct credit.

To set this up, simply follow the same steps as above i.e. email LINZ's finance team at enquiry@linz.govt.nz. Please include your customer number.

Landonline 2.8 Release

The latest upgrade to Landonline went live on 25 September. The release focussed primarily on technology, but also included two functional enhancements.

Some issues were experienced with this release on 25/26 September including plan generation, image retrieval and providing log in details twice. The plan generation and image retrieval issues are now resolved, but the log in process will continue in the short term. Our technical specialists are working to resolve this and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

An issues report on the release will be available by Friday 29 September under the 2.8 Release notes. You can read about the changes in more detail in the Late August edition of Landwrap or in the release report .

Regulatory

Survey audit pilot key findings

As outlined in the last issue of Landwrap, the audit pilot of Cadastral Survey Datasets (CSD’s) was very successful.

The pilot report has been distributed to the New Zealand Institute of Cadastral Surveying (ICS), Consulting Surveyors of New Zealand (CSNZ) and the 11 cadastral surveying firms that participated in the pilot. With the support of the Cadastral Surveyors Licensing Board, LINZ will distribute the report to all licensed cadastral surveyors by the end of September 2006.

The key findings from the pilot were:

CSD checklist – A CSD checklist is needed to ensure that all relevant items are included with a CSD. The checklist is not widely used and some firms have stopped using it as they did not think it was required when submitting an e-survey.

Field note checking – Robust quality assurance processes to check field notes in the office can often identify errors in CSD's prior to their lodgement with LINZ. This was not consistently followed.

QA evidence – Retaining adequate evidence of QA processes can provide valuable assistance if a post approval challenge to the survey emerges. The evidence can assist in identifying areas where process improvements may be required. Inconsistencies were noted.

Requisition analysis – Monitoring requisitions for trends can assist firms to determine areas where their processes could be improved. Very few firms performed a summary analysis of requisitions and LINZ intends to facilitate this by supplying requisition statistics to those firms being audited every six months.

NZGD1949 and NZGD2000 comparison – Discrepancies between NZGD1949 and NZGD2000 bearings can occur in any New Zealand region. Equivalence in any area should not be presumed. An inconsistent approach across the country was noted.

Calibration record – All measuring equipment used in cadastral surveys must remain correctly calibrated. Evidence of regular calibration is to be maintained by firms. Most firms did not maintain adequate evidence.

LINZ and CSNZ have concluded that there are significant benefits of auditing cadastral survey firm processes – as well as performing field audits – for licensed cadastral surveyors, survey firms and LINZ.

e-survey

We want surveyors to use the web forum

Several surveyors have already taken advantage of the new e-survey web forum to ask questions and share ideas about e-survey and related topics.

Topics covered to date include plan generation, XML edits in e-survey, title plan information relating to digital survey plans, title diagrams, and the relationship between primary and non-primary diagrams.

The forum provides a communication vehicle for all the survey community. Surveyors can post questions, discussion threads and receive informed and accurate responses to the issues raised, if required.

LINZ aims to post surveyors' comments within two working days. Questions requiring a detailed response from a LINZ specialist however, may take longer (and may also be responded to by email).

Capturing Erosion Parcels in an e-survey

As outlined in the August edition of Landwrap (issue 25), when entering/capturing e-survey data in Landonline, erosion parcels must be captured with a parcel intent of 'Hydro' and must be annotated with user added text as 'Erosion'.

The parcel intent 'Erosion' has been removed from the available list as there is no requirement to have water represented by two parcel intents (this has been causing confusion).The intent of all existing erosion parcels in Landonline has been changed to 'Hydro' and the XML import routine has also been amended to ensure any parcels in progress will be updated to the correct intent.

Have you booked your e-survey training?

Landonline e-survey trainees Rhys Collins (right) and Clinton O'Leary (centre) under the watchful eye of tutor Ralph Winmill (left)

LINZ’s free, on-site e-survey training is available until 28 February 2007.

We strongly encourage you take advantage of this offer now. It can take a year to gain confidence with the e-survey application so the sooner you begin the more adept you will be by 1 September 2007.

If the on-site training doesn't suit, you may like to consider the following self-help resources on the Landonline website:

• e-survey User Guide
• e-survey Computer Based Training – a CD-Rom provided when you sign up, or upgrade, to Landonline e-survey
• e-survey Quick Reference Cards
• shadowing by an e-survey specialist.

To book for training call LINZ Customer Support on 0800 665 463 (select option 2).

Changes to CSD's not resulting from requisitions

When a plan is sent on requisition, any significant changes to information in the Cadastral Survey Dataset (CSD), which are not the direct result of a requisition, should be noted as endorsed comments on the requisition. LINZ staff review the endorsed comments and can take the appropriate action.

Surveyors need to be aware that if a plan with incorrect data is approved on return from requisition, that data is locked in the Cadastre and cannot be changed. Any amendment, in most cases, can only be achieved by the lodgement of a new CSD. Surveyors need to ensure, therefore, that endorsed comments (as indicated above) are made on the requisition.

Information in the Survey Report Template

The Survey Report Template is designed so prescribed information can be provided to LINZ enabling the smooth processing of a CSD. Some reports are being provided with information that does not relate directly to the associated CSD.

To use the template effectively, surveyors are asked to ensure all information provided in the report is directly relevant to the CSD it accompanies. Surveyors should make use of the template as it provides a summary of the information required in each section.

e-dealing

Changes to Westpac New Zealand Limited's e-dealing quick codes

'Westpac New Zealand Limited' can now be entered as a Mortgagee when mortgages are created in Landonline Workspace. This means that in the Prepare Mortgage screen it is possible to:

• select Westpac New Zealand Limited from the drop down list of Mortgagees, or
• use a new Quick Code of WNZ1 to populate the full name.

The memoranda for Westpac New Zealand Limited are 2006/4215 (Residential Property) and 2006/4216 (Commercial and Farm). Please note you cannot use Westpac Banking Corporation memoranda (2001/4105 and 2001/4106) with Westpac New Zealand Limited and vice versa.

A current list of quick codes is available for use in Landonline.

Firms help each other get ready for e-dealing

Tauranga law firm, Cooney Lees Morgan, received group e-dealing training in August 2006. Systems administrator, Delwyn Denize, said that feedback on the training was very good. However, she says the biggest task the firm faced was sorting out their internal protocols.

"The training was straightforward," said Delwyn. "The hardest part was setting up the procedures that people need to follow to do an e-dealing."

Delwyn, who is an IT specialist with a legal secretarial background, set up a procedures manual loosely based on the one developed by the Property Law Section.

"Everyone here is glad we didn't wait until the last minute to learn all this. And in the run up to Christmas when business is picking up, it's good to strike while the iron's hot."

It takes two to transfer

A number of firms have found that while they are ready to e-deal, doing transfers is another story as the other side is not always e-capable.

"It was really holding us back. While it was fresh in our minds, we wanted to get a few e-dealings under our belt but we found there were very few users in our area," said Delwyn.

To help, she copied the Yellow Pages and circled firms in the region that were yet to get started. She passed the list onto LINZ trainers who arranged for their Customer Support team to give the firms a call.

A welcome reminder

The calls were generally well received. Andrea Hipkiss, a legal executive at Gowing and Co in Whakatane, said the call motivated their firm to book in for their e-dealing training.

"We had been meaning to get started so it was good to get a hurry along," Andrea said.

"We'd been busy and had put it off. Then Dan [Customer Support agent] called and told us which training dates were still available, so we just chose a date we knew we were all free," she said.

Gowing and Co are now booked in to receive their training in late October.

Book your e-dealing training now

LINZ's e-dealing training programme ends in eight weeks' time.

There are currently 160 firms booked in to receive their training before it wraps up on 30 November 2006.

To date, 744 firms have taken up LINZ's free, on-site training offer with many finding it a great way to take the first step into the world of e-dealing.

Firms wanting training will need to call LINZ Customer Support immediately. There are still a few spaces left but time is running out.

Firms need to go through the sign-up process before LINZ trainers can visit. LINZ specialist, Matt Searle, will walk them through sign-up and make sure the documentation required for issuing Digital Certificates is completed and signed correctly.

While just over half of the total number of firms identified by LINZ have received training, some firms have used the Landonline on-line practise tools to learn the application.

If firms do not wish to receive training, they can officially opt out of the process by completing the opt-out portion of the e-dealing Training Registration Form - pdf (80 KB).

For further assistance, call LINZ Customer Support on 0800 665 463 (select 1, then 1 again).

Territorial Authorities

Territorial Authorities keen to get on board with TA e-certification

Jan Lawrence, LINZ's TA e-certification Product/Services owner, says that Territorial Authorities around the country continue to show a keen interest in TA e-certification.

As at the end of August, 25 councils now have licences.

"Around 75 percent of Territorial Authorities are looking into becoming enabled in Landonline," says Jan. "We are assisting them with what they need to consider for certifying plans and how this will impact on their business processes.

"Territorial Authorities planning on becoming enabled in Landonline need to talk to their IT team about technical requirements. They may also find it helpful to work with local surveyors when establishing the new processes."

Jan is confident that the vast majority of councils will be TA e-certification enabled by 1 September 2007 when 100% e-lodgement comes into effect for surveyors.

The benefits of being TA e-certification enabled include:

• the ability to streamline work processes
• reducing time spent on each certification
• less reliance on paper plans
• the ability to certify online regardless of whether surveyors have submitted manually or online using e-survey, and
• removing the need to have two processes in place – paper and electronic.

"LINZ aims to provide the tools the Territorial Authority coming on board can use to help them with the process."

Landwrap

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

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