New fees from 5 July 2004 - cheaper for Online Customers
Following an annual review, the Government is considering proposed changes to the schedule of fees for LINZ survey and title products and services. The proposed fee changes cover transactions carried out both electronically and manually.
The fees have been adjusted, where necessary, to ensure they continue to match the actual costs of the service being provided.
Key features of the 2004/05 LINZ fees and charges are:
- Electronic transactions are cheaper than paper-based transactions,
- For survey customers, the most commonly-used fees have dropped in price,
- For title customers, there are no changes to the most commonly-used fees,
- There is no change to fees for standard title searches. Fees for title searches (with image) and historical title searches have both been reduced, and
- Any adjustments to fees are to ensure that they reflect the real cost of transactions.
General Manager Operations, Sharon Cottrell, says there will be some considerable savings for survey customers.
For example, there are reductions in the base survey fee for both manual and electronic customers.
For manual customers, the fee drops by $120 (from $424 to $304) while electronic users will achieve savings of $213 (from $320 to $107). These are significant.
For survey lodgement, all fees have been reduced and electronic fees and charges are around a third of the price of manual products.
There are no major changes for title lodgement customers. The prices for the most commonly-used services (lodgement and registration) stay the same, while the most common combinations have not changed in price.
However, manual title customers will achieve savings of $37 (down from $143 to $106) for the creation of a computer register (new title) and $20 (down from $75 to $55) for depositing any plan under the new schedule.
Licence fees for Landonline services and Digital Certificates will remain unchanged and continue to reflect third party costs relating to licences.
While the new fees will affect some customers differently than others, the ability to conduct transactions electronically will lead to increasing cost savings for all online users in the future.
Sharon says as customers use the full electronic services of Landonline more and more, the overall costs of doing business with LINZ will continue to fall.
If approved by Cabinet, LINZ intends to introduce the new fees on 5 July 2004. LINZ’s current and proposed full fees schedules can
be found on the LINZ website (www.linz.govt.nz).
Events Launch New-look Landonline
Landonline's new-look was introduced to lawyers and surveyors at a series of events held in the main centres in early May 2004.
LINZ Chief Executive, Brendan Boyle, unveiled the new-look website at the same time as he outlined the improvements in training and support which are being put in place behind Landonline.
The events allowed participants to check out the initiatives as well as to get an introduction to the Landonline e-dealing and e-survey services.
This latter focus was an opportunity for professionals considering using these services to become more familiar with their benefits and the ways in which they can be integrated with their existing businesses.
In addition to the main presentation, potential e-dealing customers were given a Law Society presentation on how workflow could be managed in their offices.
A key point for the legal community included the fact that e-dealing could be largely conducted by primary support personnel (e.g. legal executives), in much the same way as the paper process. Attendees were also interested in how an e-dealing can be set up in advance of settlement day and pre-validated by Landonline, resulting in increased control for conveyancers and a reduction in risk through both the system and improved workflow processes.
e-survey presentations were equally well-received by the survey community. A primary concern for surveyors had been the hard copy result of plan generation and attendees appreciated the demonstration of new tools and the resultant plans by LINZ. Surveyors were also interested in how they could begin the task of learning about e-survey through using the Computer Based Training (CBT) CD-ROM, familiarise themselves with the Landonline website and then proceed to an e-survey for a simple 2 or 3 lot subdivision.
New Support for Landonline e-lodgement Users
LINZ is increasing the range and depth of support and training for Landonline users.
New website
Firms considering signing up to Landonline are now guided through the necessary information and steps to follow on the easy to follow website.
The first section (blue) is geared to explaining what Landonline offers, the benefits and what they need to do to be a user. For those intending to move to e-dealing or e-survey, this is the best place to start.
The second section (orange) assists new users through the licence and Digital Certificate sign-up process and includes help screens and notes to make this as straight-forward as possible.
The third section (green) has been developed for Registered users and contains detailed technical information and a range of training and education resources, such as Quick Reference Cards and User Guides. Information about how to use and maintain Digital Certificates has been clarified and we offer support as you download and install them.
Information available for prospective, new and existing users
For users thinking of subscribing to Landonline for the first time, or of taking up a new service such as e-dealing or e-survey, there's now a pre-sign-up pack including helpful information sheets with everything you need to know about joining.
When you have signed up you'll be sent a Welcome pack, including a computer-based training CD-ROM, 'Get Started' guidance and checklists. New users can start using Landonline quickly and confidently with the 'Get Started' guidance. It's a useful reference that recommends the training, support and help tools available and where to find them on the website.
Quick Reference Cards, which have been a popular feature of web-site support, are now being made available in a printed pack, which can sit on your desktop. These are included in the Welcome Pack.
Pre-sign up packs and Quick Reference Cards can be requested using the Contact Us page on the Landonline website.
Dedicated technical support now available
By dialling 0800 665 463 (0800 ONLINE) then selecting option 1, you can get dedicated user and technical specialist support for e-dealing. Or, select option 2 for dedicated specialist support for e-survey and TA e-certification.
Planned training initiatives
An increasing number of training initiatives will be rolled out over the rest of this year.
Right now, LINZ provides specialist shadowing for new users' first e-survey or e-dealing transactions. The support specialist talks on the phone and watches onscreen as you work through an e-survey or e-dealing online.
Coming in the next few months will be third party training providers. This will be in the North and South Islands on site, and face to face. An e-survey training schedule is being planned to provide opportunities for surveyors to book face-to-face training provided by a LINZ-subsidised third party training provider. More information on this will be available soon.
Following third party training, LINZ will provide web-based seminars. These are planned to begin in August and will support users with short sessions targeting the 'tough stuff'.
Surveyor-General, Tony Bevin, Retires
Surveyors literally 'shape the nation' through their every day work. Surveyor-General Tony Bevin has retired after four decades of helping the Department shape the nation. And he's shaped the future, helming the survey and title system into cyberspace with Landonline.
LINZ Chief Executive Brendan Boyle says, "Tony Bevin has made a massive contribution to the survey profession, in New Zealand and internationally. He always maintained an absolute focus on quality and the integrity of the system. He's had the vision to see how land information fits into the bigger picture."
Tony didn't exactly have the big picture in mind as he began a career with the Department of Lands and Survey in 1962. He was looking for a job that fitted his love for the outdoor life, and his aptitude for maths and geography. His career path has taken him around New Zealand, around the world and through a variety of roles from field surveying in remote, rugged areas, to playing a pivotal role in the 1980s environmental restructuring of government departments.
Developing and implementing Landonline would prove the biggest challenge of all and the biggest change to the surveying system since the era of New Zealand’s first Surveyor-General, John Turnbull Thompson.
"In my career, I've had the most satisfaction from seeing the success of Landonline, and all the improvements to the surveying profession that it's brought," Tony says. "Landonline places New Zealand at the forefront of survey and title automation."
Tony is confident that with Landonline bedded in, survey and title professionals will make full use of it. He's also confident about the future of our land information systems, and for the people who will take up new technologies and challenges. Tony's deputy, Don Grant, has been appointed as Acting Surveyor-General.
Landonline Version 2.4 Due for Release on 14 June 2004
A new version of Landonline (2.4) is due for release on 14 June 2004. But most of you won't notice the changes, unlike our last 2.3 upgrade in November, which brought extra functionality.
The 2.4 version is mainly a behind-the-scenes improvement release. These changes are part of our ongoing regular maintenance of Landonline to improve stability and performance.
We will publish the details of any changes you might see on the Landonline website in the first week of June in the News section.
Conveyancers - ensure You Use Dense Black or Blue Ink when Signing Documents to Reduce Rejections
Many conveyancing firms are using very pale ink and thin-nibbed pens to sign documents when submitting paper dealings. Unfortunately, pale ink does not scan well and the signature space can scan blank. In addition, using thin-nibbed pens can result in a very faint or incomplete signature.
Conveyancers are asked to sign instruments intended for lodgement with LINZ in dense black or blue ink to reduce the risk of dealings being rejected because of this problem.
Section 28 (1) (a) Land Transfer (Computer Register and Electronic Lodgement) Amendment Act 2002 states that 'in addition to the powers under Section 43 of the principal Act, the Registrar may refuse to complete or to proceed with the registration of an instrument, to do any act, or to make any entry if, after the instrument has been presented, for any reason it is impracticable in the case of a paper instrument, to properly copy or image it'.
Regulation 7 (1) (b) Land Transfer Regulations 2002 describes the physical properties of paper documents. 'A paper document must have dense black or blue ink'.
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