Lands Titles Office

In reply to Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (3 July 2018).

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning): The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure has advised the following:

Despite the commercialisation of the Lands Titles Office, the Office of the Registrar- General (ORG), now part of the Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure still plays a key role in the titles system.

The key function of the ORG is to administer the Real Property Act 1886, and the associated statutes and policy impacting land transactions. This includes maintenance of the integrity of the Land Titles Register Book in accordance with the Torrens title system and the government guarantee of indefeasibility of title, controlling the Assurance Fund and processing associated claims, and setting regulated fees and charges.

Land Services SA Pty Ltd (LSSA) are now the exclusive provider for the State's transactional land services, however the ORG with transitional assistance from the Department of Treasury and Finance has assumed responsibility for managing the contractual arrangements that govern the provision of those services.

As part of the provision of these services, LSSA administer and provide access to the South Australian Integrated Land Information System (SAILIS). As LSSA develop the processes to enable electronic conveyancing and new data products, a key focus is on information privacy and security, data verification and control to ensure the integrity of information provided through SAILIS and ensure the use of data by LSSA is permitted under the IP Licence Deed. ORG are overseeing and working with LSSA to ensure these requirements are met.

There is no reason to believe that the integrity of the titles system is at any greater risk as a result of commercialisation. There are a significant number of controls and safeguards in place in order to protect the integrity of what is an important asset of the state.