Sparke Helmore conducts first major electronic property settlement in Queensland

We’ve all had to be agile and adapt to respond to the current COVID-19 pandemic, which is having a huge impact in the way we all work. The safety of our staff, colleagues and clients is of the utmost importance and we’ve been looking at ways that we can work collaboratively during these difficult times. One of the issues that we’ve been working on is how to help our property development clients to complete their projects.

One example is the work that we’ve been doing with one of our developer clients in Queensland. Our Property Development Team recently took the initiative to make all settlements for The Coterie development (near Brisbane’s CBD) electronic—with the help of PEXA.

There was some initial concern from conveyancers and lawyers that were not set up with PEXA in Queensland, which is understandable given it is not mandatory as yet—unlike Victoria and New South Wales. With the combined support and guidance of both the Sparke Helmore team and PEXA, we were able to assist conveyancers and lawyers to get set up quickly and process their clients’ settlements without needing to physically attend a settlement.

This represents a huge milestone for electronic settlements in Queensland as this is the first major development to have been processed electronically, marking a turning point for the Queensland property market with many conveyancers and lawyers now appreciating the benefits of electronic settlements.

Making use of the technology available today, there are so many ways of ensuring our communities’ health and safety is secured—with the added bonus of driving efficiency and service for our clients.

At Sparke Helmore, we’re pleased to be helping our clients by supporting the development and implementation of new technologies to deliver results.