The body charged with managing the development of Australia’s electronic conveyancing system has set a deadline of September this year for the launch of interoperability between service providers – a milestone for the establishment of competition in the market.  However, it is the third launch date the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) has set and there is no guarantee it will be met. ARNECC was established to facilitate the implementation and ongoing management of the regulatory framework for e-conveyancing.  It has oversight of the activities of so-called ELNOs – electronic lodgement network operators. The biggest of these is PEXA, which has an effective monopoly. The challenger is Sympli, which is backed by the Australian Securities Exchange and tech company InfoTrack. Sympli is keen to see interoperability implemented but PEXA argues the timetable is being rushed. Interoperability will allow multiple ELNOs to host parties participating in the same transaction. ARNECC’s model enables interoperability through APIs, which execute system activities across ELNO workspaces. ARNECC’s timetable envisages a phased implementation, starting with a “limited scope refinance” with a small number of financial institutions, before moving to complete refinance functionality, full functionality in New South Wales and Queensland and finally a rollout to all jurisdictions.  ARNECC said it expects interoperability to be fully functional by the end of 2025. It said: “The design and build of the technical solution for Day 1 is complete and testing is currently underway. Work is currently on track and ARNECC anticipates that Day 1 will occur as previously foreshadowed.” PEXA pioneered the Australian e-conveyancing market a decade ago and today claims that 90 per cent of property transaction in Australia go through its system. In the 2021/22 financial year it handled more than 4 million transactions – an increase of 22 per cent over the previous year. Its revenue was A$283 million and net profit $22 million. Sympli was established in 2018 and completed its first transaction in 2019. Interoperability was mandated in May last year and the Ministerial Forum on National Electronic Conveyancing set a September 2022 start data. The start date was pushed back to March this year and now September. Sympli blames PEXA for the delays. In a statement issued in March, Sympli chief executive Philip Joyce said: “Sympli has consistently met or beaten the required dates and has consistently advocated for faster and safer implementation. “I’m sure industry stakeholders can draw their own conclusions as to the key drivers of these delays. Industry reform cannot be anchored in the incumbent’s timelines, given its incentive to retain the status quo.” In response to ARNECC’s latest update on the interoperability timetable, PEXA released a statement saying its “acknowledges the ARNECC statement” and that it was “reviewing” the statement and working through the implications for implementation. “PEXA believes that the timetable for interoperability must be appropriately linked to the scale and ongoing complexity of the interoperability work, with a focus on the stability and reliability of e-conveyancing for Australian home buyers and sellers,” it said. In repose to an inquiry from Banking Day, a PEXA spokesperson said: “Interoperability was never contemplated at the