Australia’s rapidly expanding digital property settlement sector may soon come under heightened scrutiny after a Senate inquiry urged the federal government to bring in the competition regulator and consider significant policy reforms. The Senate Standing Committee on Economics has recommended that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commence a detailed examination of the electronic conveyancing market—now valued at more than $800 billion—amid long-standing concerns about market concentration, InnovationAus reported.
According to the committee, the ACCC should deliver its findings to Treasurer Jim Chalmers within six months. The inquiry also proposed that the watchdog be granted an ongoing presence within the nation’s peak eConveyancing oversight body, the Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC), in order to strengthen competition oversight in a sector where PEXA currently dominates.
PEXA’s near-total market share, estimated at around 99 percent, has drawn increased criticism from its only remaining challenger, Sympli, as well as legal industry stakeholders, who argue that the company functions effectively as a monopoly. Earlier this year, another competitor, Lextech, withdrew from the market, citing an inability to attract investment in a landscape perceived as unfavourable to new entrants.
In a report released on Friday, the committee called on the government to explore alternative regulatory strategies to ensure that the digital settlement system remains dependable and resilient—regardless of the outcome of any ACCC inquiry or the potential failure of long-planned interoperability reforms. Those reforms, intended to allow rival platforms to interact seamlessly, were paused by ARNECC in mid-2024 following concerns raised by major banks.
The committee also urged the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to review banks’ compliance with eConveyancing requirements, with conclusions expected by June 2026. In addition, ARNECC was encouraged to publish two long-awaited documents—a Financial Requirements Review and a Cost-Benefit Analysis—commissioned after the suspension of interoperability work. It is unclear whether ARNECC met its October delivery deadlines.
PEXA has argued that opening its system to interoperability could compromise its intellectual property, a position strongly contested by Sympli. The ACCC has previously warned that, absent federal intervention, PEXA’s entrenched dominance could be further reinforced, especially after its privatisation between 2017 and 2019 during the national shift from paper-based to digital conveyancing.
The implications of a single-provider system extend beyond competition concerns. The Senate inquiry highlighted risks associated with potential platform outages, which could freeze large volumes of property transactions and disrupt financial settlements nationwide. Given the scale and importance of the system, PEXA is regulated under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act.
Earlier evidence presented to a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry suggested that both ARNECC and the ACCC currently lack sufficient authority to require cooperation from PEXA or major banks in advancing interoperability. Meanwhile, PEXA’s dominance continues to generate substantial revenue, with estimates indicating that the company may earn up to $1.9 million per day in processing fees.