Hon Rick Mazza questions the necessity of Landgate fee increases despite the introduction of electronic conveyancing, which was intended to reduce costs. The Minister responds that decreased transaction volumes necessitate the increases to maintain service capacity.

AnsweredQoN 551Legislative Council
Asked
10 June 2020
Portfolio
Lands

QuestionView source ↗

LANDGATE — FEES
551. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing the
Minister for Lands:
I refer to the forecast 2020–21
Landgate fee increases.
(1) Why are these
proposed fee increases necessary when electronic conveyancing was promoted on
the basis of efficiency and reduced costs?
(2) Is there any scope for a fee
decrease?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Lands.
(1) Since
electronic conveyancing was introduced in 2014, Landgate has experienced a decrease
in the annual volume of regulated land
titling registrations transactions from 343 000 in 2013–14, to 237 000
in 2018–19. Landgate's fees are not included in the
state government's household basket of fees and charges, as most people
require Landgate services on an infrequent basis. Landgate recovers its
operating costs by charging fees for the services it provides. The proposed
rate of increase to Landgate's regulated and non-regulated fees in 2020–21
is two per cent, with allowance for minor rounding based on the state's
forecast consumer price index.
(2) No. Landgate
always seeks to minimise its fee increases; however, it must maintain capacity
to deliver services to the state.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more