PEXA’s latest regulatory clash is over a $1 transaction fee
Australia’s electronic property settlements giant wants to pass a data standards licensing fee on to customers. But NSW isn't playing ball.
ASX-listed PEXA is taking the NSW Registrar General to court and is refusing to pay a $1-per-transaction fee to the data standards regulator after the registrar general blocked Australia’s dominant electronic conveyancing firm from passing the charge on to customers.
PEXA does not want to pay the levy until all state and territory land registries approve the cost pass-through, a step NSW has deferred to a broader review of operational pricing due to report at the end of FY26, according to sources who spoke to Capital Brief anonymously.
The levy, estimated at about $3 million a year, is designed to fund the upkeep of the National eConveyancing Data Standard (NECDS), which sets common rules and licensing arrangements for the use of data in property transactions.
Electronic conveyancing network operators were due to begin paying the levy in quarterly instalments in FY26. PEXA has not paid these amounts, although it continues to pay the fixed $1,500 monthly licensing fee and continues to use the data standard.
