Land Information New Zealand is abandoning its planned big bang roll-out for the third phase of its online transformation, after consultations with external users.
Phase 3 of the Landonline project will now be rolled out in five smaller phases, rather than as a single release, following consultation between Land Information New Zealand and the Law Society. Initially, the plan was to deliver the third phase in one hit, in October.
LINZ acting chief executive Tony Lester says this phased approach will make it easier for customers to come to grips with Landonline’s new functionality.
Phase 3 (LP3) will progressively extend the range of e-dealing instruments from the current 18 to 362.
The first of the LP3 releases is anticipated in the second quarter of 2007, with subsequent releases every three to six months.
By law, all survey and land title transactions have to be lodged electronically by 2008. The timetable for the phasing-in of electronic lodgements is for discharges to arrive from May 1, routine transfers and mortgages from August 1, survey transactions from September 1 and all remaining title transactions to be online from July 1, 2008.
Lester says most conveyancing firms took advantage of LINZ’s free e-dealing training programme, which ended on November 30.
“During December, 75% of e-capable transactions were lodged electronically — above the original business case estimates,” he says.
“With fewer paper lodgements, the volume of manual processing work at LINZ processing centres will decrease significantly. As e-lodgement increases, LINZ is looking at reducing 112 positions, with most being gradually phased out by October 2008. The first 23 staff will leave LINZ on February 2, 2007, under this programme.”
LINZ is also in the process of developing a strategy to manage its core paper records. The Core Paper Records project arose from the government decision, made in February last year, to move to full electronic lodgement of land titles and survey transactions.
Placed end-to-end, the shelves which contain the millions of paper records would stretch to 28 kilometres.
LINZ is working with Archives New Zealand to ensure the paper records are preserved and that suitable storage arrangements are made. A strategic report to the Minister for Land Information is scheduled for completion later this year.