PEXA Clear signs compliance deals with property firms

PEXA Clear has signed partnerships with Simonds, Clarendon Homes, One Percent Property, YPM Property, Belle Property Townsville and The Avanti Group.

The agreements come as new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules for property professionals approach in Australia.

The latest deals extend the reach of PEXA Group's compliance product into home building, real estate and property advisory businesses as the sector prepares for tighter oversight of property transactions. The rules will apply to tranche 2 entities involved in real estate transactions, including real estate agents, legal practitioners and conveyancers.

Under the new arrangements, the partner businesses will use PEXA Clear for checks linked to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations. The product is designed to assess risk throughout the property transaction lifecycle and guide users on steps to mitigate or escalate concerns.

PEXA Clear is also being integrated with Real Time Agent, Actionstep and Mantis Property, allowing users to begin compliance checks within the software they already use for day-to-day transaction workflows rather than switching systems.

The move reflects a broader effort by software providers and property service firms to adapt to a more demanding compliance regime. For agencies and advisers, one challenge will be creating consistent processes across offices while keeping records for audits and regulatory reporting.

Identity verification is part of the offering, alongside screening and monitoring of individuals against local and international data sources to identify possible links to criminal activity. The system also reviews risk assessments when information supplied during a transaction changes.

When a potential issue is identified, the product outlines what information to request, what records to keep and when to consider escalation steps such as filing a Suspicious Matter Report. It also maintains reporting and audit trails intended to support annual and ad hoc reporting to AUSTRAC.

Chris Bodikian, General Manager of new business and markets at PEXA Group, said customer discussions had shown demand for tools that reduce the manual work tied to the incoming rules.

"At PEXA Clear, we recognise that the new AML/CTF compliance obligations will be significant regulatory change for real estate agents, legal practitioners and conveyancers. We are working closely with our customers to ensure regulatory readiness, empowering them to confidently meet their compliance obligations," Bodikian said.

PEXA will also provide onboarding and training for customers adopting the system.

"Our team will also support property professionals with onboarding and training to strengthen their compliance confidence, enabling them to hit the ground running when their new obligations come into effect this July," he said.

For PEXA Group, the partnerships add another line of business alongside its better-known role in electronic property settlements. PEXA Exchange has facilitated more than 20 million property settlements in Australia since 2013, while the broader group also operates products spanning property data, planning and transaction services.

The expansion of PEXA Clear comes as compliance technology becomes a more prominent part of the property transaction process. Firms exposed to the new rules are under pressure not only to identify higher-risk customers and transactions, but also to document decisions consistently across dispersed networks.

For the newly signed partners, the appeal is likely to lie in fitting those checks into existing operating routines. Standardised processes across multiple offices, combined with workflow integrations, may help reduce disruption for businesses that need to adapt quickly to the incoming regime.

PEXA said the system maintains reporting and audit trails to support annual and ad hoc AUSTRAC reporting and demonstrate compliance.