Handled well, E-government is an exciting development with tremendous potential to improve the delivery of government services and enhance the lives of citizens.

Last week, I joined several hundred lawyers in Sydney attending a seminar to introduce Australia's relatively new e-conveyancing platform. Australia was one of the first countries in the world to develop a national system to achieve paperless conveyancing. From the moment a client contacts a lawyer or real estate agent right through to settlement and payment, the whole process can now be done electronically.

This offers numerous benefits:

1. Greater assurance and protection for the parties that dealings will be registered almost immediately after settlement, thus avoid risky delays.

2. Reduction of risk of loss of funds given everything is digital and payment verified before transfer.

3. Reduction in time and cost chasing the other party as everyone now works in a common digital space with total transparency.

4. Readily available updates in any activity on the title post-exchange.

5. Access to pre-settlement lodgement checks, reducing post-settlement requisitions from land registries; and, immediate distribution of the proceeds.

The Australian experience provides several valuable lessons that may serve as a useful guide for future e-government infrastructure projects elsewhere.

Property conveyancing and mortgage financing system/procedures are of major importance. The legal architecture for e-government requires lawyers to work with professionals from diverse disciplines to design a new legal infrastructure that is part of the wider framework for e-government.

In general, this means a shared vision about e-government; an assessment of e-readiness and a clear understanding of what needs to be done to realize the vision; setting realistic goals and a project plan to reach them; leadership shown by the commitment of senior people, resources and change management strategies for all levels of the project; and formation of necessary public and private partnerships involved.

There must be a strong legislative foundation, otherwise transactions could face challenges and lawsuits. In addition, only authorized and eligible parties should have access to the system.

Accuracy, confidentiality, security and privacy will all be important. The task is to ensure that data is accurately recorded, confidentiality is assured, records are secured with guarantees of privacy for the parties involved.

Of course, we cannot ignore risk management: risks must be identified and an appropriate balance struck between facilitation and controls.

Flexibility is needed to allow a variety of platforms and technologies to be brought into play. The system must be accessible to all, including those with disabilities, and those in remote locations.

Convenience will be vital if the system is to work. Users should be able to access it quickly and without undue delay. Regular consultation and review by stakeholders/users to ensure the system meets the individual and collective needs of the community of users.

The next consideration is historical accuracy and document retention. That means, the system should have a way to record and accurately capture documents that are born digital and at the same time go through various iterations before getting to the final product.

Documents should be captured at key points in the process and the system must be able to replicate those documents even though advances and changes occur in the technology and platform used. Thus, the system should be regularly tested and certified to ensure against failures.

The system should be affordable while being efficient and effective.

It is also true that, in initiating such projects, sometimes slower is faster. Taking shortcuts can be disastrous and most governments would have examples of projects that have either failed to achieve their objectives or involved huge cost overruns or both. This is why pilot projects are important before rushing headlong into major changes.

Achieving e-government is always a work in progress, a never ending journey. Perfection is never reached and progress is always ongoing. Commitments to major infrastructure, such as that involved in e-conveyancing, requires leadership and effective execution as well as broad political support if they are to succeed.

Eugene Clark is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.h5a3.com/opinion/eugeneclark.htm

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