The Australian Property Institute (API) has lodged a submission to the Victorian Department of Transport & Planning on their Consultation Paper: Protecting Privacy in the Register of Land. 

The API’s position is that the Register of Land is, and must remain, a public register and any changes must achieve a balance between individual privacy and the public interest to ensure an open and transparent property market. The name search function should be retained for legitimate professional uses, including valuation, conveyancing, debt recovery, financing, law enforcement, litigation and estate administration. 

The API supports the principles of Option 3 but not as proposed in the consultation paper and has suggested an alternative solution in its response. 

A copy of the API’s submission is available on the API Advocacy page here.