Verification of identity in Australian conveyancing: what the matter file has to prove seven years later

In Australian electronic conveyancing, verification of identity is a rule on the practitioner, not the platform. ARNECC Model Participation Rule 6.5 requires reasonable steps to verify each client, and rule 6.6 requires the evidence to be kept for at least seven years after lodgment. MatterFirst, a legal practice management platform for Australian law firms, stores that evidence against the matter.

The check itself happens in a room, on a screen, or at an identity agent's counter. The proof of it has to survive on a file someone may open years after the conveyancer who ran it has left the firm. Most teams know the check. Fewer have decided what the file should look like afterwards.

Who the rules say you must identify

The obligation sits in Model Participation Rule 6.5.1, and it is broader than "the client".

Rule 6.5.4 provides two carve-outs: no re-verification of a client already acting under a current Client Authorisation where 6.5.1(a) was met before signing under it, and no re-verification of a person verified within the previous two years, provided reasonable steps are taken to be sure it is the same person. The second is the basis for repeat-client work, and it depends entirely on your file showing the date of the earlier check.

The safe harbour, and what Schedule 8 actually asks for

Rule 6.5.2 gives two routes. You can apply the Verification of Identity Standard in Schedule 8, or you can verify identity "in some other way that constitutes the taking of reasonable steps".

Schedule 8 is the safe harbour, which is why most firms treat it as the default. It sets out a face-to-face regime:

• Verification must be conducted during a face-to-face in-person interview between the identity verifier and the person being identified (paragraph 2.1).
• The verifier must be satisfied the person is a reasonable likeness of the photographs produced, and the standard goes as far as naming the shape of the mouth, nose and eyes and the position of the cheekbones (paragraph 2.2).
• Documents must be produced in categories, starting with Category 1, and the verifier must be reasonably satisfied a prior category cannot be met before moving to the next (paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2).
• The verifier must sight the originals and retain copies of everything produced, by the person being identified and by any identity declarant (paragraph 3.3).
• Documents must be current, with one exception: an Australian passport that has not been cancelled and was current within the preceding two years (paragraph 3.4).

The category order is the most commonly fumbled part of the standard. For an Australian citizen or resident:

You do not get to pick the convenient category. You work down the list, and if you used Category 3, your file should show why Categories 1 and 2 could not be met.

A subscriber can also appoint an identity agent in writing. The MPR definition requires the subscriber to reasonably believe the agent is reputable, competent and insured in compliance with Insurance Rule 2, and the agent gives an Identity Agent Certification. Appointing an agent moves the work, not the obligation.

"Reasonable steps" is a different route, not a lower bar

Rule 6.5.2(b) exists because the face-to-face regime cannot always be met: an executor overseas, a client in aged care, a director in another state. The Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee describes the Schedule 8 process as the safe harbour and reasonable steps as the alternative when it cannot be reached.

Rule 6.5.3 adds an escalation that applies on either route. Further steps must be taken where the subscriber knows or ought reasonably to know that a document is not genuine, that a photograph is not a reasonable likeness, or that the person does not appear to be the one the documents relate to, or where it would otherwise be reasonable to do so.

The difference between the routes shows up in the file. Schedule 8 means copies of the documents sighted. Reasonable steps means something harder: a record of what you did and why it was reasonable in those circumstances, written at the time rather than reconstructed when the query arrives.

Customer due diligence does not discharge your VOI obligation

This is the point to get in front of your team now that the tranche 2 AML/CTF obligations have started. ARNECC published guidance in July 2026 addressing exactly this overlap. Its position:

• Other VOI regimes operate independently of the MPR, and subscribers must continue to comply with the MPR regardless of obligations arising elsewhere.
• Customer due diligence or know your customer processes "do not automatically satisfy the VOI Standard in Schedule 8 of the MPR". They may constitute the taking of reasonable steps under rule 6.5.2(b), but the subscriber must always be satisfied that the steps taken are reasonable and prudent for a conveyancing transaction.
• Where a firm intends to follow another regime's process, it must ensure that process meets the MPR requirements, or undertake additional steps as needed.

Read plainly: running your AML onboarding and assuming conveyancing VOI is covered is a decision you have made, not one the regulator has made for you. If you rely on it, you have moved from the safe harbour to the reasonable steps route, and the evidence you must keep changes accordingly.

Seven years, and what the file has to still show

Rule 6.6 requires the subscriber to retain the evidence supporting a registered or recorded electronic registry instrument for at least seven years from the date of lodgment. That expressly includes evidence required by the duty authority, any Client Authorisation and evidence supporting it, evidence supporting verification of identity, and any other evidence demonstrating compliance with prescribed requirements.

Practitioners often assume a prescribed checklist exists. It does not. ARNECC's July 2026 guidance states there is no prescribed minimum list of documents or records: what is held must be sufficient to demonstrate either that the VOI Standard was followed, which requires copies of the identity documents sighted, or what steps were taken and why they were reasonable. Past seven years, retention is for each subscriber to decide, having regard to legislative and privacy obligations, the circumstances of the transaction and internal business practices.

The four checks that have to be provable together:

How MatterFirst handles this

MatterFirst does not verify identity for you. It is not an identity agent, it is not an ELNO, and nothing in it replaces the interview or the certification. What it does is hold the file that has to prove the check happened.

The Client Authorisation, the right to deal searches and the identity document copies file against the matter rather than into a shared drive that reorganises itself every two years. Matter management supports custom matter types and role-based contacts, so buyer, seller, mortgagor and attorney are recorded as roles rather than as names in a file note, which is the distinction that matters when you are reconstructing who was identified.

Document AI extracts key terms from uploaded documents and connects the result to the matter workflow, and custom extraction rules let a firm define its own fields and map them to matter fields, contact roles or key dates. A firm that wants a "VOI completed" date or a certificate of title reference on every conveyancing matter defines it once. Automations can make the check a workflow step with a condition, so a matter does not advance to signing while the evidence is missing, and the obligations engine calculates key dates and cites the governing statute.

The application runs on Fly.io in Sydney. Database and backups are hosted on Fly.io Managed high-availability PostgreSQL clusters in Sydney. Documents are stored in Amazon Web Services S3 in Sydney. Document extraction and matter questions run on Amazon Web Services Bedrock in Australia, and reading a scanned document runs in Microsoft Azure's Australia East region. These locations describe the application, database, backups, document storage and document AI services. See the canonical security architecture for each service's scope. Trust accounting is built for Australian jurisdictions, with a compliance review workflow covering NSW, VIC, QLD and WA. Pricing is per workspace, from A$199/month for Solo with one included user, extra-seat charges and a monthly AI allowance, and deterministic work such as generating a document from merge fields draws nothing from the monthly AI balance.

How the platforms compare on the conveyancing file

Checked against each vendor's own public pages in September 2026. "Not published on pages checked" means the claim was not found on that vendor's site, not that the capability is absent.

Self-service today: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Xero, Stripe. Available through coordinated setup: PEXA, InfoTrack. Coordinated manual setup is arranged with MatterFirst and the provider. Confirm account requirements, connection scope and setup timing before rollout.

Who this suits, and who it does not

MatterFirst suits Australian firms of roughly two to twenty fee earners that want Australian document storage and document AI processing, trust accounting built for Australian rules, and compliance evidence that lives with the matter. Confirm the scope and timing of coordinated PEXA and InfoTrack setup before rollout. The evaluation checklist has the questions to put to any vendor, including this one.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do verification of identity over a video call? The Schedule 8 safe harbour requires a face-to-face in-person interview, so a video call falls under the reasonable steps route in rule 6.5.2(b) and your file needs a record of what you did and why it was reasonable. Check your jurisdiction's participation rules and registrar guidance before making it standard practice.

Does my AML/CTF customer due diligence cover conveyancing VOI? Not automatically. ARNECC's July 2026 guidance states that CDD or KYC processes do not automatically satisfy the VOI Standard, though they may constitute reasonable steps under rule 6.5.2(b). You have to be satisfied the steps are reasonable and prudent for a conveyancing transaction, and undertake additional steps if they are not.

How long do I have to keep VOI records? At least seven years from the date of lodgment, under Model Participation Rule 6.6. Beyond that, it is your decision, weighed against legislative and privacy obligations and the circumstances of the transaction.

Do I need to re-verify a client I identified last year? Generally no. Rule 6.5.4 lets you skip re-verification where you verified that person within the previous two years and you take reasonable steps to be sure you are dealing with the same person, or where you are acting under a current Client Authorisation and verified before signing under it. Your file has to show the date of the earlier check.

Does MatterFirst do verification of identity for me? No. MatterFirst is a legal practice management platform for Australian law firms. It stores the evidence against the matter, lets you define VOI fields and dates and can make the check a workflow step, but the verification itself is done by you or by an identity agent you appoint.

Self-service today: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Xero, Stripe. Available through coordinated setup: PEXA, InfoTrack. Coordinated manual setup is arranged with MatterFirst and the provider. Confirm account requirements, connection scope and setup timing before rollout. Other catalogue entries retain their published setup status.

Does MatterFirst handle Victorian trust accounting? Yes. Trust accounting is built for Australian jurisdictions and the compliance review workflow covers NSW, VIC, QLD and WA.

The short version

The rule is reasonable steps. The safe harbour is Schedule 8: in person, in category order, originals sighted and copies kept. Anything else is a decision made under rule 6.5.2(b), and the evidence you keep has to justify it. Then all of it has to be findable for seven years from lodgment.

Version 7 of the Model Participation Rules, dated January 2024, is published as current on ARNECC's publications page as at September 2026, and the MPR Guidance Notes of 23 August 2024 include separate notes on verification of identity and on retention of evidence. Participation rules are made by the registrar in each state and territory, so check your jurisdiction's version rather than assuming the model applies unamended. MatterFirst is built by North Cape Technology, a Melbourne software company.