The WA Government has announced the partial sale of property and land data agency Landgate for $1.41 billion upfront, with the money to help fund redress payouts for victims of historic sexual abuse.
Landgate is the agency responsible for all property and land information in WA and manages data critical for property transactions.
That includes land titles, valuations and property sales reports, as well as maps and aerial images.
The State Government announced a 40-year lease agreement with Land Services WA, a consortium comprised of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, and superannuation funds Sunsuper and HESTA.
Under the deal, Land Services WA will take over Landgate's automated titling services, which includes the processing of property transactions and searches of the title register.
The state will retain ownership of and responsibility for the Land Titles Register and other data.
Privacy, security and cost guarantees
Treasurer Ben Wyatt moved to ease consumer fears by promising growth in service fees to Land Services WA would be capped at the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
He said there would be no change to the way the public dealt with Landgate and all staff would be retained following its commercialisation.
Existing security, privacy and integrity of the land titles register would also be maintained.
"Data is protected [and] West Australians won't see any difference with how they transact with Landgate," he said.
"The requirement to protect data is a key component to the contract and we will monitor that very closely."
Mr Wyatt said Landgate would continue to operate as a statutory authority and would remain responsible for manual titling transaction processing, property valuations and location information.
Move follows NSW, SA lead
The upfront proceeds from the partial sale would be used to meet the state's ongoing funding requirements for the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse and the costs of lifting the statute of limitations for historical sexual abuse.
"I'm delighted that the proceeds will go to an important cause, allowing the Government to meet its ongoing funding requirements for the National Redress Scheme and to victims of historical sexual abuse," Mr Wyatt said.
New South Wales leased its land titles registry for $2.6 billion while South Australia followed suit with a $1.6 billion lease.
"Other states have handed over more of their functions. We have kept more in-house," Mr Wyatt said.
