South Australia will receive a windfall of $1.6 billion to government coffers after the privatisation of its land titles service.
The government finalised a deal to privatise the state's Lands Titles Office on Thursday.
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis confirmed the sale with the Land Services SA consortium taking over lands titling and valuation for the next 40 years.
He said there won't be a change to how the service functions, and the government will continue to set fees and charges for title services and other land services.
No jobs will be lost with most staff to be retained by the new operators and the rest shifted to other positions within the public service.
Koutsantonis said that data security and privacy would also be maintained to protect the personal details of property owners.
"This is an absolutely outstanding result for the state," he said.
"I am also very pleased to say that all protections for the people of South Australia, that I announced in last year’s budget, will be achieved."The Land Services SA consortium is made up of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment BoardThe consortium's chairperson Annabelle Bennett said privatisation of the service would improve functionality.
“Our long-term vision is to enhance Land Services Group’s delivery of reliable and high-quality services for the South Australian community by investing in its people and technology," she said to AAP.
"We have clear goals to enhance customers’ experience, improve registration processing times and invest in electronically-delivered services."
Image copyright: ymgerman / 123RF Stock Photo