Australia’s position as a global leader in property digitisation was no accident. It was the result of long-term government-industry collaboration, aligned regulation and a clear national mandate, according to PEXA Group chief technology officer Eglantine Etiemble.
Speaking on InnovationAus.com’s The Commercial Disco podcast, Ms Etiemble reflected on how PEXA evolved from a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) initiative into a listed company processing more than 90 per cent of property transactions in Australia.
“It’s a fantastic Australian success story, and it’s one we should be really proud of,” she said.
PEXA’s original e-conveyancing platform replaced a cumbersome, error-prone process that required paper-based settlement rooms and face-to-face exchanges. Today, the company is investing around $37 million annually to maintain and upgrade the system and employs close to 1,000 people across Australia and the United Kingdom.
Ms Etiemble said PEXA’s initial platform was built iteratively, in close consultation with banks, conveyancers, state governments and land registries – each with their own regulatory frameworks and incentives. It was not a simple technical challenge, she noted, but a complex exercise in multi-party orchestration.
“We’re not just talking about technology here,” Ms Etiemble said. “You’re bringing together players who often have very little common interest – small conveyancing practices, big banks, local governments. Their business models, regulatory obligations and operating cultures are completely different.”
Despite these complexities, PEXA is now adapting its platform for the UK market, and exploring opportunities in New Zealand. To enable this international expansion, it has rebuilt the platform using modern, modular architecture and APIs that can support jurisdictional customisation.
Still, she emphasised, technology is only half the equation. “Unless you have strong collaboration between government and industry, it’s very difficult to replicate the Australian model,” Ms Etiemble said.
“That’s our true IP: knowing how to bring those parties together, agreeing on standards, and building trust.”
Trust, she said, is the defining attribute of PEXA’s offering. In a property transaction, the platform must manage high-value settlements with absolute accuracy, data integrity and cybersecurity. That makes resilience and neutrality non-negotiable.
“We’re a trusted neutral platform,” Ms Etiemble said. “We have to treat all parties equally, and embed resilience, standards and cyber protections directly into the platform itself.”
This principle has shaped the company’s culture, including its historically low risk appetite when partnering with startups or adopting emerging technology. That’s beginning to shift, Ms Etiemble noted, as PEXA explores new use cases involving artificial intelligence and platform-driven innovation.
In September last year, the company partnered with Thoughtworks Australia, Australian startup Redactive AI, and Amazon Web Services to build a secure AI-powered assistant to help streamline internal processes.
“We’re moving quickly in that space now, and looking at where AI can enhance both employee productivity and customer experience,” she said.
On the domestic front, Ms Etiemble highlighted the familiar challenges that Australian tech leaders face: access to talent, commercialisation at scale and sovereign capability in digital infrastructure.
“Skills are a big one,” she said. “We often talk about migration, but I think we’re missing a bigger opportunity to build stronger industry-university linkages through internships, co-designed programs and more embedded learning models.”
She pointed to European systems where students alternate between study and in-industry work, building deeper professional competencies before graduation. “A lot of graduates join us with no industry experience. That’s a gap we can close,” she said.
Capital is another concern, particularly in the scale-up phase. “Australia has a really vibrant startup ecosystem. But when it comes to scaling, where you’ve got some proven traction and need major investment, there’s a noticeable drop-off compared to other markets.”
This lack of depth in the local supplier ecosystem has tangible consequences. “Many of our suppliers aren’t based in Australia,” Ms Etiemble said. “That’s not ideal, but there just aren’t many local companies at that level of capability.”
As the company’s chief technologist, Ms Etiemble is watching the AI landscape closely, not just for the technology’s operational promise, but for its strategic implications.
“We’re seeing things every week we didn’t think were possible,” she said. “It’s an incredibly exciting time, and it’s sparking new ambition and creativity across the company.”
But she also urged caution – and collective responsibility – around sovereignty, jobs and long-term impact.
“We need a stronger national conversation about this. How do we make sure we’re not just enjoying the magic, but actually setting ourselves up to benefit long-term?”
Compared to the US, where government investment, university integration and deep capital markets drive rapid innovation, Australia risks falling behind.
“Right now, we’re more on the receiving end of the AI revolution than the creating end,” Ms Etiemble said.
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