Value Added Reseller Licence

Applying for a VAR licence is a two stage process:

1. Submit a Stage 1 Application Form (41.3 KB DOCX) to LSSA.
2. If the Stage 1 Application Form is accepted, submit a Stage 2 Application Form (32.4 KB DOCX) to Registrar-General.

Before applying you should read and understand the:

• terms and conditions of the VAR licence, which are set out in a standard Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement (265.8 KB PDF) (the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement).

• the Mandatory Criteria set out in the Stage 1 Application Form  (the Mandatory Criteria).

Further details of the process are described below.

Stage 1

You must submit the Stage 1 Application Form to [email protected].

Within 10 Business Days of receipt of a completed Stage 1 Application, LSSA will assess the Stage 1 Application against the Mandatory Criteria.  It is important to note that the assessment may take longer than 10 Business Days if the Stage 1 Application is not complete or if additional supporting information is required from the Applicant to allow LSSA to assess the application.

In some instances, depending on your responses incorporated into the Stage 1 Application, you may be asked to provide additional information to allow LSSA to complete its assessment.  This could include responding to an Additional High Risk Security Assessment and providing either an Independent Third-Party Security Assessment or Independent Third-Party Security Audit.

Based on the answers submitted with your Stage 1 Application, you may be assessed as Low or High Risk or Certified Applicant.  Whether an Applicant is considered Low or High Risk will depend on whether the Applicant proposes to combine Personal Information with the Wholesale Sales Data, the subset of Wholesale Sales Data you require (e.g. whole of State or limited to Local Government Areas) and who in the Applicant’s organisation will have access to the Wholesale Sales Data.

The artefacts you can expect to submit through the Stage 1 Application Process are:

In consideration of the Stage 1 Application, LSSA will at all times act in good faith in relation to, and not discriminate against, Applicants or existing VAR Licensees either in favour of itself or other Applicants or VAR Licensees.

If LSSA determines that the Stage 1 Application satisfies the Mandatory Criteria it will:

• provide the Registrar-General with a copy of the Stage 1 Application and its assessment of the Stage 1 Application against the Mandatory Criteria;
• notify the Applicant of the result of the assessment and request that the Applicant provides the Stage 2 Application Form to the Registrar-General within 30 Business Days of receiving notification from LSSA.

If LSSA determines that the application does not meet the Mandatory Criteria it will notify the applicant in writing of the assessment findings and inform the applicant of the right to appeal the decision.

Stage 2

Applicants must submit the Stage 2 Application Form to [email protected]

The Stage 2 Application Form must be lodged with the Registrar-General within 30 Business Days of receiving notification from LSSA that the Stage 1 Application Form meets the mandatory criteria.

Within 20 business days of receipt of a Stage 2 Application Form and the accompanying required documentation, the Registrar-General will assess the information provided, including the Stage 1 Application Form, and determine whether to approve the applicant as a Licensee.

In determining whether to approve or reject the applicant as a licensee the Registrar-General may have regard to any matters the Registrar-General considers relevant (acting reasonably), including:

• public policy and public interest concerns
• the privacy of natural persons
• the security and integrity of the data proposed to be made available
• national security.

The Registrar-General will provide notice in writing of its decision to approve or not approve the Stage 2 Application Form to both the applicant and LSSA. If the Registrar-General approves the applicant as a licensee, LSSA will within five business days of being notified deliver to the applicant two signed counterparts of the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement.

Right to appeal

The applicant may, within 20 business days of the occurrence of any of the following events, provide the Registrar-General with an Appeal Notice:

• receipt of a notice from LSSA that the Stage 1 Application Form does not meet the Mandatory Criteria and the applicant does not agree with LSSA's assessment
• LSSA  not responding to the applicant's submission of the Stage 1 Application Form within the required 30 business day timeframe
• LSSA not providing two signed counterparts of the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement within 5 business days of the Registrar-General notifying LSSA of the approval of the Stage 2 Application Form.

If the Appeal Notice in relation to LSSA's determination that the applicant does not meet the Mandatory Criteria, the Registrar-General will, within 40 business days of receipt of the Appeal Notice, determine whether the applicant meets the mandatory criteria and provide notice in writing of its decision to the applicant and LSSA.

If a Stage 2 Application Form has not yet been submitted to the Registrar-General and the Registrar-General determines that the application meets the mandatory criteria, the Registrar-General will notify the applicant of the result of the assessment and request that the applicant provide the Stage 2 Application Form within 30 business days.

If the Appeal Notice is in relation to LSSA not responding to the submission of the Stage 1 Application Form, or not providing two signed counterparts of the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement, the Registrar General will direct LSSA to respond or provide the counterparts (as applicable).

The VAR framework including the application process, the Data Access Sub-Licence terms and conditions and the assessment process will be reviewed every five years from the initial LSG Commercialisation in October 2017.  The LSG Commercialisation occurred when LSSA was appointed as the exclusive service provider to the State in respect to certain lands titling and valuation services.  This appointment included LSSA becoming responsible for management of the VAR arrangements for and on behalf of the State.

The review process may include a series of workshops with current and previous Applicants and VAR Licensees (to the extent they wish to participate), representatives of LSSA, and stakeholders specified by the State.  The intention of the VAR framework review is to identify any changes required to the VAR Regime, to ensure that:

• the VAR Regime provides adequate opportunity for VAR Applicants to access the wholesale sales data;
• the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreements incorporate appropriate terms and conditions; and
• the application and review process for VAR Applicants and VAR Licensees is appropriate, fair and not unduly burdensome on VAR Applicants, the State or LSSA.

Depending on the outcome of the VAR framework review, subject to agreement between LSSA and the State, the review process may result in changes to the data access regime which will be made publicly available to the extent they impact on the rights, obligations of, or service offerings to, the VAR Licensees.

The next VAR framework review is due to occur from October 2027 to January 2028.

If any Applicant or Licensee has concerns about the conduct of LSSA relating to the data access regime, they may contact the Registrar-General in writing to [email protected]

The VAR Licensee is responsible for ensuring that it at all times complies with its obligations under the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement.  Two key obligations relate to:

• the rights and obligations relating to the creation of, and changes to, Derivative Products; and
• the obligations of the VAR Licensee to annually complete and submit a Licensee Self-Assessment Compliance Statement.

Derivative Products
Under the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement, VAR Licensees have certain rights to use the property sales data to create and commercialise Derivative Products.

Each Derivative Product is subject to approval of the State.  In certain circumstances, approval of the Registrar-General is also required to make “Changes” to those Derivative Products.  These circumstances are set out in the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement.

To seek approval for a new Derivative Product or to make a change to an existing approved Derivative Product, a VAR Licensee must seek certain approval from the Registrar-General.  It is important to note that, as LSSA also has rights to commercialise the property sales data, LSSA must not be involved in any way with the approval or assessment of a Derivative Product or change to a Derivative Product.

To seek approval for a new Derivative Product or to make a change to an existing approved Derivative Product, a VAR Licensee must:

• complete and submit a Derivative Product Application to [email protected]; and
• provide the Registrar-General with any information requested about a new Derivative Product or a Change in a Derivative Product to assist the Registrar-General make a decision in respect to this Application.

If the Application is rejected, the VAR Licensee will be notified by the Registrar-General.

If the Derivative Product Application is accepted, the VAR Licensee will be notified.

The VAR Licensee should inform LSSA of any decision of the Registrar-General to accept a new Derivative Product or a “Change” to a Derivative Product.  Once accepted, the Derivative Product should be included in the VAR Licensee’s Annual Self-Assessment Compliance Statement.

Self-Assessment
Under the Data Access Sub-Licence Agreement, a VAR Licensee must, by no later than each 30 June during the term of that agreement, complete and submit to LSSA a Self-Assessment Compliance Statement.

The Self-Assessment Compliance Statement must include the VAR Licensee's assessment of its performance against the criteria determined in writing by LSSA from time to time, and such criteria must include (unless LSSA determines otherwise):

• the VAR Licensee's progress in implementing each recommendation set out in any applicable Security Audit Report;
• the VAR Licensee's compliance with the requirements relating to the supply of data to contractors including details of any non-compliance; and
• the VAR Licensee's compliance with its obligations in relation to Data protection and privacy, including any such obligations that apply to Derivative Products; and
• contain a complete list of all Derivative Products which are integrated with the Data and allow users to enquire upon the Data.
  A copy of the current form of the Licensee Self-Assessment Compliance Statement can be found here.

LSSA collects and has access to a wider range of datasets than the property sales attributes mentioned above. With the approval of the State, LSSA is willing to engage with VAR Licensees to supplement the property sales data provided to VAR Licensees.  These additional datasets can be used to supplement VAR Licensees Derivative Products.

Datasets to supplement the VAR and create a 360-degree view of SA properties could include:

1. Parcel cadastre with additional attributes

• provides the most up-to-date spatial view of South Australian property boundaries;
• identify newly created parcels and all parcels linked to a valuation record.

2. Whole of state valuation cadastre

• provides current view of all South Australian properties;
• includes current statutory site and capital values;
• property attributes such as wall, roof construction, number of bedrooms, site area, property type, year built and style;
• includes details of newly completed or in progress developments.

3. Unsold properties

• Provides current property attributes and current statutory values of all properties not sold since 1 January 1993

4. Property sales – 1985-1992

5. Mortgage dataset

• Details of mortgages active on title;
• Mortgage dates and lenders;
• Breakdown by property type, suburb, LGA, commercial, agricultural, residential- house, unit vacant land.

6.  Property Watch alerts

• Stamped value where sales price is not disclosed.

** The provision of any additional datasets, and the subsequent use of those datasets by a licensee, is subject to approval of the State and will be subject to additional licence fees and terms and conditions.

A copy of LSSA’s current data catalogue can be found here.