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Registrar’s Requirements for paper instruments – an update

The Registrar’s Requirements for paper conveyancing transactions under section 106A of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 are yet to be published, which means they will not commence from 1 July 2015, as previously advised.

Land Victoria will provide customers with more details and sufficient notice of the commencement of the Registrar’s Requirements in a future Customer Information Bulletin.

The Registrar’s Requirements will facilitate the alignment of electronic and paper conveyancing and formalise the prudent practice of conveyancers and lawyers to take reasonable steps to verify a client’s identity and authority.

The requirements for paper instruments are intended to be the same as instruments in the electronic conveyancing system, as set out in the Participation Rules determined under the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Victoria). In turn, the Participation Rules are based on the Model Participation Rules from the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC).

ARNECC received considerable feedback on its Consultation Draft Version 3 of the Model Participation Rules and continues to carefully consider this feedback. Land Victoria considers it essential that the Registrar’s Requirements are consistent with the latest version of the Model Participation Rules. Publication of the Registrar’s Requirements will therefore be delayed until Version 3 of the Model Participation Rules is finalised.

New lodging fees from 1 July 2015

From 1 July 2015, fees for lodging transactions at Land Victoria will change.

The value of a fee unit, as announced by the Treasurer on 17 April 2015, is $13.60.

For the most frequent transaction types, fees for paper transactions from 1 July 2015 will be as follows.

Discharge of mortgage        $114.00

Transfer of land                      $138.90 plus $2.46 per $1000 of consideration

Mortgage                                  $114.00

Caveat                                        $79.00

Transfer (non-monetary)   $138.90

Withdrawal of caveat           $79.00

Transmission application    $99.00

Survivorship application      $99.00

Plan of subdivision (non-survey):

                                                      $783.00 plus $133.00 per owners corporation (more than one)

Plan of subdivision (based on survey):

$1168.20 plus $170.70 per lot (more than two), plus $133.00 per owners corporation (more than one)

For the most frequent transaction types, the fees for electronic transactions from 1 July 2015 will be as follows.

Discharge of mortgage   $90.00

Transfer of land                $114.80 plus $2.46 per $1000 of consideration

Mortgage                            $90.00

Caveat                                 $54.90

Transfer                               $114.80
(non-monetary)  

Withdrawal of caveat     $54.90

Fees for search products and services will be announced when available, which is expected to be late May 2015.

Certificate of Title nomination process

To assist customers better understand the Certificate of Title nomination process and business rules, Land Victoria has produced the Guide to business rules for issuing Certificates of Title, available on the Forms, guides and fees web page at www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/property >Forms, guides and fees.

The guide examines a number of scenarios and outlines to whom Certificates of Title issue. It also describes:

• how new Certificates of Title are issued when a dealing results in the folio being cancelled and new folio(s) created
• the business rules that Land Victoria applies in this circumstance.

Customer Information Bulletin Edition 139 December 2012, Edition 140 March 2013 and Edition 142 November 2013 also contain articles on the Certificate of Title nomination process, which replaced the former ‘Made available’ process from 4 February 2013.

Certificates of Title and Administrative Notices

Land Victoria has recently published a guide to help customers understand the use, operation and role of Certificates of Title and Administrative Notices in the national electronic conveyancing system – Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) – and the Victorian Online Titles System (VOTS). The Guide to Certificates of Title and Administrative Notices is available on the Forms, guides and fees web page at www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/property >Forms, guides and fees.

The implementation of electronic conveyancing in Victoria introduced the concepts of:

• the electronic Certificate of Title (eCT)
• eCT Control – the party entitled to control the eCT
• an Administrative Notice process – to request the Registrar to deal with a Certificate of Title in a particular way.

Under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 the Certificate of Title must be produced to support the lodgement of most conveyancing transactions. Two types of Certificates of Title are accepted by Land Victoria for this purpose – the paper CT (pCT) and the eCT.

The pCT is traditionally used in the current conveyancing process. As part of settlement it is passed from the party entitled to hold it to an incoming mortgagee; or, if there is no mortgagee, to the purchaser. This enables an incoming party to gain registration of their interest.

However, it is also possible to settle a transaction using an eCT. In this case, the eCT Control uses an Administrative Notice to nominate the eCT to the transaction prior to settlement.

Waterway notation on plans

Land Victoria, in consultation with Water and Catchments in the Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning (DELWP), is introducing a waterway notation to affected plans to alert prospective purchasers about the possible location and use of Crown frontage.

Notations will initially be put on plans for land adjacent to licensed Crown frontages and progressively also on plans of properties abutting Crown frontage.

The text of the notation is:

WATERWAY NOTATION: LAND IN THIS PLAN MAY ABUT CROWN LAND THAT MAY BE SUBJECT TO A CROWN LICENCE TO USE

The wording may alter slightly to identify affected individual lots on multi parcel plans.

Land that adjoins rivers, creeks, estuaries, lakes and wetlands is known as riparian land (often called ‘frontage’). Riparian land in many instances is publicly owned and referred to as Crown frontage. The use of Crown frontage often requires a licence. In rural areas, the lack of boundary fencing between the freehold and the Crown frontage can create ambiguity for land owners and prospective purchasers.

The Victorian Waterway Management Strategy (2013) called for the development of a point-of-sale system that alerts prospective riparian land buyers to the existence of Crown frontage and possible need for a licence. Stakeholder submissions to the 2014 Review of Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act also emphasised the need for clarity in relation to location and use of riparian Crown land.

For more information on Crown land water frontage licences and riparian land management, please refer to:

• Crown land water frontage licences fact sheet
• Riparian management licences fact sheet.

These fact sheets are available at www.delwp.vic.gov.au/crown-land-water-frontage. For other information, please telephone DELWP Customer Service Centre 136 186.

© The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2015 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone DELWP Customer Service Centre 136 186, email customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au via the National Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au. This document is also available on the internet at www.delwp.vic.gov.au Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.