SERV - Secure Electronic Registries Victoria

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FOLIO SEARCH – NEW PRESENTATION FEATURES

Earlier this year, the Land Titles Automation Project commenced the large-scale conversion of paper records to a fully computerised format. Prior to this 28% of paper folios had been converted to computer format – by June 2000 the majority of paper folios will be converted.

As well as converting the 3.8 million paper folios in the Register Book, the data conversion project also encompasses plans, survey information, and instruments (covenants, creations of easements, caveats etc). In addition, from 9th August 1999, imaging of newly registered instruments, plans and survey reports commenced on a daily basis.

The Land Titles Automation Project will ultimately improve the accessibility of information, and enable Land Registry to provide a more timely search and dealing registration system.

The nature of the conversion process results in four different presentations of information contained on folios in the Register. These presentations will remain until data conversion is complete and all folios are computer folios.

The diagram on this bulletin describes the four stages in folio conversion and explains new presentation features encountered when obtaining a search request.

Stage 1
The certificate of title is still a paper folio and is not yet part of the conversion process.

Stage 2
The certificate of title has undergone scanning, and is available online as an imaged folio.

Stage 3
The certificate of title has undergone scanning. The text details have been entered as part of the conversion process, and the title is now a computer (ALTS) folio. However, the title diagram has not yet been converted.

Stage 4
The certificate of title is now a computer (ALTS) folio, and the plan has replaced the title diagram.

CHANGE IN OFFICE PRACTICE – CAVEAT NOTICES

In an effort to further reduce processing times, Land Registry has begun to review its practices regarding notice to caveators of dealings lodged.

The first phase of the review considered the circumstance where a title is affected by a caveat and there is lodged for registration an application under Section 49 (legal personal representative), Section 50 (survivorship) or Section 51 (bankruptcy trustee) of the Transfer of Land Act 1958. Present practice is to send to the caveator a notice under Section 90(1) of the Act and hold the dealing until the notice period has passed.

As from 1st February 2000 that practice will cease. Instead, where there is lodged an application under any of these sections without a follower dealing, Land Registry will not send notice under Section 90(1) of the Act to the caveator. The application will simply be recorded and the caveat will remain in force.

Where there is lodged both an application under any of these sections and a follower dealing (eg: Section 49 application followed by a transfer to a beneficiary), notice under Section 90(1) will continue to be sent to the caveator and the dealings will be recorded only after the caveat notice period has passed. Again, the caveat will remain in force.

As the review progresses, further changes in caveat notice practice are anticipated. Further changes will be announced in subsequent Customer Information Bulletins.

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LANDATA BROKERS – EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Landata is the online service delivery arm of Land Victoria’s Land Registry, and is charged with providing remote access to land titles and other property information.

Land Victoria initiatives such as the automation of Victoria’s Land Titles Register are rapidly increasing the amount and range of information that can be accessed online. This presents an opportunity to expand the number of Landata brokers and to enable specialised services to be offered, servicing particular regions, businesses and industries.

The requirement of additional brokers and development of specialised services will also assist Landata to progressively move out of retailing during the year 2000 and assume more of a wholesale role.

While Land Registry will still provide titles information over-the-counter at its offices in Queen Street, both metropolitan and regional Victorians will now have greater electronic access to this information through the planned expansion of the number of title brokers and the online delivery of titles information to the general public via the internet.

Advertisements inviting organisations to register their interest in becoming Landata brokers appeared in The Age on 22 December 1999 and in The Australian on the following day. Expressions of interest close on 3 February 2000.

You should contact your current title searching service provider now about improved access to on-line services during the next few months.