Background
With effect from 7 March 2024, the Land Titles Office (LTO) has introduced reforms to the existing paper-based lodgment process for LTO dealings. This includes the lodgment of dealings required as part of the conveyancing process such as transfers, mortgages and discharges of mortgages.
The reforms are intended to align with the requirements for electronic conveyancing, which will be introduced in Tasmania within the coming months. Following the introduction of electronic conveyancing, the paper-based conveyancing process will remain available and so these reforms ensure that the same level of security will apply across both electronic and paper-based models.
The introduction of requirements to undertake a number of verification checks, obtain specific authorisation from a client and retain relevant evidence relating to a conveyancing transaction, provides “an increased level of security and rigour” to the conveyancing process and the Register of land maintained by the LTO. As the instance of fraudulent activity in our society increases, the reforms will help protect people from risk of unauthorised dealings with their property.
What will be required
The reforms now require that for every conveyancing transaction, your representative must:
- verify your identity;
- verify that you have authority to deal with the property; and
- have you sign a Client Authorisation Form, permitting them to act on your behalf.
Verification of Identity
You will now be required to provide original documents to verify your identity. Your representative will need to hold a meeting to sight your identity documents, have a third party undertake the identity process for you, or take other “reasonable steps” to verify that you are the person they are dealing with. The original documents you might be required to produce could include passport, drivers licence, birth certificate and evidence of a change of name (where your name varies across different documents, or the property you are dealing with). By undertaking verification of identity, the risk of identity fraud and registration of fraudulent land transactions is greatly reduced.
Verification of right to deal
Your representative will now need to take reasonable steps to verify that you have the right to deal with the property (such as the right to enter into a conveyancing transaction). This will be done by reviewing documents you provide that link you to the property you are dealing with. This might include a Title search, a copy of a contract or a copy of loan approval or loan statement relating to the property. In addition to reducing the risk of fraud, other parties to a conveyancing transaction are given greater confidence that they are transacting with the party who has the right to transact.
Client Authorisation
You will now need to sign a Client Authorisation Form, which authorises your representative to act for you and, where possible, sign and complete relevant LTO documents on your behalf. This is a formalising of the existing process, whereby instructions would be obtained by other means, which may vary.
How we can help you
Lawyers from our Property & Planning group have been heavily involved in LTO working groups leading up to the introduction of these reforms. We have been working for several months on the development of our internal policies and processes to ensure these new requirements seamlessly form part of the service we provide.
More information
If you have any questions about how the reforms will impact you, please contact:
Mark Crosswell
Special Counsel
M: 0418 791 879
E: mcrosswell@pageseager.com.au
Jessica Rowbottom
Associate
T: (03) 6235 5114
E: jrowbottom@pageseager.com.au
Published: 4 March 2024
