In WA, it’s now easier than ever to transfer land

Property conveyancers, home buyers and real estate agents alike will all be rejoicing in WA right now. Why? New legislation has finally come into effect to modernise the state’s land dealings.

The legislation, called the Transfer of Land Amendment Act 2022 (TLAA), passed WA Parliament in June 2022 and has now been rolled out — bringing WA into line with the changes occurring in the conveyancing industry nationally. 

In a nutshell, the three changes include:

• Removal of Duplicate Certificates of Title (Duplicate Titles)

• Enabling the issuing of statutory notices electronically

• Clarification of the definition of counterpart documents

It means a lot less paperwork, the elimination of faxing as an option for sending notices, and much faster processing of statutory notices relating to the transfer of land. 

And, as Landgate itself summarises, “These changes bring efficiencies for our customers and for Landgate, simplifying and modernising all land conveyancing processes in an electronic land titles register whilst at the same time supporting the integrity of the Western Australian land titles register.” 

Saving paper, saving trees

The first change  removes the need for duplicate paper certificates from WA’s titling system to simplify the conveyancing process — without compromising the security of the WA land register.

For a state that’s home to some majestic tall trees and ancient forests, the move to get rid of paper versions of duplicate land title certificates is a welcome move, which Docusign proudly supports.

Lodging land documents with ELNO

Western Australians can now use an Electronic Lodgment Network Operator (ELNO) to lodge eligible land registry documents. PEXA is an industry-standard ELNO that, together with Docusign, transforms the conveyancing process by bringing it online and reducing the friction caused by paper-based property exchanges. The new digital process reduces the time it takes to settle property transactions, increases efficiencies of settlements, and provides greater transparency over transaction progress. The practically anywhere, anytime signing convenience that Docusign provides  means in-person property settlements are a thing of the past.

A seamess, secure ID check for peace of mind

Having confidence in a signer’s identity is vital for the validity of all agreements, which is why Docusign also includes each signer's name, email, date, time, and IP address in the Certificate of Completion as part of the full audit trail of a document. Once an agreement has been completed, it can then be downloaded from Docusign as a PDF with a tamper-evident seal— or Digital Certificate.

Docusign also offers additional layers of security for remote signing with Docusign ID Verification or through its integration with Australia Post’s Digital ID, making it easy to verify signer identities. This gives property buyers, sellers, and conveyancers peace of mind throughout the remote signing process.

Most common property transactions — like a contract for sale or offer and acceptance — can be settled using an ELNO (for a list of those that can’t, see here).

For more information about the amendments to the Transfer of Land Act 1893, see here.