On 10 February 2022, the Federal Parliament passed the Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Act 2022 (Cth) (Amending Act). The Amending Act made changes to the Corporations Act 2001 to enable the electronic execution of various documents. The changes applying to the use of technology to execute, sign and share company meeting related documents have been effective since 23 February 2022.
Signing land registry documents
Documents lodged in paper form for registration purposes continue to be required to be signed in ink due to provisions under the:
* Transfer of Land Act 1893 (WA) (TLA)
* Transfer of Land Regulations 2004 (WA)
* Property Law Act 1969 (WA)
Sole director provisions
Section 127 of the Corporations Act 2001 now provides that a sole director must sign a document in their capacity as sole director, where the director is also the sole company secretary, or if the company does not have a company secretary. This will mean that where a director states that they are a sole director when executing a document, no additional evidence in support of the execution will be required to be provided.
Company powers of attorney
Parties relying on a power of attorney will still need to have the power of attorney noted under section 143 of the TLA, before it can be used for dealings on the land register. For the reasons stated above, power of attorney documents must still be presented in paper form, signed in ink, and witnessed in ink where required.
The Land Titles Registration Policy and Procedure Guide SIG-03 Signing by a Corporation, has been updated to reflect the new sole director provisions
Kind regards,
Bruce Roberts
Registrar of Titles
Landgate
