REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - TABLE OF PROVISIONS 1. Name of Act 2. Dictionary 2A. Notes 3. General register of deeds 4. Registration of deeds 4A. Priority according to registration 4B. Mistakes in registration 5. Index 6. Searches 7. Certified copies 8. Determination of fees 9. Approved forms DICTIONARY ENDNOTES REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 1 Name of Act This Act is the Registration of Deeds Act 1957. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 2 Dictionary The dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act. Note 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain terms used in this Act. Note 2 A definition in the dictionary applies to the entire Act unless the definition, or another provision of the Act, provides otherwise or the contrary intention otherwise appears (see Legislation Act, s 155 and s 156 (1)). REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 2A Notes A note included in this Act is explanatory and is not part of this Act. Note See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of notes. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 3 General register of deeds The registrar-general must keep a register (the general register of deeds) in the form the Minister directs. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 4 Registration of deeds (1) Subject to this section, a person may register a deed in the register-- (a) by depositing the deed with the registrar-general; (b) by producing the deed to the registrar-general and depositing with the registrar-general a copy of the deed verified as a true copy by the statutory declaration of a person who has compared the copy with the original deed of which it purports to be a true copy; or (c) if the person is unable to produce the deed to the registrar-general by reason of the fact that the deed has been registered by, or filed or deposited with, an officer of a State or Territory under a law of that State or Territory--by depositing with the registrar-general a copy of the deed, being a copy of the deed certified as a true copy by the officer having the custody of the deed, or being a copy of the deed that is, by virtue of the law of the State or Territory under which the deed was so registered, filed or deposited, evidence of the contents of the deed in the State or Territory. Note A fee may be determined under s 8 (Determination of fees) for this section. (2) A deed shall not be registered under this Act by being deposited with the registrar-general-- (a) unless the deed has endorsed on it, or attached to it, a statutory declaration made by a party to it verifying the due execution of the deed; and (b) unless the deed and the statutory declaration verifying its execution, in the opinion of the registrar-general-- (i) are legibly written; and (ii) are on paper of a size and standard approved by him or her; and (iii) will, if bound in the register, be, and continue to be, easily readable. (3) The registrar-general may refuse to accept the deposit, under subsection (1) (b) or (c), of a copy of a deed if, in his or her opinion, the copy-- (a) is not legibly written; or (b) is not on paper of a size and standard approved by him or her; or (c) will not, if bound in the register, be, and continue to be, easily readable. (4) Where, in the copy of a deed, not being a copy which is, by virtue of the law of the State or Territory under which the deed was registered, filed or deposited, evidence of the contents of the deed in the State or Territory, there is an interlineation, alteration or erasure, the copy shall not be deposited with the registrar-general under subsection (1) (b) or (c) unless-- (a) the interlineation or alteration, not being an alteration by erasure, is authenticated by the initials of the person verifying or certifying the copy as a true copy; and (b) in the case of an erasure--the words or figures appearing, at the time the copy was verified or certified to be a true copy, to be written on the erasure are rewritten and signed or initialled in the margin of the copy by the person verifying or certifying it to be a true copy. (5) Upon registering a deed in the register, the registrar-general shall endorse on the registration copy of the deed a memorandum of the registration of the deed and of the date and time of registration and-- (a) shall, if the original deed has been produced to him or her but has not been deposited with him or her, endorse such a memorandum on the deed; or (b) shall, if a copy of the deed has been deposited with him or her under subsection (1) (c) and the person depositing the copy so requests and produces to the registrar-general a further copy of the deed duly verified to be a copy, endorse such a memorandum on the further copy. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 4A Priority according to registration (1) All deeds affecting any land, estate or interest in land, or other property, in the Territory which are executed or made in good faith and for valuable consideration and are registered under this Act, shall have priority according to the sequence of their registration only. Note The Personal Property and Securities Act 2009 (Cwlth) (PPS Act) regulates certain interests in personal property. This Act has no effect to the extent it is inconsistent with the PPS Act. (2) A deed registered under this Act shall not lose any priority to which it would otherwise be entitled by reason only of bad faith in the conveying party if the party beneficially taking under that deed acted in good faith and there was valuable consideration given. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 4B Mistakes in registration The registration of a deed under this Act shall not be defeated or made ineffectual by reason of any omission, misdescription or error if the identity of the deed is established and the requirements of this Act have been substantially complied with in relation to the registration of that deed. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 5 Index The registrar-general shall keep an index of deeds registered in, or forming part of, the register. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 6 Searches A person may search in the index kept by the registrar-general under section 5 and examine the registration copy of any deed registered in the register. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 7 Certified copies The registrar-general shall, upon receipt of an application specifying the particular deed, being a deed registered in the register, of which the person making the application desires to have issued to him or her a certified copy, issue to that person a copy of the registration copy of the deed certified by the registrar-general to be a true copy of the registration copy of the deed. Note 1 A fee may be determined under s 8 (Determination of fees) for this section. Note 2 If a form is approved under s 9 (Approved forms) for an application, the form must be used. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 8 Determination of fees (1) The Minister may, in writing, determine fees for this Act. Note The Legislation Act 2001 contains provisions about the making of determinations and regulations relating to fees (see pt 6.3). (2) A determination is a disallowable instrument. Note A disallowable instrument must be notified, and presented to the Legislative Assembly, under the Legislation Act 2001. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - SECT 9 Approved forms (1) The registrar-general may, in writing, approve forms for this Act. (2) If the registrar-general approves a form for a particular purpose, the approved form must be used for that purpose. (3) An approved form is a notifiable instrument. Note A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act 2001. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - NOTES Dictionary Dictionary (see s 2) Note 1 The Legislation Act contains definitions and other provisions relevant to this Act. Note 2 For example, the Legislation Act, dict, pt 1 defines the following terms: o land o Minister (see s 162) o person o registrar-general. "deed" includes any instrument or document, whether under seal or not, other than-- (a) a will; or (b) an instrument (not being a lease, or a sublease, for a term of years not exceeding 3 years) that is in accordance with the provisions of the Land Titles Act 1925 and purports to transfer or otherwise deal with or affect an estate or interest in land under the provisions of that Act; or (c) a document that evidences, or purports to evidence, a change of the name of a person. "the register" means the general register of deeds. "registration copy" means-- (a) in relation to a deed that is deposited with the registrar-general upon the registration of the deed under this Act--the deed; and (b) in relation to any other deed--the copy of the deed deposited with the registrar-general upon the registration of the deed under this Act. REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - NOTES Endnotes Endnotes 1 About the endnotes Amending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the amendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law but are set out in the endnotes. Not all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are annotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel's Office. Uncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details of these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are underlined in the legislation history and amendment history. If all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered provisions gives details of previous and current numbering. The endnotes also include a table of earlier republications. 2 Abbreviation key A = Act NI = Notifiable instrument AF = Approved form o = order am = amended om = omitted/repealed amdt = amendment ord = ordinance AR = Assembly resolution orig = original ch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph CN = Commencement notice pres = present def = definition prev = previous DI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously dict = dictionary pt = part disallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule Assembly reloc = relocated div = division renum = renumbered exp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No Gaz = gazette RI = reissue hdg = heading s = section/subsection IA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule ins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision LA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law LR = legislation register sub = substituted LRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced mod = modified/modification or to be expired 3 Legislation history This Act was originally a Commonwealth ordinance--the Registration of Deeds Ordinance 1957 A1957-13 (Cwlth). The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cwlth), s 34 (4) converted most former Commonwealth ordinances in force in the ACT into ACT enactments. This allowed the ACT Legislative Assembly to amend and repeal the laws. This Act was converted into an ACT enactment on 11 May 1989 (self-government day). As with most ordinances in force in the ACT, the name was changed from Ordinance to Act by the Self-Government (Citation of Laws) Act 1989 No 21, s 5 on 11 May 1989 (self-government day). Before 11 May 1989, ordinances commenced on their notification day unless otherwise stated (see Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cwlth), s 12). Legislation before becoming Territory enactment Registration of Deeds Act 1957 No 13 notified 21 November 1957 commenced 21 November 1957 as amended by Ordinances Revision (Decimal Currency) Ordinance 1966 No 19 notified 23 December 1966 commenced 23 December 1966 Ordinances Revision (Administrative Arrangements) Ordinance 1977 No 18 notified 21 June 1977 commenced 21 June 1977 Registration of Deeds (Amendment) Ordinance 1977 No 49 notified 27 September 1977 commenced 3 October 1977 Registration of Deeds (Amendment) Ordinance 1978 No 25 notified 5 September 1978 commenced 3 October 1978 Registration of Deeds (Amendment) Ordinance 1980 No 14 notified 15 May 1980 commenced 1 July 1980 Registration of Deeds (Amendment) Ordinance 1982 No 79 notified 1 October 1982 commenced 1 October 1982 Registration of Deeds (Amendment) Ordinance 1983 No 40 notified 29 September 1983 commenced 1 October 1983 Registration of Deeds (Amendment) Ordinance 1985 No 22 notified 7 June 1985 commenced 7 June 1985 Legislation after becoming Territory enactment Registrar-General (Consequential Provisions) Act 1993 No 64 sch 1 notified 6 September 1993 (Gaz 1993 No S172) s 1, s 2 commenced 6 September 1993 (s 2 (1)) sch 1 commenced 1 October 1993 (s 2 (2) and Gaz 1993 No S207) Land Titles (Consequential Amendments) Act 1995 No 54 sch pt 1 notified 20 December 1995 (Gaz 1995 No S313) sch pt 1 commenced 20 June 1996 (s 2) Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Consequential Provisions) Act 1997 No 113 sch notified 24 December 1997 (Gaz 1997 No S420) s 1, s 2 commenced 24 December 1997 (s 2 (1)) sch commenced 24 June 1998 (s 2 (2)) Legislation (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001 No 44 pt 327 notified 26 July 2001 (Gaz 2001 No 30) s 1, s 2 commenced 26 July 2001 (IA s 10B) pt 327 commenced 12 September 2001 (s 2 and see Gaz 2001 No S65) Registration of Deeds Amendment Act 2003 A2003-39 notified LR 8 September 2003 s 1, s 2 commenced 8 September 2003 (LA s 75 (1)) remainder commenced 9 September 2003 (s 2) Powers of Attorney Act 2006 A2006-50 sch 2 pt 2.4 notified LR 30 November 2006 s 1, s 2 commenced 30 November 2006 (LA s 75 (1)) sch 2 pt 2.4 commenced 30 May 2007 (s 2 and LA s 79) Statute Law Amendment Act 2007 A2007-3 sch 3 pt 3.86 notified LR 22 March 2007 s 1, s 2 taken to have commenced 1 July 2006 (LA s 75 (2)) sch 3 pt 3.86 commenced 12 April 2007 (s 2 (1)) Personal Property Securities Act 2010 A2010-15 sch 3 pt 3.3 notified LR 1 April 2010 s 1, s 2 commenced 1 April 2010 (LA s 75 (1)) sch 3 pt 3.3 commenced 30 January 2012 (s 2 (2) (b)) 4 Amendment history Name of Acts 1 sub A2007-3 amdt 3.451 Dictionarys 2 defs reloc to dict A2007-3 amdt 3.452 sub A2007-3 amdt 3.453 def determined fee ins 1984 No 40 s 4 om 2001 No 44 amdt 1.3604 def the Registrar om 1993 No 64 sch 1 Notess 2A ins A2007-3 amdt 3.453 General register of deedss 3 am 1977 No 18; 1993 No 64 sch 1 sub A2006-50 amdt 2.20 Registration of deedss 4 am 1966 No 19; 1977 No 49; 1978 No 25; 1980 No 14; 1982 No 79; 1983 No 40; 1993 No 64 sch 1; 2001 No 44 amdt 1.3605, amdt 1.3606; A2007-3 amdt 3.454 Priority according to registrations 4A ins 1985 No 22 am A2010-15 amdt 3.3 Mistakes in registrations 4B ins 1985 No 22 Indexs 5 am 1993 No 64 sch 1 Searchess 6 am 1966 No 19; 1977 No 49; 1993 No 64 sch 1 Certified copiess 7 am 1966 No 19; 1977 No 49; 1983 No 40; 1993 No 64 sch 1; 2001 No 44 amdts 1.3607-1.3610 Determination of feess 8 ins 1983 No 40 sub 2001 No 44 amdt 1.3611 Approved formss 9 ins 2001 No 44 amdt 1.3611 The Schedulesch am 1993 No 64 sch 1 om 2001 No 44 amdt 1.3612 Dictionarydict ins A2007-3 amdt 3.455 def deed am 1993 No 64 sch 1; 1995 No 54 sch pt 1; 1997 No 113 sch; A2003-39 s 4 reloc from s 2 A2007-3 amdt 3.452 def the register reloc from s 2 A2007-3 amdt 3.452 def registration copy reloc from s 2 A2007-3 amdt 3.452 5 Earlier republications Some earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to the publication order. Since 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in electronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised republications have also been published in printed format. These republications are marked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an authorised republication are identical. Republication No Amendments to Republication date 1 ord 1985 No 22 31 October 1990 2 Act 1997 No 113 31 January 1998 3 A2001-44 12 September 2001 4 A2003-39 9 September 2003 5 A2007-3 12 April 2007 6 A2006-50 30 May 2007 (c) Australian Capital Territory 2012 REGISTRATION OF DEEDS ACT 1957 - NOTES Australian Capital Territory A1957-13 Republication No 7 Effective: 30 January 2012 Republication date: 30 January 2012 Last amendment made by A2010-15Unauthorised version prepared by ACT Parliamentary Counsel's Office About this republication The republished law This is a republication of the Registration of Deeds Act 1957 (including any amendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 30 January 2012 . It also includes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to 30 January 2012 . The legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3 and 4. Kinds of republications The Parliamentary Counsel's Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au): o authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies o unauthorised republications. The status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page. Editorial changes The Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial amendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication. Editorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into line, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice. This republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1). Uncommenced provisions and amendments If a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately before the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law are accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more information, see the home page for this law on the register. Modifications If a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation Act 2001, section 95. Penalties At the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $110 for an individual and $550 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133). Australian Capital Territory Registration of Deeds Act 1957 Endnotes8 Australian Capital Territory Registration of Deeds Act 1957 An Act providing for the registration of deeds and other documents