TRANSFER OF LAND ACT 1893 - SECT 81W
TRANSFER OF LAND ACT 1893 - SECT 81W
81W . Procedure when applications referred to Commissioner
(1) Subject to this
section, when an application is referred to the Commissioner under
section 81V(2)(b), the Commissioner may, if —
(a) he
is satisfied in respect of the application that any interests in, or caveats
or dealings in respect of, the relevant Crown land are clearly identified and
that there is, in the case of 2 or more such interests or caveats, no dispute
concerning the respective priorities of those interests or caveats, cause
notice of that application to be —
(i)
advertised at least once in a newspaper circulating
throughout the State or in the local government district where that Crown land
is situated; or
(ii)
served on any persons named by him,
or both; or
(b) he
is not so satisfied —
(i)
refuse that application; or
(ii)
in the case of an application for the creation and
registration of a certificate of Crown land title, direct the Registrar to
create and register a qualified certificate of Crown land title in respect of
the relevant Crown land.
(2) Without limiting
the generality of subsection (1) —
(a) the
Commissioner may be satisfied in respect of an application for the purposes of
that subsection if he accepts as evidence recitals, statements and
descriptions of facts, matters and parties in deeds, instruments, dealings,
Acts and statutory declarations, the date shown as that of the execution,
signature, passing or making of which precedes the date of making of the
application by at least 12 years; and
(b) any
person on whose behalf the application was made shall not be required to
negative, except in relation to the knowledge, information and belief of
himself and his agents, the existence of any unregistered conveyances,
assurances or other dealings affecting any part of the Crown land the subject
of the application.
(3) The cost of any
advertisement or service of notice under subsection (1) is to be paid to the
Registrar before the publication of the relevant advertisement or the
effecting of the relevant service.
(4) If —
(a) the
Commissioner is satisfied in respect of the matters referred to in subsection
(1)(a); and
(b) the
Minister for Lands has, before making the relevant application under
section 81V(1), advertised under clause 45(3) of Schedule 2 to the
Land Administration Act 1997 in connection with the matter the subject of that
application; and
(c) the
Commissioner is in consequence satisfied that there is no need to cause notice
of that application to be advertised or served under subsection (1)(a),
the Commissioner
shall, unless a caveat is in force under this Division forbidding him to do so
or he is restrained from doing so by an order made under section 81X(3),
direct the Registrar to grant that application.
(5) The Commissioner
shall, if he causes notice of an application to be —
(a)
advertised under subsection (1)(a), fix a period of not less than 14 days, and
not more than 12 months, from the date of —
(i)
that advertisement; or
(ii)
if there is more than one such advertisement, the later
or last such advertisement;
or
(b)
served under subsection (1)(a), fix a period of not less than 14 days, and not
more than 12 months, from the date of —
(i)
that service; or
(ii)
if there is more than one such service, the later or last
such service;
or
(c) both
advertised and served under subsection (1)(a), fix a period which is the later
of the periods capable of being fixed under paragraphs (a) and (b),
on or after the expiry
of which period the Commissioner shall, unless a caveat is in force under this
Division forbidding him to do so or he is restrained from doing so by an order
made under section 81X(3), direct the Registrar to grant the application.
(6) Any person
claiming an interest in Crown land the subject of an application referred to
the Commissioner under section 81V(2)(b) may before the creation and
registration of a certificate of Crown land title or qualified certificate of
Crown land title in respect of that Crown land sign and lodge with the
Registrar a caveat in an approved form forbidding the grant of that
application.
(7) The Registrar may
by notice served on a caveator acting under subsection (6) require that
caveator to support the caveat by lodging with the Registrar within a period
of 7 days from that service —
(a) a
statutory declaration stating the nature of the interest in Crown land under
which the relevant claim is made; and
(b) a
perfect abstract of the title to that interest.
(8) If the statutory
declaration and abstract supporting a caveat are not lodged within the period
referred to in subsection (7), the caveat lapses.
(9) A caveat cannot be
lodged under subsection (6) unless one of the following is specified in it for
the purposes of the service of notices in relation to the caveat —
(a) an
address in Australia;
[(b) deleted]
(c) a
way of receiving notices electronically (for example, an email address) that
is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.
(10) A number for a
facsimile machine in Australia may be used for the purposes referred to in
subsection (9) if —
(a) a
caveat is lodged under subsection (6) before the day on which the Transfer of
Land Amendment Act 2022 section 20 comes into operation; and
(b) that
number is specified in the caveat.
[Section 81W inserted: No. 31 of 1997 s. 104(1);
amended: No. 2 of 2014 s. 72; No. 21 of 2022 s. 20.]