Paper certificates of title are no longer required for Tasmanian property transactions, with the state government removing the paper process from Land Titles Office dealings.
Parks and Heritage Minister Nick Duigan said the change was a “substantial red tape reduction” for people doing property dealings.
“This is work that has been ongoing for some time and as of the last week or so, the need to provide a paper certificate of title has been removed from the system,” he said.
Duigan pointed to a stack of paper certificates behind him at the Land Titles Office, saying it represented about a fortnight’s worth of work coming in.
“It makes dealing with property matters safer, more secure, but quicker and easier,” he said.
Land Tasmania General Manager Stuart Fletcher said the reform builds on Tasmania’s move to electronic conveyancing, which was delivered at a cost of about $2 million over two years.
Fletcher said the change ends a paper chain in which banks and solicitors had to locate titles in vaults and lodge them with the office, where they were examined, reprinted and mailed out.
He said common dealings such as transfers, mortgages and discharges make up 80% to 85% of standard transactions.
Conveyancers and solicitors are now responsible for verifying a person’s identity and their right to deal with a property, which Fletcher said provides a more secure environment.
Lost title applications, which previously required newspaper advertisements and statutory declarations, are also no longer needed.
Fletcher said some less common dealings will still require paper for the foreseeable future, until they are introduced to the national platform.
Australian Institute of Conveyancers Tasmania President Debbie Hutton said the removal of paper certificates on September 1 was particularly beneficial for regional areas.
“For us in a regional area, it means that people from other towns don’t have to come into our town for settlements,” she said.
“We can do everything electronically and it makes it so much easier.”
Owners may keep their paper certificates of title, but they are no longer lodged with the Land Titles Office or part of the land titling process.
