Cancellation of paper Certificate of Title in NSW

On 11 May 2021, the Real Property Amendment (Certificates of Title) Bill 2021 was passed in NSW Parliament. This Bill allows for the cancellation of paper titles and allows for 100% electronic lodgement of land transactions. This move is unsurprising as we have slowly moved away from paper-based processes since the introduction of PEXA in NSW in 2013 and it becoming mandatory for all conveyancing transactions in NSW since 1 July 2019.

The plan is to completely remove paper titles by the end of 2021 and for all existing Certificates of Titles to be cancelled, with paper versions no longer being issued by NSW Land Registry Services. It might be that Certificates of Title, as we know them today, become part of our Torrens Title history and might make a nice memento or keepsake.

More information is slowly becoming available as steps unfold to move toward being 100% digital. Watch this space for further updates and further information relating to the obligations for lawyers holding certificates of title on behalf of their clients together with what you or your bank might need to do as that information comes to hand.