Land and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016

Overview

This bill makes a suite of administrative improvements to Queensland's Land Act 1994 and Land Title Act 1994. The biggest practical changes are replacing the current settlement notice with a nationally consistent priority notice to support electronic conveyancing, cutting red tape in titles registry processes, and allowing non-tidal watercourse or lake land to be dedicated as a community reserve with the adjoining owner's consent.

Who it affects

Property buyers, sellers, conveyancers and legal practitioners benefit from faster, more consistent titles processes, while landowners adjoining State-owned watercourses, trustees of trust land, and lessees of State land face new procedural rules.

Key changes

• Introduces a nationally consistent priority notice (extendable for 30 days) to replace settlement notices and support electronic conveyancing
• Allows the Registrar of Titles to dispense with a paper certificate of title where it is held by a legal practitioner
• Lets the Registrar withdraw lodged instruments that cannot be given legal effect, such as a power of attorney naming the same person as principal and attorney
• Requires adjoining owner consent (and the water chief executive's consent) before non-tidal watercourse or lake land can be dedicated as a reserve
• Recognises interstate, UK and New Zealand grants of probate so beneficiaries can be registered on title without resealing
• Limits when a trustee of trust land can resign, so there is a smooth handover to a replacement
• Shifts liability for improper caveat compensation from the lodging legal practitioner to the caveator (the client)
• Replaces mandatory standard terms documents with terms prescribed by regulation, backed by a notice-to-remedy process and up to 400 penalty units for non-compliance