Office Circular No. 6/2022
DATE: 20 July 2022
CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM: 6/2022
DISTRIBUTION: GENERAL
SUBJECT: ALTERATIONS TO APPLICATIONS AND DEALINGS – REGULATION 13
TO BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH OFFICE CIRCULAR 1/2022
On 9 February 2022, Office Circular 1/2022 was issued, clarifying the requirements of sub-regulations 13(3)(c) and 13(3A) of the Land Titles Regulations 2012.
Since the release of that guidance, other queries relating to alterations to applications and dealings have been raised by the legal and conveyancing professions.
This Circular provides further clarification on issues raised with the Land Titles Office.
Full name and capacity under 13(3A)
As explained in Office Circular 1/2022 sub-regulation 13(3A) requires that where an alteration is made by a person on behalf of the signatory, the person who made the alteration—and initialled and dated it—must also write their full name, and the capacity in which they were acting on behalf of the signatory, on the dealing or application.
It has been brought to the Recorder's attention that the person making the alteration is often writing out their full name and capacity in the margin next to each initialled and dated amendment.
The Recorder has received feedback that adding this volume of handwritten detail may cause some difficulty given the limited space available in the margins of dealings and applications.
It is the Recorder's position that a person making an alteration on behalf of the signatory fulfils their obligations under sub-regulation 13(3A)(a) if they write their full name and capacity in one place on the dealing or application, and link each initialled and dated amendment to those details by use of a symbol such as an asterisk (*) where it may be clearly linked and completed elsewhere on the dealing or application. There is no requirement to attempt to fit (a possibly large volume of) all information in the margin if there is insufficient space.
The Recorder considers it is sufficient if, on a multiple-page dealing or application, the full name and capacity is written only on one page, provided each initialled and dated amendment is sufficiently linked to those details by way of symbol or a note. To comply with sub-regulation 13(3A) where it applies, it is essential that the information required is relevantly captured on the application or dealing and should be clear on the face of what is lodged.
Examples of amended dealings are attached to this Circular.
Amendments to supporting documents
The requirements for amendments contained in sub-regulations 13(3)(c) and 13(3A) apply to alterations to applications, dealings, and annexures to applications and dealings.
It is the Recorder's position that the amendment requirements in sub-regulations 13(3)(a) and 13(3A) do not apply to amendments to supporting documents such as the Notice of Change of Ownership.
ROBERT MANNING
Recorder of Titles
Examples (PDF 361Kb)