Land Title Act 1994

This Act may be cited as the Land Title Act 1994.

The object of this Act is to consolidate and reform the law about the registration of freehold land and interests in freehold land and, in particular—

to define the rights of persons with an interest in registered freehold land; and

to continue and improve the system for registering title to and transferring interests in freehold land; and

to define the functions and powers of the registrar of titles; and

to assist the keeping of the registers in the land registry, particularly by authorising the use of information technology.

A dictionary in schedule 2 defines particular words used in this Act.

In a provision of this Act about a community titles scheme, a reference to—

scheme land, is a reference to the scheme land for the scheme; and

the body corporate, is a reference to the body corporate for the scheme; and

common property, is a reference to common property for the scheme; and

the community management statement, is a reference to the community management statement for the scheme.

This Act binds all persons, including the State and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Commonwealth, the other States and the Territories.

There is to continue to be a registrar of titles.

The registrar has a seal of office.

The registrar is to be employed under the Public Sector Act 2022.

Judicial notice must be taken of the signature, or the imprint of the seal, of the registrar appearing on a document and the document must be presumed to have been properly signed or sealed until the contrary is proved.

In acting under this Act or another Act, the registrar is subject to the chief executive, but is not subject to any other officer or employee of the department.

The registrar must keep a land registry.

The land registry includes—

the freehold land register; and

the power of attorney register; and

the Foreign Ownership of Land Register; and

registers about land prescribed by regulation; and

other registers about land required or permitted by an Act to be included in the land registry.

In this section—Foreign Ownership of Land Register means the register under the Foreign Ownership of Land Register Act 1988.power of attorney register see section 133(1).

A register kept by the registrar may be kept in the form (whether or not in a documentary form) the registrar considers appropriate.

Without limiting subsection (1), the registrar may change the form in which a register or a part of a register is kept.

The registrar may delegate the registrar’s functions under this Act or another Act to—

an appropriately qualified public service employee; or

the titles registry operator.

If a function of the registrar is delegated to the titles registry operator, the titles registry operator must subdelegate the function to an appropriately qualified employee of the titles registry operator.

The titles registry operator may impose conditions on a subdelegation under subsection (2) that are not inconsistent with any conditions to which the delegation to the titles registry operator is subject.

If the registrar delegates the registrar’s function of keeping the land registry to the titles registry operator, a reference in an Act to an office of the land registry is, if the context permits, taken to be a reference to an office of the titles registry operator—

where documents may be lodged; and

that is published on the operator’s website.

In this section—function includes power.

A public service employee delegated a function of the registrar under this Act or another Act may, when performing the function, act under the title ‘registrar of titles’.

Note—See the Queensland Future Fund (Titles Registry) Act 2021, section 30 in relation to the titles registry operator, or the operator’s employees, using the registrar’s title.

In this section—function includes power.

The registrar may keep a manual of land title practice (by whatever name called) in the way the registrar considers appropriate, for the information and guidance of persons performing functions in relation to the land registry and other persons dealing with the land registry.

The manual may include—

directions given by the registrar under—

section 10(1)(b); or

the Forestry Act 1959, section 61RW(1)(b); or

the Land Act 1994, section 287(1)(b); and

practices developed in the land registry, before or after the commencement of this section, for the depositing and lodging of instruments, including practices directed at ensuring that—

there is consistency and efficiency in land registry processes; and

each register under this Act is an accurate, comprehensive and usable record; and

the integrity of the registers included in the land registry is supported and maintained to the greatest practicable extent.

The manual may include statements about additional information a person may be required to produce, or additional instruments or documents a person may be required to deposit, under section 156.

The manual may provide for the registrar’s approval of the form of an electronic conveyancing document for the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland), section 7(1)(a).

The registrar must make the manual available to the public in the way the registrar considers appropriate.

Without limiting subsection (5), the registrar must ensure an up-to-date copy of the manual is available to be read free of charge at each office of the land registry.

An instrument lodged by a person or issued by the registrar must—

be in the appropriate form; and

comply with the directions of the registrar about—

how the appropriate form must be completed; and

how information to be included in or given with the instrument must be included or given.

An instrument required or permitted to be executed must be in the appropriate form when it is executed.

However, the registrar may register an instrument that is not in the appropriate form if the registrar is satisfied it is not reasonable to require the instrument to have been executed in the appropriate form.

Also, the registrar may register, or otherwise deal with, an instrument that does not comply with a direction mentioned in subsection (1)(b) if the registrar is satisfied it is reasonable to not require the compliance.

Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to an instrument that is an electronic conveyancing document.