VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY – IDENTIFICATION OF NATURAL PERSONS
The Registrar and Commissioner of Titles have finalised the ‘Registrar and Commission of Titles Joint Practice – Verification of Identity’ (Joint Practice). As you will be aware, the Joint Practice has been implemented as a measure to reduce land title fraud as a result of identity theft and in readiness for the introduction of a system
of National Electronic Conveyancing.
The implementation period commences on 1 July 2012 and full compliance is expected by 2 January 2013.
The documents to which the Joint Practice applies are:
• Transfer of Land;
• Mortgage;
• Request for Duplicate Certificate of Title;
• Replacement Duplicate Certificate of Title;
• Transmission;
• Survivorship; and
• Power of Attorney, but not to Enduring Powers of Attorney under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990.
Documents under the Land Administration Act 1997 are not affected.
A conveyancer/lawyer acting for their client or a mortgagee lending funds is to make all reasonable efforts to verify:
• identity of each person who claims to be, or to act for, a person disposing of the relevant interest in land; and
• that the identified person has legal authority to give the instructions as to the relevant interest in the land.
Only originals of documents specified in the Joint Practice will be accepted for the valid identification of natural persons. The documents include combinations of passports and drivers’ licences, birth certificates and credit cards.
A mortgagee is responsible for verifying the identity of the mortgagor.
Where a natural person executes a document on behalf of a company, any other incorporated or statutory body the conveyance/lawyer/mortgagee must satisfy themselves as to 3 matters:
• the continued existence of the body at the time of execution of the document;
• that the natural persons who are signing on behalf of a body are current officers of the body (i.e. directors/secretaries) and are authorised to execute the documents; and
• that the identity of the natural person signing on behalf of the body or witnessing the affixing of the company’s or body’s seal corresponds with the identity of the persons in the paragraph above.
These matters may be satisfied by the following:
• For a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001: a company search that is not more than 30 days old at the time of verification;
• For a incorporated body not incorporated under the Corporations Act (including a foreign company): by obtaining:
• evidence that is not more than 30 days old at the time of verification of identity to establish the continued existence of the body;
• an extract from the body’s constituent documents (e.g. constitution) that establishes which officers of the body are authorised to execute document on behalf of the body;
• a current resolution, that is not more than 90 days old at the time of
verification of identity, that specifies the names of the persons and positions held by those persons who are authorised under the previous paragraph;
• For a statutory body: evidence and/or knowledge of the existence of the body and of the authority of the persons to act on behalf of that body.
A declaration of the natural person’s identity is made after the examination of the original documents specified by the Joint Practice or by visual identification.
The Joint Practice sets out requirements for the execution of documents outside Australia.
The person making the identification (Identifier) is to make a statement of certification in addition to providing the statutory declaration and certification of the verification of identification.
It will be possible to appoint an agent to carry out the verification of identity on behalf of the conveyancer/lawyer/mortgagee.
A full copy of the Western Australian Registrar and Commissioner of Titles Joint Practice: Verification of Identity dated 20 June 2012 is available on Landgate’s website www.landgate.wa.gov.au.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the matter, please contact us
Kim Valenti
(08) 9224 6222
kim.valenti@valentilawyers.com.au
