Australian Capital Territory Current Acts Australian Capital Territory Current Acts(1) This section applies if a legal practitioner lodges an instrument purporting to transfer or otherwise deal with or affect an interest in land with the registrar-general for registration on behalf of a party to the instrument.
(2) The registrar-general must not register the instrument unless, for each person who is a party to the instrument, the legal practitioner for the person certifies in the appropriate form—
(a) that the person has authorised the legal practitioner under a client authorisation to lodge the instrument and do all other things necessary to ensure the instrument is registered; and
(b) that the legal practitioner has verified the person's identity in accordance with the verification of identity rules as in force at the time of verification; and
(c) that the legal practitioner has verified the person's authority to deal with the land under the instrument in accordance with the verification of authority rules as in force at the time of verification; and
(d) that any document relevant to certification under this section that is required to be kept by the legal practitioner under this Act and, if relevant, the E-Conveyancing Law, has been kept; and
(e) that the legal practitioner has complied with any other requirement in relation to the instrument under this Act and, if relevant, the E-Conveyancing Law; and
(f) that the legal practitioner has complied with any requirement prescribed by regulation.
(3) Certification under subsection (2) may only be provided by a legal practitioner who has personal knowledge of the matter the legal practitioner is certifying.
(4) The registrar-general may exempt a legal practitioner, or an instrument prescribed by regulation, from a certification requirement under subsection (2).
(5) In this section:
"appropriate form", of certification for an instrument lodged for registration, means—
(a) for an instrument lodged electronically under the E-Conveyancing Law—certification that complies with the participation rules; or
(b) in any other case—the form required by the registrar-general.
"client authorisation" means—
(a) for an instrument lodged electronically under the E-Conveyancing Law—see the E-Conveyancing Law, section 10; or
(b) in any other case—an authorisation in a form required by the registrar-general.
"participation rules"—see the E-Conveyancing Law, section 23.
"party", to an instrument, includes a person acting on behalf of another person (under a power of attorney or otherwise) but does not include a legal practitioner acting under a client authorisation.