Remote document witnessing becomes permanent for some states

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW government passed signing regulations allowing witnessing and attestation of documents to take place via video. The changes were implemented until September 2020 and were extended on a few occasions as the pandemic continued and outbreaks arose. The plan was to keep these changes in place until the end of 2021.

Now, the NSW Parliament have chosen to make the amendment permanent. The QLD Government has chosen to do the same with some of it’s electronic signing and witnessing measures after passing the regulation in May.

For QLD:

The Queensland Parliament has assented to the Justice Legislation (COVID-19 Emergency Response – Permanency) Amendment Bill 2021 (Qld) which makes permanent some of the temporary changes introduced in response to COVID-19, including:

allowing electronic execution of deeds without a witness, including execution by counterpart and split execution;
witnessing of affidavits, statutory declarations and oaths over AV link; and
the electronic execution of powers of attorney for a “business” by corporations, partnerships and unincorporated associations without a witness (this does not apply to individuals or sole traders) Note: Companies executing under s.127 did not require witnessing in any event.

For NSW:

On 19 November 2021, NSW passed the Electronic Transactions Amendment (Remote Witnessing) Bill 2021 which makes permanent those temporary measures allowing remote witnessing.

This bill provides that legal documents can be witnessed remotely via a video link where the witness needs to witness the signing in real time and must be reasonably satisfied that they are signing the same document or an exact copy. In efforts to reduce the risk of fraud, witnesses must also endorse the document with a statement that they have complied with these requirements and specify the method used to witness the signature.

These changes show how easily the legal and conveyancing industry adapted to change and implemented technologies to assist their firm to maintain business as usual. We now understand that moving legal matters forward can still be achieved even though face to face meetings may be reduced. As many of us now work remotely, this is the perfect opportunity to embrace technology and stay ahead of your competitors.

InfoTrack’s suite of cloud-based products have been built for lawyers and conveyancers to use anywhere, any time regardless of if you are working remotely or back at the office. As the pioneers of e-conveyancing and experts in the changing legal landscape across all Australian jurisdictions, InfoTrack understands the unique requirements of lawyers and conveyancers in different states across the country and can cater to your needs no matter if you are based in the office or working remotely. Take advantage of the solutions on offer and get started with InfoTrack today.