Hi Jodie,
No, it is not required in Victoria. Whilst it is a good practice, the Registrar's Requirements for paper conveyancing transactions exclude the necessity to have a client authorisation for lodgement of a caveat and priority notice:
8.3 A Representative must:
(a) use the Client Authorisation Form for any Client Authorisation it enters into; and
(b) except for Caveats and Priority Notices and Withdrawals of Priority Notices, for which a Client Authorisation is optional, enter into a Client Authorisation with its Client before the Representative signs any Instrument or other Document; and
(c) comply with the Client Authorisation and act in accordance with its terms; and
(d) take reasonable steps to verify the authority of each Person entering into a Client Authorisation on behalf of a Client to both bind the Client to the Client Authorisation and to the Conveyancing Transaction(s) the subject of the Client Authorisation; and
(e) take reasonable steps to ensure that the Client Authorisation is signed by the Representative’s Client or their Client Agent.
The link for the Registrar's Requirement is https://www.propertyandlandtitles.vic.gov.au/publications.
I hope this is of assistance.
Graziela Eidelson
