Currently in Victoria, more than 99% of dealings are able to be lodged electronically – but there are some exceptions (e.g. folios ineligible for electronic lodgement, NICO transfer, MCP) where paper lodgement is still required. Due to the current restrictions in place as a result of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), to support Victorian members, Land Use Victoria and PEXA have worked together to build a solution to facilitate lodgement of scanned paper dealings via PEXA. This is in lieu of submitting documents outside of electronic scope for physical lodgement at the Victorian Land Registry.
It’s important to note that while PEXA delivers the document(s) to the Land Registry, it has no involvement in the lodgement process as part of this solution. This remains the responsibility of the Land Registry and is subject to its criteria. Provided the dealing meets the eligibility criteria, it will be assessed in line with the standard lodging criteria and timeframe for that intended transaction/dealing.
Functionality overview
All Victorian paper lodgements will be able to be lodged through the PEXA platform using one residual document: RECORD – NOTICE – Transfer of Land Act – Section 104.
Land Use Victoria will manually examine the lodgement and bill the relevant party outside the PEXA process.
A financial settlement may also be orchestrated.
All dutiable transfers must still obtain an assessment of duty from the SRO, post settlement as per the normal paper settlement practice. The lodgement in PEXA must not occur unless the transaction is finalised (or paid for manual assessments) in DOL.
The Subscriber can then use this residual document to submit their documents to VLRS.
More information on how to complete this residual document, including screenshots, can be found below.
Eligibility Criteria (From Customer Information Bulletin 200)
To lodge this transaction type you must meet the eligibility criteria outlined below:
Be a subscriber to PEXA with an active PEXA enabled LUV customer code.
Have a LUV customer code (same code as above) which is Direct Debit enabled and have selected ‘Direct Debit’ as the payment option.
How to setup direct debit with LUV:
1. Navigate to https://www.land.vic.gov.au/land-registration/for-professionals/lodging-in-paper
Scrol down to How to pay
Click the link 'Direct Debit request form'
Complete the form and email it to advice.enquiries@victorianlrs.com.au
Have an attached scanned transaction that is eligible for paper-based lodgement (see https://www.propertyandlandtitles.vic.gov.au/forms-guides-and-fees/electronic-lodgment/key-documentation ) [For example, if the attachment contains a dealing that could be normally lodged through PEXA (for example a mortgage or a transfer without a valid exception), then it would not be considered as a dealing valid to be lodged through this process]. Note: Memorandum of Common Provisions and paper based administrative notices can be accepted through this process.
To produce a readable copy, the quality of attached documents is critical. Dealings or instruments of poor quality will not be accepted.
Have attached a ‘ Request to accept paper lodgement’ form available at here for any mandated Instruments that must otherwise be lodged electronically using an Electronic Lodgement Network (ELN).
Have attached a Lodging Summary Form (please find it under the Lodging at Land Use Victoria > Lodging Requirements tab) . It is important to complete this form to confirm lodgement order, reconcile fees and include a contact email address for correspondence.
The single applicant in the generic dealing must be a transacting party of the attached paper transactions represented by the lodging subscriber.
The controlling party of the Certificate of Title must choose to receive an Electronic Certificate of Title
If the dealing does not meet the above criteria, then it will be refused lodgement and the subscriber will receive a notice setting out the reason for refusal.
FAQs
How much will this lodgement cost? The PEXA fees are $42.79 or $57.20 (with financial settlement) and while the lodgement fee for the dealing carrying the attachment (the TLA Section 104 doc) will be $0.00, lodgement fees for the actual scanned dealing(s) will be calculated based upon the scanned dealings in the attachments, then billed (and collected via Direct Debit) directly by LUV outside of the PEXA workspace.
How do I pay the LUV fees? Via direct debit. Ensure your LUV customer code attached to your PEXA registration is enabled for Direct Debit with LUV. You can find your LUV customer code in the lodgement instructions for this document. Ensure this is setup prior to lodging the Section 104 document.
Can I complete Water lodgements? No, Water Act Lodgements cannot currently be lodged via the 104
Who can lodge this document? Typically, the lodging party will lodge via PEXA or any party to the lodgement that participants are comfortable with to lodge the documents.
Can I settle financially in the same workspace? Yes, unless a dealing set is dutiable. All dutiable transfers must still obtain an assessment of duty from the SRO, post settlement as per the normal paper settlement practice. The lodgement in PEXA must not occur unless the transaction is finalised (or paid for manual assessments) in DOL. We recommend that you do not settle financially in the workspace when lodging a transfer.
Will this document register automatically? No, if the Generic dealing meets the eligibility criteria the transaction will be assessed via the normal lodging criteria for that intended transaction/dealing. The document status within PEXA will show ‘Withdrawn’, the lodging party can then expect to receive a lodgement summary from Land Use Victoria within 2 business days to the email address noted within your attached lodgement.
My lodgement was refused. What does this mean for my fee and re-lodgement? While PEXA transmits the document(s) to the Land Registry, it has no involvement in the lodgement process. This remains the responsibility of the Land Registry and its criteria. The PEXA fee charged covers the delivery of the document(s). If lodgement is refused, the fee will not be refunded as PEXA has completed its delivery of the document(s). Re-submission of document(s) requires errors to be amended in preparation and another transmission from PEXA to the Land Registry, which will incur the set PEXA fee for delivery.
Before lodging this document ensure:
1. You have a direct debit setup with Land Use Victoria, this is separate to your PEXA direct debit. (See above for instructions)
2. If the title(s) you are transacting on require a nomination, ensure you have nominated your title(s) to 'paper instrument' prior to lodging the s104. (Instructions below)
3. Attached PDF to the s104 is not ‘security protected’.
Create a RECORD – NOTICE – Transfer of Land Act – Section 104
Create a Workspace with the following settings:
To Deal with an Interest; or
Incoming Mortgagee (for financial institutions)
***IMPORTANT*** You must open the workspace using only ONE of the below two titles:
12207/425 must be used for any instrument type that can be lodged electronically using SPEAR, including plans of subdivision, other plans under the Subdivision Act 1988 and other applications that involve a plan of survey. For more eligible instrument types, please refer to their website (https://www.spear.land.vic.gov.au/spear/pages/about/what-is-spear/spear-dealing-types.shtml)
12198/325 must be used for all other instrument types.
Financial Settlement required? No, unless funds are required to be exchanged at the time of lodgement. All dutiable transfers must still obtain an assessment of duty from the SRO, post settlement as per the normal paper settlement practice. The lodgement in PEXA must not occur unless the transaction is finalised (or paid for manual assessments) in DOL.
We recommend that you do not settle financially in the workspace when lodging a transfer.
Complete the other fields as required.
See above for Role type
Manage parties. (Representative Subscribers Only)
Create the party you are lodging on behalf of. This party will be the Applicant in the document (regardless if you had selected To Deal with an Interest or Incoming Mortgagee).
Parties will require a DOB and Address if individual or ABN/ACN and address if organisation
Create RECORD – NOTICE – Transfer of Land Act – Section 104 Residual Document.
Navigate to the Document screen.
Select Create Document > Other Documents.
Start typing the name of the document (e.g. Section 104)
Select RECORD – NOTICE – Transfer of Land Act – Section 104 from the list and click Proceed.
Select the extent of land as ‘Whole’
Select your party as the Applicant
Additional Information – the lodging party must make the following certification and enter: The certifier certifies that the copy instrument submitted is a true copy of the original.
Complete the form and Save it when you're done.
Upload and Attach File to the document. Please ensure:
The complete paper lodgement is in one PDF (Max size of attachment 100MB)
The attached PDF is not ‘security protected’.
Attach file as: Supporting Document
How to Upload and attach your paper lodgement file:
Navigate to the Files screen.
Click Upload File and select the file you'd like to upload.
Click Upload when done.
On the Files screen, from the Actions column, select Attach next to the file you want to attach to the instrument.
Click Attach.
Edit the Lodgement Instructions:
From the Actions column, select Edit next to the Lodgement Instructions.
Check the details and then click Save.
View, Sign, and Lodge the documents: We recommend that you view the documents before you sign and submit it for lodgement.
Electronic Certificate of Titles
If a nomination is required for your lodgement and the title(s) is an eCT, please lodge this in a separate workspace, exactly how you would do it when lodging in paper previously.
If the title is a pCT, you will need to convert the title to an eCT by emailing the Application to convert a paper Certificate of Title to an electronic Certificate of Title CPCT form on the LUV website to advice.enquiries@victorianlrs.com.au. Once the title is converted to an eCT you can nominate it to the paper lodgement via PEXA also in a separate workspace.
After your lodgement is received and the document status within PEXA will show ‘withdrawn’, expect the lodgement summary from Land Victoria within 2 business days.
Document Status once lodged
If you have any questions regarding this functionality, please reach out to us or leave a comment below.
Kind regards, Jonathan
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