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Christmas and New Year closure
Secure Electronic Registries Victoria’s (SERV) office will close for the end-of-year holiday period from 3.00 pm Wednesday, 24 December 2025 and reopen at 8.30 am on Friday 2 January 2026. Registration, call centre services and appointment bookings will be unavailable during this period. The SPEAR Service Desk will also be closed during this time.
Customer queries will be responded to from 2 January 2025.
Online services, including electronic lodgment and search, will continue to be available during this period.
New and updated guides available
Land Use Victoria (LUV) has published the following new or updated guides online at land.vic.gov.au:
Guide to making an application to the Registrar when a Certificate of Title is lost, destroyed or obliterated
Key updates include:
- New section providing information on applications when any registered proprietor is deceased
Guide to Not In Common Ownership (NICO)
Key updates include:
- NICO explanation and examples
- Supporting NICO/encumbrance overlay diagram
- Subdividing folios that have existing NICO proprietorship
Guide to leader / follower dealings involving plan based dealings
Key updates include:
- What are leader/follower dealings?
- Processes for submitting leader/followers in Electronic Lodgment Network (ELNs)
- Common leader/follower examples
- Changing the order of registration for leader/follower dealings
Withdrawal of caveat where the caveator is deceased
When a person who lodged a caveat (the caveator) passes away, the caveat remains on the title until it is formally withdrawn by the deceased’s Legal Personal Representative (LPR).
To remove a caveat where the caveator is deceased, a withdrawal of caveat pursuant to 89(1) Transfer of Land Act 1958 (TLA) may be made by the LPR of the deceased caveator.
The application to withdraw under section 89 of the TLA must be lodged in paper using the generic residual document ‘Record – Notice – Transfer of Land Act – Section 104’ and supported by a certified copy of the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration.
The caveator listed on the application to withdraw must be shown as the caveator on the encumbered title and stated as deceased.
The application must be signed by the LPR(s) and not by their conveyancer or lawyer.
Signing clause should be as follows and verification of identity is required for the signatory:
Signer
Signed by [full name of caveator] by their [Executor / Administrator] [full name of Executor / Administrator] under [Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration] dated [date]
[Executor/Administrator signature]
Date [date signed]
Witnessed by [full name of witness]
[witness signature]
Reminder: Caveats must be lodged against the correct title
LUV has recently observed instances where caveats have been lodged against the wrong title. This creates unnecessary delays for all parties and may require withdrawal and re-lodgment of the caveat (on the correct title).
A caveat should only be lodged against the specific folio of the Register that relates to the interest being claimed. Lodging a caveat on a different or unrelated folio can:
- prevent unrelated transactions from proceeding,
- cause distress to the proprietor who receives a notice that the caveat has been lodged;
- cause delays for registered proprietors or interest holders, and
- result in avoidable costs and further legal steps to correct the lodgment.
Practitioners and other subscribers are reminded to verify title details before lodging, including the:
- volume and folio references (land title references)
- property description / lot and plan
- names of the registered proprietors
You should never rely entirely on a name search – search the folio to ensure that it is correct or obtain clarification from your client before lodgment.
Caveats cannot be used as a placeholder or for “blocking” purposes it to try to prevent a transaction from progressing. Under section 89 of the TLA, caveats must only be lodged if the caveator can legitimately claim an estate or interest in the land. Under section 118 of the TLA, compensation can be claimed for the lodgment of a caveat without reasonable cause.
Lodging correctly the first time avoids delays, customer frustration, and follow-up action by the Registrar.
Control Report – now available via LANDATA®
A new product, the eCT Control Report, is now available through LANDATA® for authorised entities.
The eCT Control Report provides a list of all electronic Certificates of Title (eCTs) under the control of a specific entity (for example, financial institutions, conveyancers/conveyancing practices, lawyers/legal practices registered as ELN Subscribers).
The report assists with title management, auditing and regulatory compliance. The report is designed to confirm which eCTs are under a Subscriber’s control. It is intended to supplement, not replace, the Subscriber’s own internal eCT management and record-keeping processes – following registration of an electronic instrument a registration confirmation statement is issued to the eCT Control and the lodging party or Responsible Subscriber.
The eCT Control Report lists all volume and folio numbers associated with a Customer Code, but does not include further details including the property address or proprietor information.
The report enables the Subscriber to verify and audit all eCTs for which they are eCT Control.
The eCT Control Report can be ordered only by entity that:
- that is a current Subscriber to an ELN
- has an active Customer Code
- is authorised to hold eCT Control
The report will only be sent to the contact email address linked to the Customer Code for the entity that the eCT Control Report relates to. This information is received through ELNs. Therefore, subscribers are encouraged to make sure that their contact email address is kept up to date in the ELNs they subscribe to.
For information on how to order, refer to the LANDATA® website.
Managing eCT control when ceasing or selling your business
ELN Subscribers are responsible for ensuring electronic Certificate of Title (eCT) Control is dealt with before ceasing or selling their business and before resigning as a Subscriber
Once a Subscriber account is deactivated, the Subscriber can no longer access the ELN and eCT Control cannot be transferred from that account. Land Use Victoria cannot reinstate access to (or request an ELNO to reinstate access) closed Subscriber accounts and cannot assist with the transfer of eCT control.
Subscribers must:
- identify all eCTs for which they are eCT Control
- transfer control of each eCT using the administrative notice Transfer of eCT Control
Control may be transferred either to:
- another Subscriber, or
- the Registrar of Titles
To assist Subscribers to identify all eCTs for which they are eCT Control, an eCT Control Report may be obtained through LANDATA®.
These steps must be completed before:
- selling or closing a business
- updating or cancelling an ABN or business registration
- changing business or entity name
- merging with another entity
- requesting deactivation of an ELN Subscriber account
Failure to transfer eCT Control as part of business changes may result in delays and additional costs for clients and may impede future transactions.
Bulk transition of eCT Control for government-held land (Update: eCT Control for government-held titles)
LUV is progressively transferring control of eCTs for government-held titles.
- If the government entity is an ELN Subscriber, it will continue to receive eCT Control.
- If the government entity is not an ELN Subscriber, the Registrar of Titles will receive control.
If land is to be dealt with and a title search shows that the Registrar has control, a Subscriber that is or acts for the government entity can request control using the standard Administrative Notice (Request control of eCT from Registrar of Titles). eCT Control may later transfer to an ELN subscriber where authorised – the same as any eCT temporarily held under Registrar control.
Nothing has changed in how eCTs are dealt with – practitioners may simply notice a different controller of eCTs for some government entities.
Reminder: choosing the correct consideration type when lodging transfers
LUV has identified an increase in lodgment errors where the incorrect consideration type has been selected in electronic transfers of land. For example, ‘change in manner of holding’ has been selected in situations other than when a joint tenancy becomes a tenancy in common and vice versa. Instead, it has been used for changes to proprietors.
This bulletin provides updated guidance to assist practitioners in selecting the correct consideration type and avoiding delays in registration.
When creating an electronic transfer, Subscribers must select a consideration type that accurately reflects the legal basis of the transaction.
Following agreement between LUV and the State Revenue Office (SRO), only two consideration types are now required in electronic transfers:
- Monetary
- Non-monetary
The previous selection option “Change in the manner of holding” is no longer required and will be removed as an option. Only Monetary or Non-monetary consideration types should be selected.
Incorrect consideration selection may result in requisitions or delays to registration.
Reminder: Nominations – what they are and when to provide them
A nomination is needed when the Subscriber with eCT Control is not a party to the conveyancing transaction. An example would be when a bank has eCT Control but is not a party to an easement, lease, restrictive covenant or plan of subdivision transaction.
The eCT Controller must nominate the eCT to the correct workspace in an ELN or to a paper instrument.
Make sure to request a nomination early to avoid delays or refusals. Leaving it to the last minute can cause unnecessary delays to your transaction.
Common issues or refusals
- The wrong title is nominated
- The title is nominated to the wrong workspace
Always check who controls the eCT and confirm that the title has been correctly nominated before lodging. For more information see the Guide to Certificates of Title and Administrative Notices on the Fees, Guides and Forms page.
Applications under section 52(2) of the Transfer of Land Act 1958
As set out in the Guide to Residual Documents, an application under section 52(2) of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (TLA) to record a judgment, decree, order or process of execution on a folio(s) must be accompanied by an image instrument of the relevant court order.
To be recordable under section 52(2) of the TLA, the court order must expressly identify the folio(s) of the Register (by reference to the volume and folio numbers) affected by the order.
LUV has recently received court orders which do not identify the folio(s) affected. These applications have been rejected as they do not comply with section 52(2) of the TLA.
Importantly, a transfer under section 52(3) of the TLA cannot follow.
Version 5 of the SPEAR Electronic Lodgment Network Participation Rules
On 19 September 2025, the Registrar of Titles determined Version 5 of the SPEAR Electronic Lodgment Network Participation Rules under section 23 of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Victoria).
Version 5 of the SPEAR Electronic Lodgment Network Participation Rules was published on 20 November 2025 on the Publications page and took effect on 1 December 2025.
The main change in Version 5 is the removal of the mandatory requirement for Subscribers to store their Digital Certificate on a hard token. Instead, Subscribers must ensure that their Digital Certificate is stored in a safe and secure location. This change facilitates the transition from a physical token to virtual certificates, allowing certificates to exist and be managed digitally rather than as a physical token.
Page last updated: 03/12/25