Electronic submission of paper instruments

To submit instruments using the Generic Residual Document (GRD) you must:

• be a Subscriber to the Electronic Lodgment Network (ELN)
• have an active ELN-enabled Land Services Victoria customer code
• ensure that this Land Services Victoria customer code is Direct Debit-enabled.

While electronic lodgment is now mandated for almost all conveyancing transactions in Victoria, the GRD is available as an electronic application for the lodgment of the small number of paper instruments that are exempt from being lodged as an electronic instrument.

The Registrar's Requirements for Paper Conveyancing Transactions apply to all Generic Residual Documents.

Subscribers must ensure PEXA guidelines in relation to the Generic Residual Document are followed.

When submitting through this method, there are two pathways to choose from. Please select the most appropriate for your circumstance:

• Transfer of Land Act – Section 104 – Plan or survey-based
• Transfer of Land Act – Section 104 – NOT plan or survey-based

To submit instruments using the Generic Residual Document, the below must be completed:

1. A completed paper instrument acceptance form (DOCX, 130.9 KB). This form will confirm the lodgment order and the reason your lodgment is exempt from being lodged as an electronic instrument.
   
   i. Is the reason you are utilising the GRD pathway not listed on the above form? Please supply a cover letter explaining why you need to submit your request as a GRD.
   
   ii. Have you encountered an error message on PEXA and cannot progress your electronic lodgment? Please provide a screenshot of the error message received with your GRD submission.
2. Scanned PDF copies of the original paper instrument(s) that are eligible for paper-based submission. Note: if the submission contains an instrument that is mandatory for electronic lodgment through an ELN (for example a mortgage or a transfer without a valid exception), then it cannot be considered an instrument that is eligible for submission using the GRD and will be refused.
3. All other supporting documents required for your specific transaction. Note: Supporting documents may include statutory declarations, consents, probates, and letters of administration. Please refer to the relevant guide on fees, guides and forms for information specific to your transaction. An image of any existing paper Certificate of Title is NOT required.
4. A copy of the SRO duty certificate (if applicable).

Prior to uploading any scanned PDF instruments, a subscriber must ensure that all requirements from other agencies have been satisfied (for example, if an instrument is dutiable, duty must be dealt with prior to lodgment). The certifying subscribers must retain all the original documents and supporting evidence that may later be subjected to compliance examination by the Registrar.

Please DO NOT include any documents containing personal and private information about clients such as contracts of sale or verification of identity documents e.g. passport or driver's licence.

Submitting the Generic Residual Document does not mean that the substantive instruments have been lodged. As a result, these submissions take a significant amount of additional time to be processed. When the GRD is received by the Land Services Victoria, each attached PDF instrument is assessed:

• If the PDF instrument(s) can proceed to lodgment, you will receive an email with the Lodgment Summary and Receipt. The lodged instrument(s) will be assigned a new dealing number.
• If the instrument(s) are found to be deficient, you will receive an email with a refusal advice. Emails will be sent to the email address associated with your Land Services Victoria customer code.

Following assessment, the document status in PEXA for the GRD will show as ‘Withdrawn’. This is because the instrument will have been either lodged or refused, as discussed above.

Queries relating to the progress of a GRD submission will not receive a response. Any refused instrument can be resubmitted, after addressing the deficiencies, through a new GRD. Re-submissions are not accepted through email.

You must pay by direct debit. Your ELN-enabled Land Services Victoria customer code must have up-to-date direct debit details prior to submission. You can arrange this by completing the direct debit request form (DOCX, 103.1 KB) and emailing it to advice.enquiries@servictoria.com.au. Failure to use your direct debit-enabled code will result in your submission being refused.

If you are unsure about how to complete the form, please check with your financial institution. We can't give you advice about which account types to use. Please also check your account details carefully to ensure your payment is not rejected.

A case is defined as one or more dealings affecting the same folio(s). For example, a single caveat presented for lodgment would be a case. A combination of dealings such as a discharge of mortgage/transfer of land/mortgage presented for lodgment would also be a case.

Once a dealing has been lodged using the GRD process, no changes can be made to the instrument. Please ensure that before submission, you check the instruments to be lodged for completeness and correctness. Documents must be signed, the correct folio(s) referenced, and information from all parties must be complete. PO Boxes are not acceptable in address fields.

Unlike electronic instruments submitted through an ELN, when using the GRD process, you must supply for examination images of all supporting documents required to register your dealing. Please refer to the relevant guide on the fees, guides and forms page for information specific to your transaction.

If completing an instrument by hand, information must be legibly written in black or blue ink. The use of correction fluid or self-correcting typewriter ribbon is not allowed.

If any of the instruments submitted using the GRD process require nomination of the certificate(s) of title for the folio(s) set out in the instrument, the subscriber must ensure that relevant nominations are in place prior to submitting the GRD.

If a nomination is required and the Certificate of Title is electronic (eCT) with the eCT Control being an eligible Subscriber, the ‘Nominate eCT to Paper Instrument’ administrative notice must be lodged in a separate workspace using the volume and folio number(s) set out in the paper instruments.

If the eCT Control is with the Registrar of Titles, the Subscriber who is entitled to receive control of the eCT will first need to use the Administrative Notice ‘Request to take control of electronic certificate(s) of title from the Registrar’ to request control, and then follow the nomination advice for eCTs mentioned above.

If a nomination is required and the Certificate of Title is paper (pCT), you will need to convert the Certificate of Title to eCT by completing the Application to convert a paper certificate of title to an electronic certificate of title (PDF, 1.3 MB) and emailing it to advice.enquiries@servictoria.com.au. Once the certificate of title is converted to eCT it can be nominated to the paper instrument by following the nomination advice for eCTs mentioned above.

The title must be nominated to paper instrument and not to a Lodgment Case.

A conveyancer or lawyer representing a client must take reasonable steps to verify the identity of their client and have a properly completed Client Authorisation. Find out more on verification of identity.

Note: The Subscriber must retain all the original documents and supporting evidence. Copies of identity documents (such as copies of passports and driver licences) must NOT be included with a GRD submission.

Ensure that the applicant in the GRD is a transacting party in the instrument(s), who is represented by the lodging Subscriber.

Your scanned PDF copies of the paper instruments must comply with the requirements set out in Section 10 of the Registrar’s Requirements Version 10. Please make sure that the submitted PDFs are:

• of good quality
• in the .pdf file format
• without any encryption or password protection.

When signing on behalf of your client, if you’re a conveyancer or lawyer, please select: Australian Legal Practitioner or Licensed Conveyancer.

If a supervised non-practitioner employee is signing, please select: Law Practice or Conveyancing

Note: The form will auto-populate a signing section and display the required certifications when these are selected.
Similarly, please ensure the signing clause for your client are accurate. If there is one applicant, only one signing section is required.

Guides are available at Fees, Guides and Forms to assist with completing approved forms under the relevant instrument type.

If you need to withdraw an electronic instrument, the GRD pathway can be used to relodge using the printed copy of the electronic instrument that was provided by Land Services Victoria upon withdrawal (you cannot use a printout from the ELN workspace).

The provided printed copy of the withdrawn electronic instrument may be amended. The printed paper copy must be wet-signed and re-dated in all panels where signing was done electronically before submission. If an individual who previously signed a document is not available, someone else within the same firm can sign on their behalf, ensuring that the signer’s name, wet signature and date are updated accordingly.

Under section 37 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958, notice of trust (trustee capacity) cannot be recorded in the Register. The name of a proprietor of any interest in land, including a mortgagee, must be the name of a legal person or entity. Terms such as ‘as trustee for’, ‘as custodian for’, or the abbreviations ‘ATF’, ‘IIOC’ or ‘ACF’ or any words including the name of the trust must not be included in an instrument. Using such terms may result in the submission being refused. For MCPs, if a reference to a trust is required, contingent words must be used. An example of contingent wording is: ‘If a party is a trustee, the following clauses apply:’.

The Registrar has an obligation to ensure that duty has been assessed, whether paid or exempt, before an instrument can be lodged.

Owners Corporation Notification of Making Rules applications (form 27E(1) Subdivision Act) must be accompanied by a certified copy of the Owners Corporation Rules.