{"id":"a-2020-15","name":"Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020","slug":"electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"15 of 2020","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":23495,"registerId":"act-a-2020-15-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law\n(ACT) Act 2020\nA2020-15\nRepublication No 1\nEffective: 1 June 2020\nRepublication date: 1 June 2020\nAct not amended\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020 (including\nany amendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force\non 1 June 2020. It also includes any commencement, repeal or expiry affecting this republished\nlaw.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR1\n01/06/20\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law\n(ACT) Act 2020\nContents\nPage\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Name of Act 2\n3 Dictionary 2\n4 Terms used in Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) 2\n5 Notes 2\nPart 2 Application of Electronic Conveyancing\nNational Law\n6 Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law 3\n7 Exclusion of Legislation Act 3\n8 Meaning of certain terms in Electronic Conveyancing National Law\n(ACT) 4\n9 Regulation-making power 4\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\nR1\n01/06/20\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nSchedule 1 Modifications—Electronic Conveyancing\nNational Law 5\nDictionary 7\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 8\n2 Abbreviation key 8\n3 Legislation history 9\n4 Amendment history 9\n\nR1\n01/06/20\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law\n(ACT) Act 2020\nAn Act to apply a national law relating to electronic conveyancing, and for other\npurposes\n\nPart 1 Preliminary\nSection 1\npage 2 Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\nR1\n01/06/20\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Name of Act\nThis Act is the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT)\nAct 2020.\n3 Dictionary\n(1) The dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act.\n(2) A definition in the dictionary applies to the local application\nprovisions of this Act.\nNote 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain terms used in this\nAct.\nNote 2 A definition in the dictionary applies to the entire Act unless the\ndefinition, or another provision of the Act, provides otherwise or the\ncontrary intention otherwise appears (see Legislation Act, s 155 and\ns 156 (1)).\n4 Terms used in Electronic Conveyancing National Law\n(ACT)\nTerms used in the local application provisions of this Act and also in\nthe Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) have the same\nmeanings in those provisions as they have in the Electronic\nConveyancing National Law (ACT).\nNote A definition in an Act applies except so far as the contrary intention\nappears (see Legislation Act, s 155).\n5 Notes\nA note included in the local application provisions of this Act is\nexplanatory and is not part of this Act.\nNote See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of notes.\n\nApplication of Electronic Conveyancing National Law Part 2\nSection 6\nR1\n01/06/20\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 2 Application of Electronic\nConveyancing National Law\n6 Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law\n(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Electronic Conveyancing National Law,\nas in force from time to time, set out in the appendix to the Electronic\nConveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 (NSW)—\n(a) applies as a territory law, as modified by schedule 1; and\n(b) as so applying may be referred to as the Electronic\nConveyancing National Law (ACT); and\n(c) so applies as if it were part of this Act.\n(2) A law that amends the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out\nin the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National\nLaw) Act 2012 (NSW), and is passed by the New South Wales\nParliament after this Act’s notification day, commences on—\n(a) the 90th day after the day the law commences in NSW (the\ndefault commencement day); or\n(b) if a different day is declared by the Minister before the default\ncommencement day—that day.\n(3) A declaration under subsection (2) (b) is a notifiable instrument.\nNote A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act.\n7 Exclusion of Legislation Act\n(1) The Legislation Act does not apply to the Electronic Conveyancing\nNational Law (ACT) other than section 25, as modified by schedule 1.\n(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the application of the Legislation Act to\nthe local application provisions of this Act.\n\nPart 2 Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law\nSection 8\npage 4 Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\nR1\n01/06/20\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n8 Meaning of certain terms in Electronic Conveyancing\nNational Law (ACT)\nIn the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT):\nland titles legislation means the following:\n(a) the Community Title Act 2001;\n(b) the Land Titles Act 1925;\n(c) the Land Titles (Unit Titles) Act 1970;\n(d) the Unit Titles Act 2001;\n(e) any other territory law prescribed by regulation.\nRegistrar means the registrar-general.\nregistry instrument means any instrument that is required or\npermitted by a law in force in the Territory to be lodged with the\nregistrar-general under the land titles legislation.\nresponsible tribunal means the Supreme Court.\nthis jurisdiction means the Australian Capital Territory.\ntitles register means the register kept under the Land Titles Act 1925,\nsection 43.\n9 Regulation-making power\nThe Executive may make regulations for this Act.\nNote A regulation must be notified, and presented to the Legislative Assembly,\nunder the Legislation Act.\n\nModifications—Electronic Conveyancing National Law Schedule 1\nAmendment [1.1]\nR1\n01/06/20\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nSchedule 1 Modifications—Electronic\nConveyancing National Law\n(see s 6 (a))\n[1.1] Section 25\nsubstitute\n25 Publication of operating requirements and participation\nrules\n(1) An operating requirement or a participation rule—\n(a) is a disallowable instrument; and\n(b) must be notified at least 20 business days before the requirement\nor rule commences.\nNote A disallowable instrument must be notified, and presented to the\nLegislative Assembly, under the Legislation Act.\n(2) However, if the Registrar is satisfied that an operating requirement or\na participation rule must be made urgently because an emergency\nsituation exists, the requirement or rule—\n(a) may state that because of an emergency situation the\nrequirement or rule commences on a stated day before the end\nof the 20 business days; and\n(b) commences on the stated day.\n(3) For subsection (2), an emergency situation exists if the Registrar\nconsiders that because of the occurrence of an event or the existence\nof particular circumstances, the operation, security, integrity or\nstability of an ELN or the titles register or land titles system is being,\nor is likely to be, jeopardised.\n\nSchedule 1 Modifications—Electronic Conveyancing National Law\nAmendment [1.2]\npage 6 Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\nR1\n01/06/20\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(4) If an operating requirement or a participation rule is notified less than\n20 business days before its proposed commencement and\nsubsection (2) does not apply—\n(a) the requirement or rule is valid; but\n(b) it commences on the 20th business day after its notification day.\n(5) Subsection (1) (b) and (4) do not apply to an operating requirement\nor participation rule notified before the day this schedule commences.\nNote An operating requirement or participation rule may be notified after this\nAct is notified and before it commences (see Legislation Act, s 81).\n(6) Subsection (5) and this subsection expire on 1 June 2021.\n[1.2] New section 35 (4)\ninsert\n(4) If the Registrar refers a matter to an appropriate authority, the\nRegistrar may give the appropriate authority any information held by\nthe Registrar that is reasonably relevant to the matter.\n\nDictionary\nR1\n01/06/20\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nDictionary\n(see s 3)\nNote 1 The Legislation Act contains definitions and other provisions relevant to\nthis Act.\nNote 2 For example, the Legislation Act, dict, pt 1, defines the following terms:\n• disallowable instrument (see s 9)\n• notification\n• registrar-general\n• Supreme Court\n• territory law.\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) means the provisions\napplying because of section 6.\nlocal application provisions of this Act means the provisions of this\nAct other than the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT).\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 8 Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\nR1\n01/06/20\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR1\n01/06/20\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020\nEffective: 01/06/20\npage 9\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Act 2020 A2020-15\nnotified LR 13 May 2020\ns 1, s 2 commenced 13 May 2020 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 1 June 2020 (s 2)\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\n© Australian Capital Territory 2020","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: to adopt and apply the national electronic conveyancing framework in the ACT. The scope has not expanded beyond this technical, procedural adoption function. The two modifications in Schedule 1 (publication requirements for rules and information sharing powers) are minor procedural adjustments consistent with the original intent of enabling secure, transparent electronic property transactions."},"complexity_factors":["Short length — only 9 sections plus a schedule with 2 modifications","Minimal defined terms — only 5 definitions in the dictionary specific to this Act","Simple legislative mechanism — primarily adopts external law by reference rather than creating substantive provisions","Limited conditional logic — only one emergency exception (s 25(2)) and one transitional provision (s 25(5)-(6))","Cross-referencing complexity — requires reading alongside the NSW Electronic Conveyancing National Law to understand full effect, though this Act itself is straightforward","No nested exceptions or deeply conditional provisions within the ACT-specific text"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act brings the national Electronic Conveyancing National Law into force in the ACT, so property transactions move from paper to an electronic system used across Australia. It affects buyers, sellers, lawyers/conveyancers, the Registrar‑General and electronic lodgement network operators, enabling faster, more secure settlements and consistency with other jurisdictions.\n\nThe ACT version adds local tweaks for oversight and transparency — short notice publishing of operating and participation rules and targeted information‑sharing by the Registrar‑General."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The Act does not simply import the national law unchanged: it applies the national law as Territory law (s 6) but modifies its operation. It narrows the application of the Legislation Act (s 7), replaces the publication/commencement regime for operating and participation rules to require 20 business days’ notice but allow urgent early commencement in defined emergency circumstances (Schedule 1 [1.1], s 25), adds a Registrar information‑sharing power on referrals (Schedule 1 [1.2], new s 35(4)), maps national terms to ACT land titles statutes (s 8; Dictionary), and ties the commencement timing of future NSW amendments to either a 90‑day default or a Ministerial declaration (s 6(2)). These modifications alter how the national law operates within the ACT’s regulatory and administrative framework."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑jurisdictional adoption: the Act applies the Electronic Conveyancing National Law as set out in the appendix to the NSW Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012, creating dependency on external text (s 6).","Delayed/tied commencements: future NSW amendments commence in the Territory 90 days after NSW commencement unless the ACT Minister declares an alternative day (s 6(2)).","Modifications to the national text: schedule 1 substitutes key provisions (notably publication and commencement rules for operating/participation requirements), so the applied law differs from the original national drafting (Schedule 1 [1.1]).","Exclusion of the Legislation Act: the Legislation Act is excluded from applying to the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) except for section 25 as modified, affecting how subordinate instruments are handled (s 7).","Registrar discretion and emergency powers: the Registrar can expedite commencement of operating/participation rules in an ‘emergency situation’ and determine related facts, creating administrative discretion (Schedule 1 [1.1], s 25(2)–(3)).","Instrument types and parliamentary oversight: operating requirements and participation rules are disallowable instruments requiring notice; the modified publication/notice regime (20 business days) affects procedural timing and parliamentary oversight (Schedule 1 [1.1], s 25).","Information‑sharing power: insertion of a power allowing the Registrar to provide information to an appropriate authority when referring matters expands administrative interaction with other agencies (Schedule 1 [1.2], new s 35(4)).","Local definition mapping and prescribed laws: key terms are remapped to Territory statutes and allow additional territory laws to be prescribed, creating interpretive links to ACT land‑titles legislation (s 8; Dictionary).","Temporary transitional provisions: certain transitional notice rules are time‑limited and expire, adding a temporal layer to compliance obligations (Schedule 1 [1.1], subsections (5)–(6))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act adopts the Electronic Conveyancing National Law into the ACT as territory law, with ACT‑specific modifications. It gives the Registrar and the Executive powers to set operating and participation rules, make regulations, and map national terms to the Territory’s land‑titles and registry arrangements.\n\nIt affects people and firms who lodge registry instruments or use electronic lodgement networks (ELNs). Key mechanics include 20 business‑day notice for operating/participation rules, an emergency early‑start power for the Registrar, and a power to share Registrar information with appropriate authorities."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020","history":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-act-act-2020/documents"}}