{"id":"qld:act-2013-017","name":"Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) Act 2013","slug":"electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"qld","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"17 of 2013","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":29703,"registerId":"qld-act-2013-017-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"pt.1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"# Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"sec.1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### sec.1 Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) Act 2013 .","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"sec.2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### sec.2 Commencement\n\nThis Act, other than sections 38 and 39 , commences on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.\nDifferent days may be appointed under subsection (1) for the commencement of different provisions of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales.\nThe Acts Interpretation Act 1954 , section 15DA does not apply to this Act.\n(sec.2-ssec.1) This Act, other than sections 38 and 39 , commences on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.\n(sec.2-ssec.2) Different days may be appointed under subsection (1) for the commencement of different provisions of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales.\n(sec.2-ssec.3) The Acts Interpretation Act 1954 , section 15DA does not apply to this Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"sec.3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"### sec.3 Definitions\n\nFor the purposes of this Act, the local application provisions of this Act are the provisions of this Act other than the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) .\nIn the local application provisions of this Act—\nElectronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) means the provisions applying in this jurisdiction because of section 4 .\nTerms used in the local application provisions of this Act and also in the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales have the same meanings in this Act as they have in that Law.\n(sec.3-ssec.1) For the purposes of this Act, the local application provisions of this Act are the provisions of this Act other than the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) .\n(sec.3-ssec.2) In the local application provisions of this Act— Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) means the provisions applying in this jurisdiction because of section 4 .\n(sec.3-ssec.3) Terms used in the local application provisions of this Act and also in the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales have the same meanings in this Act as they have in that Law.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"pt.2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law","content":"# Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"sec.4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law","content":"### sec.4 Application of Electronic Conveyancing National Law\n\nThe Electronic Conveyancing National Law, as in force from time to time, set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales—\napplies as a law of this jurisdiction; and\nas so applying may be referred to as the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) ; and\nso applies as if it were part of this Act.\n- (a) applies as a law of this jurisdiction; and\n- (b) as so applying may be referred to as the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) ; and\n- (c) so applies as if it were part of this Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"sec.5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Minister must table amendments of Electronic Conveyancing National Law","content":"### sec.5 Minister must table amendments of Electronic Conveyancing National Law\n\nThis section applies if the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales is amended.\nThe Minister must table a copy of the amendment in the Legislative Assembly.\nFailure to comply with subsection (2) does not affect the application of the amendment under section 4 .\n(sec.5-ssec.1) This section applies if the Electronic Conveyancing National Law set out in the appendix to the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 of New South Wales is amended.\n(sec.5-ssec.2) The Minister must table a copy of the amendment in the Legislative Assembly.\n(sec.5-ssec.3) Failure to comply with subsection (2) does not affect the application of the amendment under section 4 .","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"sec.6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Meaning of generic terms in Electronic Conveyancing National Law for the purposes of this jurisdiction","content":"### sec.6 Meaning of generic terms in Electronic Conveyancing National Law for the purposes of this jurisdiction\n\nIn the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) —\nland titles legislation means any of the following—\nthe Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 ;\nthe Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 ;\nthe Integrated Resort Development Act 1987 ;\nthe Land Act 1994 ;\nthe Land Title Act 1994 ;\nthe Mixed Use Development Act 1993 ;\nthe Registration of Plans (H.S.P. (Nominees) Pty. Limited) Enabling Act 1980 ;\nthe Registration of Plans (Stage 2) (H.S.P. (Nominees) Pty. Limited) Enabling Act 1984 ;\nthe Sanctuary Cove Resort Act 1985 ;\nthe South Bank Corporation Act 1989 ;\nthe Water Act 2000 ;\nany other Act prescribed under a regulation for this definition;\na regulation made under an Act mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (k) or prescribed under paragraph (l) ;\nany other law of this jurisdiction that authorises or requires something to be deposited, registered, noted or recorded in a titles register.\nRegistrar means—\nfor approving the form of a document under section 7 of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) , or receiving or processing a document under section 8 of the Law—\nfor the purposes of a function under the Land Act 1994 —the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 1994 ; or\nfor the purposes of the Water Act 2000 , chapter 2 , part 3 , division 4 , subdivision 4 —the registrar under that Act; or\notherwise—the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 1994 .\ns 6 def Registrar amd 2021 No. 12 s 148 sch 3\nregistry instrument means any document that may be lodged under the land titles legislation for—\ncreating, transferring, disposing of, mortgaging, charging, leasing or dealing with in any other way an estate or interest in land or a water allocation; or\ngetting something registered, noted or recorded in the titles register; or\ngetting the registration, note or record of something in the titles register changed, withdrawn or removed.\nthis jurisdiction means Queensland.\ntitles register means—\nany of the registers kept under—\nthe Land Title Act 1994 , section 7 ; or\nthe Land Act 1994 , section 276 ; or\nthe water allocations register kept under the Water Act 2000 , section 168 ; or\nany other register prescribed under a regulation for this definition.\ns 6 def titles register amd 2021 No. 12 s 148 sch 3\n- (a) the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 ;\n- (b) the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 ;\n- (c) the Integrated Resort Development Act 1987 ;\n- (d) the Land Act 1994 ;\n- (e) the Land Title Act 1994 ;\n- (f) the Mixed Use Development Act 1993 ;\n- (g) the Registration of Plans (H.S.P. (Nominees) Pty. Limited) Enabling Act 1980 ;\n- (h) the Registration of Plans (Stage 2) (H.S.P. (Nominees) Pty. Limited) Enabling Act 1984 ;\n- (i) the Sanctuary Cove Resort Act 1985 ;\n- (j) the South Bank Corporation Act 1989 ;\n- (k) the Water Act 2000 ;\n- (l) any other Act prescribed under a regulation for this definition;\n- (m) a regulation made under an Act mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (k) or prescribed under paragraph (l) ;\n- (n) any other law of this jurisdiction that authorises or requires something to be deposited, registered, noted or recorded in a titles register.\n- (a) for approving the form of a document under section 7 of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) , or receiving or processing a document under section 8 of the Law— (i) for the purposes of a function under the Land Act 1994 —the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 1994 ; or (ii) for the purposes of the Water Act 2000 , chapter 2 , part 3 , division 4 , subdivision 4 —the registrar under that Act; or\n- (i) for the purposes of a function under the Land Act 1994 —the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 1994 ; or\n- (ii) for the purposes of the Water Act 2000 , chapter 2 , part 3 , division 4 , subdivision 4 —the registrar under that Act; or\n- (b) otherwise—the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 1994 .\n- (i) for the purposes of a function under the Land Act 1994 —the registrar of titles under the Land Title Act 1994 ; or\n- (ii) for the purposes of the Water Act 2000 , chapter 2 , part 3 , division 4 , subdivision 4 —the registrar under that Act; or\n- (a) creating, transferring, disposing of, mortgaging, charging, leasing or dealing with in any other way an estate or interest in land or a water allocation; or\n- (b) getting something registered, noted or recorded in the titles register; or\n- (c) getting the registration, note or record of something in the titles register changed, withdrawn or removed.\n- (a) any of the registers kept under— (i) the Land Title Act 1994 , section 7 ; or (ii) the Land Act 1994 , section 276 ; or\n- (i) the Land Title Act 1994 , section 7 ; or\n- (ii) the Land Act 1994 , section 276 ; or\n- (b) the water allocations register kept under the Water Act 2000 , section 168 ; or\n- (c) any other register prescribed under a regulation for this definition.\n- (i) the Land Title Act 1994 , section 7 ; or\n- (ii) the Land Act 1994 , section 276 ; or","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"sec.7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Responsible tribunal for Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)","content":"### sec.7 Responsible tribunal for Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)\n\nQCAT is the responsible tribunal for this jurisdiction for the purposes of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) .","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"sec.8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exclusion of interpretation legislation of this jurisdiction","content":"### sec.8 Exclusion of interpretation legislation of this jurisdiction\n\nThe Acts Interpretation Act 1954 does not apply to the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) or to instruments made under that Law.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"pt.3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Provision specific to this jurisdiction","content":"# Provision specific to this jurisdiction","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"sec.9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Review of decision by QCAT as responsible tribunal","content":"### sec.9 Review of decision by QCAT as responsible tribunal\n\nA reference in the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) to an appeal against a decision is, for an appeal to QCAT as the responsible tribunal, a reference to a review of the decision as provided under the QCAT Act .","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"pt.4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"# Miscellaneous","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"sec.10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulation-making power","content":"### sec.10 Regulation-making power\n\nThe Governor in Council may make regulations under this Act.","sortOrder":13}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act does not rewrite the national law's substantive rules but modifies scope for Queensland by treating the national law as part of this Act (sec 4) and by supplying local definitions and references to Queensland titles legislation, registrars and registers (secs 3, 6). It also fixes local administration and review arrangements (QCAT, sec 7), excludes the State's interpretation act for the applied law (sec 8), and sets commencement, tabling and regulation procedures (secs 2, 5, 10). These are local adaptations of scope and process rather than substantive re‑authorisations."},"complexity_factors":["Adoption of an external, in-force national law as local law (sec 4) — requires tracking changes made outside this Act.","Automatic applicability of future amendments with a parliamentary tabling requirement (sec 5) — operational effect separate from parliamentary scrutiny.","Localisation of generic terms to multiple Queensland statutes and registers (secs 3, 6) — cross-references increase interpretive load.","Designation of a specific tribunal (QCAT) for reviews (sec 7) — alters dispute-resolution pathway.","Exclusion of the jurisdiction's Acts Interpretation Act for the applied national law (sec 8) — changes interpretive rules.","Staggered commencement by proclamation (sec 2) — creates phased implementation and administrative sequencing.","Regulation-making power vested in the Governor in Council (sec 10) — delegates detailed rule‑making to executive instruments."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act adopts the Electronic Conveyancing National Law into Queensland (sec 4) and provides for staggered commencement by proclamation (sec 2). It requires the Minister to table any amendments (sec 5) and names QCAT as the responsible tribunal for reviews under the national law (sec 7).\n\nIt sets Queensland-specific definitions for titles, registrars and registry instruments (secs 3–6), excludes the state's Acts Interpretation Act for the national law (sec 8), and authorises regulations (sec 10). Users of titles registers bear compliance costs; the executive decides commencement, regulation and tabling (secs 2,10,5)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's scope is consistent with its original intent: to adopt the Electronic Conveyancing National Law in Queensland to enable electronic property transactions. The definitional provisions comprehensively map existing Queensland land legislation into the national framework, but this reflects careful implementation rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-jurisdictional structure: Queensland law incorporates a NSW law by reference, creating a two-layer legal framework that readers must navigate across two separate Acts","Automatic adoption of amendments: the national law changes automatically apply in Queensland without separate Queensland legislation, which is an unusual and technically complex mechanism","Multiple defined terms that cross-reference other Acts (land titles legislation spans 14 sub-paragraphs referencing 11+ separate Queensland statutes)","Conditional commencement provisions with different days possible for different sections","The substantive law being adopted (the national law itself) is not reproduced here, so readers must consult a separate NSW Act to understand what rules actually apply","Multiple registers and registrars with context-dependent authority depending on which underlying Act applies"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act brings Queensland into the national electronic conveyancing framework, allowing property dealings — transfers, mortgages, leases and related interests — to be completed digitally instead of on paper. It means buyers, sellers, conveyancers, solicitors and lenders can use approved platforms (e.g. PEXA) to lodge and settle transactions.\n\nThe Registrar of Titles oversees the system, disputes are dealt with by QCAT, and national-law updates apply in Queensland after the Minister tables them in Parliament."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"sec.3 and sec.4","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 3(1) defines 'local application provisions' as the provisions of the Act 'other than the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)'. Section 3(2) then defines 'Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)' within the local application provisions as meaning the provisions applying because of section 4. However, to understand what the 'local application provisions' are, you must first know what the 'Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)' is, and to know what that is within those provisions, you must already know what the local application provisions are. The definition depends on itself to be understood.","confidence":0.72,"description":"Circular definition of 'Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)'"},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"sec.5(2) and sec.5(3)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 5(2) imposes a mandatory duty on the Minister ('must table') to table amendments in the Legislative Assembly. Section 5(3) immediately negates any practical consequence of non-compliance by stating that failure to comply does not affect the amendment's application. This renders the obligation in s5(2) a legal nullity — it is mandatory in form but has no legal consequence if breached, making it unenforceable in any meaningful sense and raising questions about why it exists as a legal obligation at all.","confidence":0.85,"description":"Mandatory obligation rendered meaningless by its own non-enforcement clause"},{"type":"other","section":"sec.8","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 8 excludes the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 from applying to the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland), which is a NSW law applied by reference under section 4. The NSW law already has its own interpretive framework. Purporting to exclude a Queensland interpretive statute from a NSW statute applied by reference creates an odd jurisdictional interaction — it is unclear whether Queensland can validly exclude its own interpretation legislation from a law whose source is a NSW appendix, and whether such exclusion is even necessary or effective.","confidence":0.55,"description":"Exclusion of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 from a law that is not actually part of this Act's text"},{"type":"other","section":"sec.2(3)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 2(3) excludes section 15DA of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 from applying to the whole Act. Section 8 then separately and more broadly excludes the entire Acts Interpretation Act 1954 from the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) portion. The interaction between these two provisions is unclear — if s8 already excludes the whole Act from one part, the specific s2(3) exclusion for the commencement provision may be partially redundant or may create an implication that the Acts Interpretation Act otherwise fully applies to the local application provisions, which may not have been intended.","confidence":0.5,"description":"Exclusion of Acts Interpretation Act 1954 section 15DA from an Act that also separately excludes the Acts Interpretation Act entirely from part of itself"},{"type":"other","section":"sec.4","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 4 applies the NSW Electronic Conveyancing National Law 'as in force from time to time', meaning future NSW amendments automatically become Queensland law without any vote or action by the Queensland Parliament. Section 5(3) confirms these amendments apply regardless of whether the Minister even tables them. This creates a constitutionally and democratically anomalous situation where the Queensland Parliament has effectively delegated its legislative power over this subject matter to the NSW Parliament in perpetuity, raising significant questions about the validity of such a broad ambulatory incorporation.","confidence":0.75,"description":"Ambulatory incorporation of a NSW law 'as in force from time to time' without Queensland parliamentary approval of future amendments"}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.5(2)","section_b":"sec.5(3)","confidence":0.88,"description":"Mandatory ministerial obligation contradicted by its own non-consequence clause"},{"severity":"low","section_a":"sec.2(3)","section_b":"sec.8","confidence":0.6,"description":"Section 2(3) selectively excludes one provision of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 from the whole Act, implying the rest of the Act applies generally, while section 8 broadly excludes the entire Acts Interpretation Act from the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland) portion. These provisions create an inconsistent and overlapping scheme for the application of the Acts Interpretation Act across the Act's different components."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.3(1)","section_b":"sec.4","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 3(1) defines 'local application provisions' as excluding the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland), but section 4 provides that the NSW law applies 'as if it were part of this Act'. If the NSW law is part of this Act, it is unclear whether it is simultaneously part of and excluded from 'this Act' for definitional purposes, creating an ambiguity about the boundary between local application provisions and the incorporated national law."}]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is an application/adoption Act with a narrow, specific purpose: to import the Electronic Conveyancing National Law into Queensland. The scope remains tightly focused on enabling electronic property transactions and has not expanded beyond this original intent. The local provisions (sections 1-10) are purely mechanical adaptations necessary to make the national law work in the Queensland context."},"complexity_factors":["The Act is essentially a 'shell' or 'application' statute that imports external legislation by reference, requiring readers to cross-reference the NSW Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 and its appendix","Section 6 contains dense definitional mapping with nested sub-paragraphs (e.g., 'Registrar' has conditional definitions based on which underlying Act applies, with multiple tiers of (a)(i), (a)(ii), (b) structures)","The distinction between 'local application provisions' (the Act itself) and the imported 'Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)' creates a dual-layer structure that can confuse readers about which provisions are locally enacted vs. adopted","Multiple cross-references to Queensland-specific legislation (Land Act 1994, Land Title Act 1994, Water Act 2000, etc.) require familiarity with Queensland's property law framework","The commencement provisions (section 2) involve proclamations and staggered commencement for different provisions, plus an explicit exclusion of the standard Acts Interpretation Act 1954 provision about automatic commencement","Section 8's exclusion of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 means standard statutory interpretation rules don't apply to the imported law, creating uncertainty about how to interpret that law in Queensland contexts"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act brings Queensland into a national scheme for electronic conveyancing — the process of buying, selling, and transferring property ownership online rather than with paper documents.\n\n**How it works:**\n\nInstead of writing all the rules from scratch, Queensland \"adopts\" a set of national laws that were written by New South Wales. This Act acts like a bridge: it takes the **Electronic Conveyancing National Law** (which lives in a NSW statute) and makes it apply in Queensland as if it were Queensland law. This is called an \"application Act\" or \"adoption Act.\"\n\n**Key things the Act does:**\n\n* **Imports the national law** — Section 4 applies the NSW-based national law to Queensland, calling it the \"Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Queensland)\"\n* **Translates local terms** — Section 6 maps generic terms in the national law to Queensland-specific equivalents (for example, defining which land titles legislation applies, who the \"Registrar\" is, and what counts as a \"titles register\")\n* **Sets up the appeals body** — Section 7 designates QCAT (Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal) as the body that hears disputes\n* **Requires transparency** — Section 5 says the Minister must table any amendments to the national law in Parliament (though missing this doesn't invalidate the changes)\n* **Excludes standard interpretation rules** — Section 8 says Queensland's usual Acts Interpretation Act doesn't apply to the imported national law\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* Property lawyers and conveyancers who handle property transactions\n* Land registries and government officials who process property transfers\n* Anyone buying or selling property in Queensland using electronic settlement systems (like PEXA)\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nBefore this law, property transactions required physical paper documents and in-person settlements. This legislation enables secure electronic settlements, reducing fraud risks, speeding up transactions, and creating consistency across Australian states. The \"national law\" approach means Queensland, NSW, Victoria and other states all operate under essentially the same rules, making interstate property dealings smoother."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013","history":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013/history","analysis":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/electronic-conveyancing-national-law-queensland-act-2013/documents"}}