What it does
The Transfer of Land Act 1958 (the Act) establishes and governs the Torrens system of land title registration in Victoria. At its core, the Act requires the Registrar of Titles to maintain a Register under s.27 that records folios for parcels of land, the registered proprietor (s.4), and all subsisting interests, encumbrances, caveats and dealings. Once land is brought under the Act—either by Crown grant (s.8), application under Part II, or Registrar initiative (s.9, s.26X)—the folio becomes the definitive record of title.
Registration of an instrument under s.27A has immediate effect: an unregistered instrument is ineffective to pass any estate or interest (s.40(1)), while a registered dealing confers indefeasibility on the registered proprietor subject only to the exceptions in s.42(2) (e.g. fraud, adverse possession, short-term leases, easements, and certain statutory charges). The Act sets out comprehensive machinery for all common dealings: transfers (Division 1 of Part IV), transmissions on death or bankruptcy (Division 2), sales by sheriff (Division 3), statutory acquisitions (Division 4), acquisition by possession (Division 5), leases (Division 7), easements (Division 8), mortgages (Division 9), restrictive covenants (Division 10), and caveats (Division 1 of Part V).
Part II contains elaborate conversion schemes. Land may be brought under the Act on a legal practitioner's certificate (Division 2, ss.12–21) or without one (Division 3, ss.22–26I). Conversion may produce an ordinary folio, a provisional folio (with warnings under the Fifth Schedule), or an identified folio (s.26E). Provisional folios convert to ordinary folios after 15 years (s.26Y) or upon removal of warnings (ss.20, 21, 26C, 26P). The Act also regulates plans of subdivision (s.97), common property in strata schemes (s.4 definitions of "stratum estate", "residual land"), and service agreements (s.98C).