Electronic signing of deeds
Effective as at July 2024
Whilst the Corporation Act 2001 has been updated permanent to allow for directors & other officeholders to sign deeds under s.127 electronically, this is not a universal approach for all types of SMSFs - i.e. only applies to funds with a corporate trustee. Where the fund has individual trustees, we must revert to the various state and territory laws to determine whether such documents can be signed (and witnessed) electronically.
The tables below provides you with the current state of play for signing of deeds for both corporate trustees and where individual trustees exist:
Dates for Electronically Signed Executed Deeds
The following table outlines the relevant dates the validate the use of electronic signatures with Deeds:
| Jurisdiction | Date Electronic Signing became valid for Deeds | Does the current legislation allow for electronic execution before these dates | Other Comments |
| Federal | 23 February 2022 (was temporary from 6 May 2020) | No | Be wary of any documents signed before 22 February 2022 as they may not be valid |
| Victoria | 23 March 2021 (was temporary from 12 May 2020) | No | Be wary of any documents signed before 23 March 2021 as they may not be valid 23 March 2021 – allow for deeds to be made electronically |
| New South Wales | 22 November 201814 | No, companies unlikely to have the ability to sign before COVID | Be wary of any documents signed before 22 February 2022 by companies and 22 November 2018 as they may not be valid |
| Tasmania | Remote witnessing only | No for individuals, from Feb 2022 yes for companies (there are defective deed provisions) | |
| Northern Territory | No remote witnessing or signing | No for individuals, from Feb 2022 yes for companies | There is some capability to sign conveyancing documents |
| Western Australia | Remote witnessing only | No for individuals, from Feb 2022 yes for companies | |
| Southern Australia | Remote witnessing only | No for individuals, from Feb 2022 yes for companies (there are defective deed provisions) | |
| ACT | Remote witnessing only | No for individuals, from Feb 2022 yes for companies | |
| Queensland | 30 April 202215 (was temporarily allowed from 23 April 2020) | No | Be wary of any documents signed before 30 April 2022 as they may not be valid |
- 14 – Conveyancing Legislation Amendment Act 2018 No 75
- 15 – Originally Property Law Act 1974 s 46D, now Property Law Act 2023 s 50
Practical challenges
As with most legislative amendments, the recent changes bring about a number of practical questions, such as:
- “if the deed is governed by Queensland law but I am residing in NSW, can I sign electronically”? and
- “If the deed is governed by Queensland law but one party resides in South Australia and the other party resides in the Northern Territory, can all parties sign electronically?”
The answer to both these questions is yes.
If the document is governed by a state that allows for electronic signing, the individual can sign electronically complying with that state’s laws irrespective of where they reside. It depends on the governing laws of the document itself whether electronic signing is permitted.
It is important to comply with the relevant state’s requirements to ensure you sign properly when using electronic methods.
If you are unsure whether you can sign or witness a document electronically, you should seek independent legal advice (which you can access via Smarter SMSF's legal partner, Hill Legal) to ensure you are complying with the applicable legislation. Improperly signing a document, such as deed, may affect the legal enforceability of that deed.
This article has been co-written by Smarter SMSF & Hill Legal and is based upon our understanding of the current laws at the time published as indicated at the top of this article.