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Title search basics: how to read a title across AU jurisdictions

How to read a title search across AU: registered proprietor, encumbrances, easements, covenants, caveats. State-by-state registries + costs.

By Dan Waring. Last updated 23 May 2026. Verified 23 May 2026.

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TL;DR

Run a title search before you commit to anything. The document tells you who legally owns the lot, what registered interests sit on it, and what restrictions apply to the land before a single line gets drawn. Easements, restrictive covenants, and caveats all show up here; they do not show up in the planning system. The Torrens system underpins every state: a registered interest is indefeasible, meaning it is paramount to any unregistered claim. What’s on the register beats what’s in someone’s old agreement, full stop. A clean search does not mean no future risk; it means no registered encumbrance at the time of search. Order one before design starts.

What this article is for

Builders, designers, and buyers in Australia regularly confuse the title register with the planning system. They are separate. The planning system tells you what you’re allowed to build. The title register tells you who owns the land and what legally registered interests attach to it.

This article covers:

  • What a title search document contains and how to read it.
  • Where to order one in each state and territory.
  • What the encumbrances mean in practice.
  • The Torrens indefeasibility principle and why it matters.
  • Common gotchas that catch builders and buyers out.

For the planning controls that sit alongside the title, see Australian planning scheme structure. For NSW-specific planning certificates, see Section 10.7 certificates.

All eight states and territories operate a Torrens title system. The document you receive is called a certificate of title in older states, or a computer folio in modernised systems. The content is substantially the same.

FieldWhat it shows
Volume / Folio identifierThe unique reference number for the parcel in the register
Registered proprietorThe legal owner(s) as at the date of search
Estate / tenureFreehold (fee simple) or leasehold; most residential land is freehold
Encumbrances scheduleAll registered interests: mortgages, easements, covenants, leases, caveats, section 88B instruments (NSW), positive covenants
NotationsStatutory notifications (e.g. bush fire prone land notation, contamination notices in some states)
Plan referenceLinks to the deposited plan (DP) or strata plan that defines the lot boundary

The folio is a snapshot at the time the search is ordered. A dealing lodged after your search date will not appear on it.

State-by-state registries

State / TerritoryRegistryPortalTypical cost
NSWNSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS)NSW Online Registry Services (onlineregistry.lrims.nsw.gov.au)$14.90 per title search
VICLand Use Victoria (LUV)LANDATA (landata.vic.gov.au)$16.30 per title search
QLDTitles RegistryTitles Queensland (titles.qld.gov.au)$17.75 per title search
WALandgateLandgate Spatial Cadastral Database (landgate.wa.gov.au)$18.90 per title search
SALands Titles Office (LTO)SAILIS (sailis.lssa.com.au)$18.70 per title search
TASLand RegistryThe LIST (thelist.tas.gov.au)$21.00 per title search
ACTAccess Canberra Land TitlesActMapi (actmapi.act.gov.au)$16.50 per title search
NTLand Titles Office NTNT Land Titles search portal (nt.gov.au/property)$14.00 per title search

Costs are approximate; registries update fee schedules periodically. Conveyancers who order in volume often include the title search in a bundled certificate package of $50-100 that also covers the planning certificate (e.g. Section 10.7 in NSW, Section 32 in VIC). Order direct from the registry if you only need the title document; use a conveyancer bundle if you need the full due-diligence picture for a purchase.

How to read encumbrances

The encumbrance schedule is where the important information lives. Each entry shows the dealing type, the dealing number, and (in most states) a short description.

Encumbrance typeWhat it meansBuilder / buyer impact
EasementA registered right for another party to use a defined strip of the land, for example a right-of-way, drainage easement, services easement, or access easementCannot build over or obstruct the easement area; setback from the easement must be confirmed with council. Check the deposited plan for the exact location and width.
Restrictive covenantA private agreement registered on title that restricts what can be done on the land, for example minimum floor area, prohibited materials (no fibro, no brick veneer), building line setbacks, single-storey onlyCovenant survives changes of ownership and binds every future proprietor. Planning approval does not override a covenant. Getting a covenant removed or modified requires a Supreme Court application in most states.
MortgageA registered charge in favour of a lenderThe lender holds an interest in the land until the loan is discharged. On purchase, the vendor’s mortgage must be discharged at settlement. On a project where you’re building for a client, confirm the mortgage holder’s consent to any dealings if required by the loan terms.
CaveatA statutory stop notice lodged by a party claiming an interest in the landBlocks any dealing being registered (including a transfer on sale) until removed. Caveats may relate to unpaid money, a disputed interest, or a family law matter. A caveat on a lot you intend to buy is a red flag; get legal advice before proceeding.
LeaseA registered lease over all or part of the lotA registered lease binds purchasers; the tenant cannot be simply evicted by a new owner. Check the term and conditions before any transaction or design involving the leased area.

For more on easements and covenants in the design context, see Easements and covenants.

Torrens indefeasibility

The Torrens system gives the registered proprietor a legally indefeasible (undefeatable) title. In practice this means:

  • The register is the source of truth. If an interest is registered, it binds the world, including buyers who had no actual knowledge of it when they purchased.
  • Unregistered interests (a verbal agreement, an old handshake arrangement, an unregistered easement) are not binding on a purchaser for value who takes without notice of fraud.
  • Fraud is the main exception. If the registered title was obtained by fraud, the defrauded party may have a claim against the registered proprietor.

The practical consequence for builders: if a covenant or easement is registered on title, it binds the lot regardless of what any prior owner told your client, regardless of how old the instrument is, and regardless of whether your client knew about it when they bought. “The solicitor didn’t mention it” is not a defence to a covenant breach.

What can go wrong

Assuming a clean title means no restriction on the build. A title search shows registered encumbrances only. It does not show: unregistered interests, heritage overlays (in the planning scheme, not the title register), contamination (check a contamination search separately), or stormwater drainage paths that aren’t formally registered as easements.

Missing a restrictive covenant that blocks the planned design. Covenants dated from the 1960s and 1970s subdivision era are still live on thousands of Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth lots. A “no fibrous cement” covenant, a minimum 180sqm floor area covenant, or a single-storey-only covenant can kill an approved design. The council won’t catch it; DA approval does not remove a private covenant. Order the title search early, read the encumbrances schedule in full, and pull the instrument document for any covenant before design starts.

Confusing a Torrens title lot with a strata title lot. A Torrens title folio defines a freehold lot with a single proprietor. A strata title lot is a lot within a strata plan; the title gives the owner a lot plus a share in the common property, governed by the owners corporation (or body corporate in QLD). The rules for what you can build on a strata lot are set partly by the strata scheme’s by-laws, not just the planning scheme. Strata title searches are similar but you will also need the strata plan, by-laws, and (in some states) an owners corporation certificate. Do not treat a strata lot the same as a Torrens lot for design or approvals purposes.

Reading an old title search. A dealing lodged after your search date won’t appear. On a busy lot (commercial-to-residential conversion, deceased estate), dealings can lodge quickly. Order a fresh search at exchange and again at settlement.

A title search is one document in a due-diligence chain. After you’ve read the title:

References

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-23. Verified: 2026-05-23. Quarterly review for currency. Registry names, portal URLs, and fee figures verified against each state’s primary land titles registry portal on 2026-05-23.

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