The witnessing of important legal documents such as wills, powers of attorney and statutory declarations over video conference will continue under new legislation to be introduced into NSW Parliament.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The new legislation seeks to continue arrangements introduced during the pandemic to reduce non-essential personal contact.
These arrangements allow a witness to see the signatory sign a document in real time over an audio-visual link.
The safety and wellbeing of NSW residents is a priority which is why we changed the way these documents can be witnessed.
Countless legal documents are signed every day in front of one or more witnesses but video conferencing technology enables these important forms to be completed efficiently and without the risk of face-to-face interaction.
The legislation will enable the remote witnessing of documents via AVL to continue until the end of 2021.
Under the extension, a witness will be able to sign a document, or a copy of the document, to confirm they witnessed the signatory's signature via AVL.
This could be done on a hard copy which is scanned and sent to the witness or on an identical counterpart of the document the signatory signs.
Traditional methods of signing and witnessing these documents will remain in place.
Women encouraged to stand for their community
Local women are encouraged to put their hand up to run for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council at the September 2021 council elections.
Local council service offers a rewarding career working with residents and businesses to improve the lifestyle and amenity of the community.
The NSW government is committed to increasing female representation on councils around the state.
Women represent just 31 per cent of all NSW councillors so we must do all we can to inspire and empower more women to stand for their community and run for their local council.
More information about the Election of Women to Local Government campaign is on the Office of Local Government website.