Electronic signatures in Australia

The laws: one Commonwealth Act and one in each State and Territory

Australia is a federation. The Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth), in force since March 15, 2000, covers requirements under Commonwealth law, and each State and Territory has its own Electronic Transactions Act for its own laws, such as the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 and the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW). This page covers the Commonwealth, Victoria and New South Wales.

The core rule: "a transaction is not invalid because it took place wholly or partly by means of one or more electronic communications" (Cth s 8(1); Victoria s 7(1) has the same words). Part 2A applies that rule to contracts governed by the law of a State or Territory that has no substantially similar provision (Cth ss 15A(2) and 15E).

The signature test

Where a Commonwealth law requires a person's signature, the requirement is met for an electronic communication if (s 10(1)):

1. A method is used to identify the person and to indicate their intention in respect of the information communicated;
2. the method was either "as reliable as appropriate for the purpose for which the electronic communication was generated or communicated, in the light of all the circumstances, including any relevant agreement", or "proven in fact" to have identified the person and indicated their intention, by itself or together with further evidence;
3. if the signature goes to a Commonwealth entity, the entity's information technology requirements are met; and
4. if it goes to anyone else, the recipient consents to the method.

Consent "includes consent that can reasonably be inferred from the conduct of the person concerned" (s 5). The State Acts use the same test (Victoria s 9; NSW s 9). Victoria adds that it is not a sufficient reason to refuse consent merely because an electronic method is proposed (s 9(1)(c)), gives as an example of an electronic signature "confirming a person's agreement by electronically selecting an option indicating agreement or affirmation" (s 9(1A)), and says not all signatures have to appear on one copy of a document (s 9(1B)).

No tiers. Australian law has no advanced or qualified category for private transactions. There is one technology-neutral test, and a particular law or agency can set its own technology requirements.

Companies, deeds and witnessing

• Companies. The Corporations Act 2001 is outside the Electronic Transactions Act, but it has its own technology-neutral signing rule, with the same test: the method identifies the person and indicates their intention, and is as reliable as appropriate or proven in fact (s 110A). A company can execute a document, including a deed, by the signatures of two directors, or a director and a company secretary (s 127(1)). A deed executed that way needs no witness and may be in electronic form: "despite any common law rule, the document may be executed without the use of paper, parchment or vellum" (s 127(3A) and its note), and delivery isn't necessary (s 127(3B)).
• Deeds by individuals. In Victoria, a deed may be created in electronic form and signed, sealed and delivered by electronic communication (s 12A). In New South Wales, "A deed may be created in electronic form and electronically signed and attested" (Conveyancing Act 1919, s 38A).
• Witnessing. Victoria allows witnessing by audio visual link, subject to conditions (s 12), and New South Wales made witnessing by audio visual link permanent in 2021 (Electronic Transactions Act 2000 (NSW), Part 2B).

Documents excluded or with their own rules

• Commonwealth laws listed in the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2020 (Schedule 1) are outside all or part of the Act, including the Bills of Exchange Act 1909 (item 13), the Cheques Act 1986 (item 16) and the Corporations Act 2001 (item 23), which has its own rules above.
• Statutory declarations follow their own Act: since January 1, 2024, a Commonwealth statutory declaration can be signed electronically, observed by video link or digitally verified through an approved online platform and identity service (Statutory Declarations Act 1959, ss 7A, 9 and 9A).
• Victoria. Its Act doesn't apply to the creation, execution or revocation of wills (regulation 6), delivery required only by personal service (regulation 7) or forms lodged with the Registrar of Titles under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (regulation 8), under the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Regulations 2020.
• Land. In New South Wales, a contract for the sale of land must be in writing and signed, but it is not invalid or unenforceable only because it is electronic and electronically signed (Conveyancing Act 1919, s 54A). Lodging land dealings with a titles office follows separate land titles and electronic conveyancing rules.
• Wills and powers of attorney in other States and Territories follow their own laws: check the State's rules.

Proving an electronic signature

• Evidence law is unchanged. The Act doesn't affect the operation of the Evidence Act 1995 or the State equivalents (s 7B(2)).
• Presumptions. Under the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth), a document produced by a device or process that ordinarily produces that outcome is presumed to have done so, unless evidence raises doubt (s 146), with a similar rule for business records (s 147) and presumptions about the sender, time and receipt of electronic communications (s 161).
• The burden. No statutory presumption of authenticity attaches to any signature technology: if a signature is challenged, the party relying on it proves it.
• Retention. Where Commonwealth law requires a paper document to be kept, an electronic form meets it if the method gave "a reliable means of assuring the maintenance of the integrity of the information" and the information stays readily accessible (s 12(2)).

How to make an electronic signature hold up

1. Check whether the document has its own rule, such as a statutory declaration, a land titles form or a will.
2. Use a method that identifies each signer and records their intention for this document.
3. Make it reliable enough for the purpose, and keep evidence that proves it in fact.
4. Record the other party's consent, which can come from conduct; a line in the agreement saying the parties agree to sign electronically removes doubt.
5. Keep the signed record with its integrity protected.

Where Attest fits

Attest signatures are an electronic signature method under section 10 of the Act and the State equivalents. Australia has no higher tier to compare them with; the question is whether the method meets the test for the purpose, and for ordinary agreements such as client contracts, statements of work, NDAs, offer letters and vendor agreements, each signature carries the evidence the test looks for:

What section 10 asks	What Attest records
A method used to identify the person (s 10(1)(a))	Each signature is made with a passkey registered to the signer's email address. A passkey is a cryptographic key only the signer controls, unlocked with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or the device PIN, and it must confirm the signer is present and verified. Attest confirms control of the email address and the passkey, not a government ID
And indicates their intention (s 10(1)(a))	The signer reviews the document, and their passkey signs a statement that begins "I have reviewed and I sign", naming the document by its fingerprint
Reliable, or proven in fact (s 10(1)(b))	The statement includes the SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact document and of the signer's entries, Attest checks each signature against the passkey's public key before recording it, and the signed state is anchored on the Horizen public blockchain. Change one byte and verification fails, and anyone can re-run the checks
Integrity of what is kept (s 12(2))	Every party downloads the same sealed PDF: the signed pages, with a "Signed with Attest" stamp on each signature and a seal line at the foot of every page, a certificate of completion, the audit trail up to completion and a "Verify it yourself, without us" page, with the full evidence, the original document and a standalone verifier attached inside

A fingerprint (SHA-256 hash) is a short code calculated from a file's contents that changes if a single byte changes. The open-source verifier inside the copy runs in any browser without any Attest service and checks each signer's passkey signature, the original document, the pages you see and Attest's anchored record on Horizen. As with any evidence, the court decides how much weight it carries.

For a statutory declaration, a will, a land titles form or another document with its own rule, use the form that law requires.

Every document is end-to-end encrypted, so Attest can't read it. Signers need no account and never pay, and anyone can verify a signed copy for free at attest.datahubz.com/verify. Your first 2 documents are free, in total, then the Signing plan is $5 a month for 20 documents.