Central Register of Restrictions

The Central Register of Restrictions (CRR) is a centralised database where participating organisations (known as authorities) maintain up to date information about possible or actual interests they hold against NSW properties.

Current property owners, those intending to purchase a property, or those who have a financial stake in a property should all aim to have as much information available about the property at hand..

The scope and type of interests registered by organisations on the CRR have the potential to impact property value or usage, for example:

• risk to occupiers if they unknowingly act upon property, potentially causing injury or damage to infrastructure.
• non-disclosure may materially affect the value of the property, or the value a potential purchaser is willing to offer. An example is unknowingly purchasing a property in the process of being acquired for transportation-related demolition.
• risk of prolonged legal or civil disputes. For example, unintentionally breaching legislation which limits altering the property. Where all parties are fully informed up front there is less likelihood of a dispute after a transaction or change to the property status.

Contact an Information Broker to request a CRR Search now.

A CRR interest is not usually noted on title, and therefore will not appear in a standard title search. A specific CRR search is required to identify interests on a particular property.  

Although CRR searches are readily available to conveyancers, solicitors and the public, they are not a mandatory search during property transactions.
NSW LRS recommend speaking to your lawyer or conveyancer to ensure they consider CRR searches. You can also conduct your own searches via an Information Broker.

Other organisations in NSW may also have an interest in your property. The CRR captures data from 12 participating organisations in a centralised location using up to the minute NSW Land Registry information. Any organisation not on the list, and who may have an interest, will need to be identified and contacted directly.

If your organisation would benefit from being part of the CRR, please use our business inquiry form  and an NSW LRS representative will contact you.

There are many different reasons why an organisation would have an interest in specific land. If your search identifies an interest the CRR organisation will respond providing details of their interest.

Some examples include:

• a physical inclusion to your property (e.g. above or below ground cables)
• the actual or potential acquisition of the property (e.g. for new transport infrastructure)
• prior land usage with potential ongoing impact (e.g. previous military use with the possibility of unexploded ordnance on site).

In most cases the CRR authority will have originally contacted the land owner to provide information on the type of interest, and the legislation it was recorded under. However, this information may be misplaced or misrepresented over time, particularly during change of ownership, or where the owners address for service is outdated or incorrect.

A CRR authority’s interests can change over time as project scope increases, decreases, or is cancelled altogether. Searches of the Central Register of Restrictions are timestamped to show information was accurate at the time of the search.  

The following list details all organisations currently participating in the CRR.

Further details of how each CRR Authority operates are available here.
Organisations not included on this list will need to be contacted directly.  

To conduct a CRR search you will need to

1. Contact an Information Broker
2. Quote the title reference number (e.g. 1/12345). If you don’t have the title reference for your property it can be found using the free ‘street address inquiry search’ on the NSW LRS Online Portal, or the Information Broker can assist with this. CRR searches can be ordered by anybody, not just the property owners.
3. Select which of the 12 participating organisations you want to conduct a search with. Each CRR authority charges a separate fee to conduct a CRR search. Charges will vary depending on the organisations you select to search, and the Information Broker you use.
4. Your Information Broker will manage the searches for the selected property using the title reference you provided.
5. Shortly after applying the Information Broker will receive a response determining whether the selected organisations have an interest registered against the title reference.
6. If an interest is identified on title the authority will investigate further and provide additional information to the applicant. Each authority’s response process is different, many require manual verification before providing a response. Responses contain details of the interest and any additional information required by the applicant.
7. Once the search is completed any additional questions or discussions can be continued directly with the CRR organisation.

 Contact an Information Broker to enquire about a CRR Search now

Information about each CRR Authority

Which CRR Authorities operate within my LGA

Click here to view a 30 minute webinar describing the CRR