All land ownership in New South Wales is administered by NSW Land Registry Services. Much of this land is registered under the Torrens Title system, which was introduced to NSW in 1863. Prior to that, land ownership was recorded in a register beginning in 1802 known as ‘old system’ land. Crown land is land owned and managed by the NSW Government and accounts for almost half of all land in the state.
Torrens Title system
The Torrens Title system uses a single register that contains a folio for each landholding. Estates and interests related to the land are recorded onto this folio, such as new ownership, mortgages, leases, easements and caveats. A Certificate of Title is a copy of this folio of the register and creates a permanent record of the property's ownership history.
The Torrens Title system is guaranteed by the NSW Government, which means that the Government promises that the registered land owners recorded in the NSW land title system are the true owners of their land. The recorded owner of land (otherwise known as the registered proprietor) cannot have their title challenged, unless ownership was fraudulently registered.
Find out more about the Torrens Title Register.
Old system
In the first years of the NSW colony there was no system for recording land transactions. In many cases, ownership changed without any evidence at all. Only in 1802 was a register provided by the Judge Advocate and parties were invited to place their land titles on record, forming the ‘Old Register’.
It is virtually impossible to relate this register to any particular parcel of land today because of the limited information that was recorded. The ‘old system’ recorded land ownership in NSW until it was replaced by the Torrens Title system in 1863.
Find out more about old system land titles.
Crown land
Crown land is land that is owned and managed by the NSW Government, accounting for approximately half of all land in New South Wales. Crown land includes:
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Crown lands held under lease, licence or permit
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Community managed reserves
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Lands retained in public ownership
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Lands within the Crown public roads network
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Other unallocated lands
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The beds of most tidal and non-tidal waterways across the state.
Find out more about Crown land.