Digital Duties Form – frequently asked questions

The all-in-one Digital Duties Form is mandatory for property transfers in Victoria. It is linked and pre-populated into a Duties Online (DOL) transaction for a quicker and easier assessing process.

We hold regular webinars on completing digital forms, which you can register for, as well as videos you can watch.

Complete the Digital Duties Form

Reference guide to the form

We have grouped our frequently asked questions to assist you in completing the Digital Duties Form.

General information

1. Do I have to complete a Digital Duties Form?
2. Is the private information I enter protected?
3. Are there any Commonwealth reporting requirements relating to property transfers?

Creating a Digital Duties Form

1. How do I create a form?
2. Who starts the form?
3. When should the form be completed?
4. How do I register?
5. Who can create a form?
6. If I represent a vendor/purchaser for several transactions (e.g. large property development), can I create multiple forms at once?
7. When is the form complete?

Inviting a vendor/purchaser into the digital form

1. Can I represent both the vendor and purchaser?
2. How do I invite someone to sign?
3. What if there is more than one person representing a vendor/purchaser?

Signing the Digital Duties Form

1. How do I sign?
2. What is a Verification of Identity (VOI)?
3. Why is the system telling me my birth date is not accepted when I try to sign the Digital Duties Form?

Printing the settlement statements

1. If the form is physically signed, am I required to keep the original copy?
2. What is a settlement statement?
3. What documentation can be printed for settlement?

Retrieve and claim the digital form as an ELNO transaction

1. How does the Digital Duties Form work with an ELNO?
2. How do I start an ELNO lodgement?
3. Can I integrate a conveyancing package into the Digital Duties Form?
4. I have claimed a settlement statement, but I need to edit the information in the form. How do I unclaim the lodgement?

Claiming the settlement statement (paper settlement) in Duties Online (DOL)

1. I use a settlement agent to assess duty and lodge the title. Will this change if I complete forms on behalf of my client in DOL?
2. Who should claim the settlement statement?
3. How do I claim and link the form to a duties transaction?
4. I have accidentally claimed a settlement statement. How do I unlink the form?
5. Can a third party (settlement agent) claim the signed form?

General information

1. Do I have to complete a Digital Duties Form?

From 1 October 2018, it is compulsory to use our Digital Duties Form for all transactions, irrespective of the contract or transfer date. Because data entered into the Digital Duties Form pre-populates into the Duties Online system, you only have to enter it once. You do not have to enter it separately into DOL.

2. Is the private information I enter protected?

Only the taxpayer and their representative can view their private information in the online form.

3. Are there any Commonwealth reporting requirements relating to property transfers?

We are required by Commonwealth taxation laws to collect and report vendor and purchaser information to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for all Victorian property transactions.

For each transaction, the information collected and reported includes:

• property details, including land title information, property address and other descriptors
• transactional information, including transfer price, contract date and settlement date
• identity information of the vendor/transferor and purchaser/transferee, including, as relevant, name, address, date of birth, and Australian Company Number (ACN)/Australian business number (ABN)
• nationality and immigration details of the vendor/transferor and purchaser/transferee.

The information is used by the ATO to ensure compliance with Commonwealth taxation laws.

Creating a Digital Duties Form

1. How do I create a form?

Registered users can create a form under the ‘Create’ tab in DOL. If you are an individual, you must register and lodge via our public lodgement system.

2. Who starts the form?

The vendor or their representative must start the form. This is because they are responsible for completing all the contract-related information, which then pre-populates the transferee section of the form. This also eliminates the potential for form duplication.

3. When should the form be completed?

We recommend that the vendor or their representative completes the form at least 30 days before settlement. This allows the transferee or their representative sufficient time to complete the remainder of the form before settlement.

4. How do I register?

For registered DOL users, you must amend your registration via the ‘Administration - Amend Registration’ tab to include ‘Duties Forms’. This is done by editing the type of documents you can process in Step 1, along with editing the registered users in Step 3 to include ‘Duties Forms’ as the document type for that particular user. Continue to the end of the application to confirm the changes. Your access change auto-approves within 15 minutes.

If you are not registered for DOL, you must apply for an account and become a registered DOL user to complete forms online.

Members of the public who are not using a DOL registered user (usually a solicitor or conveyancer) who want to lodge electronically as an individual can do so after a simple registration process. You can electronically lodge scanned documents for a land transfer or declaration of trust via our website after registering with us.

5. Who can create a form?

The form must be started by the vendor or their representative. Once they have completed their information, they can invite the purchaser or their representative to enter their information.

6. If I represent a vendor/purchaser for several transactions (e.g. large property development), can I create multiple forms at once?

No, you must start each form separately. However, as a vendor’s representative you can clone an existing form up to 100 times.

7. When is the form complete?

The form is complete after all parties have finished entering the required data and the vendor/s and purchaser/s have signed. The purchaser’s representative can only then generate a settlement statement.

Inviting a vendor/purchaser into the digital form

1. Can I represent both the vendor and purchaser?

If you are representing both the vendor and purchaser, which normally occurs for related/associated party transactions, you need to select the ‘Representing both Transferor and Transferee’ option.

2. How do I invite someone to sign?

Once both the vendor and purchaser have completed all the data entry, the status of the form will be ‘Ready to sign’. At this point, the representative will be able to invite the parties to either sign electronically or manually.

3. What if there is more than one person representing a vendor/purchaser?

You can invite multiple participants to complete the form as a vendor or purchaser representative, with each completing their relevant data.

Signing the Digital Duties Form

1. How do I sign?

Once the data has been entered by all parties and the verification of identity has been completed, the online form is ready to be signed by the vendor and purchaser either online or manually:

• Online signing: You can nominate to contact your client electronically. They will be emailed and shown a rendered image of their form. Your client can accept and sign online via a tick-box, or decline. You can track when your client signs via your DOL account.
• Manual signing: You can print the completed form and ask your client to manually sign it. You will then be required to attest that your client has manually signed the form and retain the signed copy for 5 years.

2. What is a Verification of Identity (VOI)?

Conveyancers, lawyers and mortgagees are required to take reasonable steps to verify the identity of their client. If you are a representative, you must indicate that you have verified the identity of your client. If you are self-represented you must obtain a VOI number from Australia Post.

Land Use Victoria has more information about verification of identity.

3. Why is the system telling me my birth date is not accepted when I try to sign the Digital Duties Form?

The most likely reason is that your representative, who created the form, has incorrectly entered your birth date within the digital form. This is a common error.

To correct this, contact your representative and ask them to check the form and make sure they enter your correct birth date. Once they edit the form to correct your birth date, they can send you a new email requesting you to sign the form.

Printing the settlement statements

1. If the form is physically signed, am I required to keep the original copy?

Yes, you are required to hold it on file for 5 years. If it is signed electronically, the form is accessible in your DOL account.

2. What is a settlement statement?

It is a document which contains a Form ID, Settlement Statement Code and all of the information from the form that is required for assessing duty.

3. What documentation can be printed for settlement?

A settlement statement can be printed by the purchaser or their representative.

Retrieve and claim the digital form as an Electronic Lodgement Network Operator (ELNO) transaction

1. How does the Digital Duties Form work with an ELNO?

You need to complete the online form and link it to your ELNO transaction in DOL when starting a transaction. You can only link the form after all parties have signed it.

2. How do I start an ELNO lodgement?

Once the Digital Duties Form has been reviewed and signed by all parties, the transferee’s representative can start a transaction in Duties Online:

• Hover over the ‘Create’ tab and select ‘Retrieve & Claim ELNO (Electronic Lodgement)’.
• Enter the ELNO Lodgement Case ID and the SRO case reference numbers obtained from your ELNO, then select ‘Retrieve’.
• Select ‘Claim’ to proceed.
• Enter your Form ID and select ‘Link’.
• Review the duty estimate and transaction information and, if everything is correct, select ‘Calculate Duty’.
• To accept the duty estimate, select ‘Acknowledge’ then ‘Certify’ to complete the process.

The system will determine the lodgement category based on the ELNO lodgement and the Digital Duties Form data.

If the system determines the lodgement to be a complex lodgement category, the State Revenue Office will manually assess it. You need to upload all supporting documents and submit the lodgement to the State Revenue Office for manual processing at least 30 days before the scheduled settlement date.

Paper settlements cannot be processed via an ELNO. They must be submitted for assessment by selecting ‘Retrieve & Claim Settlement Statement’.

​3. Can I integrate a conveyancing package into the Digital Duties Form?

No, you need to enter the information directly into the online form.

​4. I have claimed a settlement statement, but I need to edit the information in the form. How do I unclaim the lodgement?

• Hover over ‘Search’.
• Select ‘All lodgement’.
• Locate the lodgement and then click on the lodgement ID.
• A lodgement summary window will pop up, select ‘View’.
• Select ‘revert back to ‘in progress’’, then select ‘unclaim lodgement’.

Claiming the settlement statement (paper settlement) in DOL

1. I use a settlement agent to assess duty and lodge the title. Will this change if I complete forms on behalf of my client in DOL?

You can continue to complete forms on behalf of your client, but it must be done in DOL. After you have completed the forms, your settlement agent is able to assess the duty payable.

2. Who should claim the settlement statement?

Only the party who wishes to assess the duty payable should claim the settlement statement.

3. How do I claim and link the form to a duties transaction?

Once the Digital Duties Form has been signed by all parties, you can claim the form in DOL or via public lodgements (for this, you must register and lodge as an individual based on the Form ID and Settlement Statement Code).

To claim the form to start your duties transaction in DOL, in the ‘Create’ tab select ‘Retrieve and Claim Settlement Statement’ and then enter the Form ID and the Settlement Statement Code to start your transaction.

The Form ID is located in your DOL workspace or for settlement agents, on the settlement statement. The Settlement Statement Code is only on the settlement statement, which is generated by the purchaser or their representative.

Information from the Digital Duties Form is pre-populated into the duties transaction. Once the form has been claimed it cannot be edited.

4. I have accidentally claimed a settlement statement. How do I unlink the form?

To unlink the form you must cancel the transaction. To do this:

• Hover over the search tab.
• Select ‘search all transactions’.
• Locate the transaction and click on the transaction ID.
• Cancel the transaction.

This cancels the duty transaction only and not the form. You can now link the form to another transaction.

5. Can a third party (settlement agent) claim the signed form?

Yes, anyone with access to DOL or individuals using public lodgements can claim the form to start the land transfer duty process.

More information about registering for Duties Online