Agreement contract

COVID-19 - Video Witnessing Now Legal

Andrew Aitken

The NSW government has introduced a new temporary regulation to reduce face to face contact during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Now video conferencing technology such as Skype, Zoom etc. can be used to witness certain legal documents including Wills, Powers of Attorney, Forms of Enduring Guardian, Statutory Declarations, Deeds and the like.

There is still a visual requirement for the signing which must be in real time so that the signature that is applied can be confirmed as real.

There are options as to how the witness signs, whether it be on a copy of the document or a scanned hardcopy such as in a counterpart.

It is important to understand that this regulation will only be in place for an unspecified time during the pandemic and the long standing methods of signing and witnessing remain valid.  

Please let us know if we can assist you with any signing required under this regulation, which is naturally there to keep our clients, lawyers and staff all safe and well. Feel free to contact Andrew Aitken for further advice.

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