A title search is the first step in every land transaction in Papua New Guinea, and doing it properly means knowing both what the Register shows and what it does not.
What you are actually searching
Under section 9 of the Land Registration Act, the duplicates retained by the Registrar form the Register, and each is a separate folio. For State land there is a parallel Register of State Leases, in which each State lease is itself the folio.
Section 11 makes the Registrar’s duplicate conclusive evidence of the estate. The copy in the seller’s safe is not. Where the two differ, the Register governs — so never rely on a photocopy handed to you by the other side.
What the folio shows
- Volume and folio — the title identifier.
- The land — portion, or allotment and section, with the plan or survey reference.
- The estate — for a State lease, its term and its purpose.
- The registered proprietor.
- The encumbrances, in order — mortgages and charges, registered leases, easements, caveats. Under section 8(3) they are recorded so as to preserve their priorities, and under section 25(3) each memorial states the day and hour of production. Priority is readable from the face of the folio.
The four things the Register will not show you
These come from the exceptions to indefeasibility in section 33(1), and each requires a search outside the Register.
| What binds you | Section | How to find it |
|---|---|---|
| A tenancy of three years or less, or from year to year | 33(1)(f) | Inspect the land. Ask who is in occupation and on what terms, in writing |
| An unregistrable lease, licence or authority granted by the Head of State or a Minister | 33(1)(h) | Ask the Department; check for Part XVI licences |
| Unpaid rates, taxes or statutory charges on the land | 33(1)(i) | Rates search with the local authority; land tax search |
| Omitted or misdescribed easements; wrong description or boundaries | 33(1)(d), (e) | Check the survey plan against the ground |
The searches the Register cannot answer at all
The folio says nothing about compliance with the Land Act 1996. Before buying a State lease, establish:
- Is the rent paid to date? The annual arrears list gazetted under section 83(7) is, under section 83(8), prima facie evidence that rent is due and unpaid.
- Have the improvement conditions been performed? Unmet conditions block Ministerial approval under section 129 and registration under section 35(4).
- Has a notice to show cause issued?
- Has the land been reserved from further lease under section 49?
- Does the purpose clause cover your intended use? Using land otherwise than for its purpose breaches section 82(3)(d) and is a ground of forfeiture.
Watch the National Gazette
A great deal happens by gazettal, and a searcher who does not check it is working blind:
- declarations that land is State land (s 5) or customary land (s 133);
- notices of compulsory acquisition (s 12);
- land available for lease and successful applicants (ss 68, 74);
- forfeiture notices (s 122) and revocations (s 123);
- rent arrears lists (s 83(7));
- and under this Act, the Registrar’s 14-day notices of intention to replace a lost title (s 162(4)) or to dispense with production of one (s 158(3)).
The full due diligence checklist
- Title search of the Registrar’s folio — read every encumbrance and its priority.
- Physical inspection — occupation, boundaries, structures, access.
- Survey plan compared against the ground.
- Rates and land tax searches.
- Land Act compliance — rent, improvement conditions, show-cause notices, reservation, purpose.
- Gazette check for anything affecting the land.
- Ministerial approval obtained before contracting where the dealing is controlled.
- Caveat lodged to protect the interval between contract and registration — remembering the three-month lapse.
- Lodge with the duplicate title, promptly. Under section 24, priority runs from production, and a later dealing lodged with the title beats an earlier one lodged without it.
Remember section 44: a transferor has no equitable lien for unpaid purchase money. Sellers should settle simultaneously or take a registered mortgage back — handing over an executed transfer and the duplicate title before payment leaves you with a personal claim and no security.
Sources
- Land Registration Act (Chapter 191) — ss 8–11, 24, 25, 33, 35, 44, 158, 162
- Land Act 1996 — ss 5, 12, 49, 68, 74, 82, 83, 122, 123, 127–129, 133
- Mudge v Secretary for Lands [1985] PGSC 13; [1985] PNGLR 387
- Papua Club Inc v Nasaum Holdings Ltd [2004] PGNC 178; N2603
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Land Act 1996 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.