Commentary on the Sections Part 2: First Registration of Title Chapter 2: Cautions against first registration
49.Cautions against first registration provide a means by which a person with an interest in unregistered land can be informed of an application for first registration of the title to an estate in that land. Under the present law, persons having or claiming to have an interest in unregistered land of a kind that entitles them to object to a disposition being made without their consent, may apply to lodge a caution with the registrar. In practice, in relation to the circumstances when the applicant’s consent is required, this provision has been interpreted by the registrar to enable almost any person interested in the unregistered land to apply to lodge such a caution. Once a caution against first registration has been entered, no registration of the estate affected will be made until notice has been served on the cautioner and an opportunity given to appear before the registrar and oppose the application for first registration. There is no mechanism for “warning off” cautions against first registration. The cautioner will only be required to defend his or her caution when an application for first registration is made. Cautions against first registration are recorded on the index map and may be discovered by an official search of that map.