Documents You Need Notarised When Selling Property Overseas

To sell property overseas from Australia, the main document you notarise here is a power of attorney, drafted by a lawyer in that country, that lets someone sign the sale for you. You may also need notarised identity and name documents. DFAT then apostilles or authenticates them. The title, tax and transfer are handled where the property is.

Key takeaways

• If you can travel and sign in person, you may need nothing notarised in Australia. The formalities then happen locally.
• If you cannot, the core document is a power of attorney in the form that country requires, usually drafted by a lawyer there.
• Confirm first that you can sell: an inherited property may still be in a parent's name, and every owner must sign or appoint someone.
• Bring the power of attorney unsigned to the Australian notary with your passport. DFAT then apostilles or authenticates it.
• Tax may be owed in both countries. Get advice in both before you sign a sale contract.

Who is this page for?

Many people in Australia own property in another country. It might be a flat bought before they migrated, a family house they inherited, or land held jointly with siblings. Selling it without flying back is usually possible, and an Australian notary is central to how. But the notary's part comes only after several things have been settled in the country where the property is. This page follows a sale in the order it usually happens.

Should you travel, or appoint someone?

If you can be there to sign the sale documents in person, you may need nothing notarised in Australia at all; the formalities happen locally. Most people selling from here cannot, or do not want to, travel for each stage. They appoint someone to act for them, and that appointment is what the Australian notary deals with.

Make this decision first, because it shapes everything else. A sale can take several stages, such as signing a preliminary contract, the final deed and the bank's paperwork. One trip rarely covers all of them.

Why appoint a lawyer there first?

Engage a lawyer in the country where the property is. In many civil law countries a local notary also conducts the sale itself. That is a different office from an Australian notary, with far wider powers, and the two work together. For the difference, see how Australian notaries differ from notaries abroad.

The lawyer's first job is to confirm that you can sell. Two problems stop sales more than any other.

• The property is not yet in your name. If you inherited it, the succession may never have been formally completed. The title may still be registered to a parent or grandparent. That has to be fixed before you can sell, and it has its own paperwork. See inheriting an estate overseas.
• Not all the owners are on board. Every registered owner has to sign, or appoint someone who can. In some countries a spouse must also consent to the sale even if they are not on the title. If siblings or a spouse also live in Australia, each will need the same documents as you.

The title records themselves are held in that country's registry. They are foreign documents, and an Australian notary has nothing to add to them. Whether a sale is valid under that country's law is for the lawyer there, not for the notary in Australia.

What makes the power of attorney work?

This is the core document. It authorises your representative, whether the lawyer, a relative or an agent, to sign the sale contract and the transfer, receive the price and deal with the tax authorities for you. Three points decide whether it works.

1. It must be drafted in that country's form. A power of attorney must satisfy the law of the place where it will be used. The lawyer there should prepare it, often in a bilingual version. An Australian template will very likely be refused by the foreign registry.
2. It must be specific. Many registries want the property identified precisely, and the powers spelled out: to sell, to set or accept a price, to sign, to receive money. A general power may not be enough.
3. It may have a shelf life. Some registries and banks reject a power of attorney signed more than a certain time before it is used. Ask, and time the signing to the expected sale date.

What happens at the notary appointment?

Bring the document unsigned to the notary, with your passport. The notary confirms your identity, that you understand what you are signing and that you are doing so freely, and witnesses your signature. If the document is bilingual and you do not read the other language, the notary may want a translation or a translator's statement first, so that you know what you are signing. See powers of attorney and declarations and notarising a power of attorney for the appointment in detail.

The document then goes to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). DFAT issues an apostille if the country is a party to the Apostille Convention, which must be checked against the HCCH status table on the day. If it is not, DFAT authenticates the document and that country's embassy or consulate then legalises it. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; the notary cannot.

Some countries require a power of attorney for property to be signed at their own consulate instead, or to be registered locally before it can be used. Ask the lawyer before booking anyone.

Which identity and name documents are needed?

Alongside the power of attorney, the lawyer will usually want some of the following.

Document	Usual form	Notary in Australia?
Your passport	A notarised copy	Yes
Australian marriage certificate	The registry original, apostilled	Often not; DFAT may take it directly
Evidence linking you to the name on the title	A sworn declaration	Yes
A co-owner's power of attorney	Signed by that owner before a notary	Yes, if they are in Australia
Tax number in that country	Obtained through your representative	Usually not

The name link matters when the property was registered decades ago, under a maiden name, an old passport number, or a spelling since changed. A sworn declaration that both refer to you is a notarial act and belongs in the same appointment. Bring whatever links the names, such as a marriage certificate or an old passport. For an Australian registry marriage certificate, confirm with DFAT whether it can be apostilled directly; its list of documents it can legalise includes registry certificates.

What about tax and getting the money out?

A country may tax a non-resident seller's gain, withhold part of the price, or require a tax clearance before the transfer is registered. You may need a tax number there, often obtainable through your representative.

Australia may also tax the gain, if you are an Australian tax resident. Get advice from a tax adviser in both countries before you sign a contract, not after. Some countries also restrict moving sale proceeds abroad, and a bank may want documents showing the sale and the tax paid before it releases funds. Ask the lawyer early; it can decide how long the money takes to reach you. If a bank there wants signed instructions from you, see overseas bank account documents.

What if you are buying instead?

The notary's role for a buyer is narrower. If you sign in person abroad, you may need nothing notarised here. If you will not attend completion, the power of attorney above is the document, drafted by a lawyer there and signed before a notary here, with the same authentication chain. Banks and local notaries may also want notarised identity documents and evidence of where your funds come from.

Common mistakes

• Signing before the appointment. The notary must watch you sign. A power of attorney signed at home has to be signed again on a fresh copy.
• Using a Justice of the Peace. A JP is a witness for Australian purposes. A foreign land registry expects a notary's signature and seal, which DFAT can verify, and a JP's cannot be apostilled.
• Relying on an old power. A power signed years ago for a different purpose, or one that has passed its usable period, is often refused.
• Forgetting a co-owner. A sibling or spouse who must sign or consent needs their own appointment and their own documents.
• Guessing the receiving authority's rules. The registry or local notary abroad is the receiving authority. Ask the lawyer what it accepts before booking anything in Australia.

A notarised copy of your passport follows the ordinary rules for copies in document notarisation: the notary must see the original passport, not a scan.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

Two sisters in Brisbane inherit their late father's flat in a European city. Their lawyer there finds the title still in their father's name, so the succession is completed first. The lawyer then sends a bilingual power of attorney for each sister, naming the flat and a cousin as their representative. Each sister signs hers before a notary in Brisbane with her passport. One also swears a declaration linking her married name to the maiden name on the old records. DFAT apostilles all three documents, and the cousin signs the sale.

In short

Selling property overseas from Australia usually turns on one document: a power of attorney, drafted by a lawyer where the property is, brought unsigned to an Australian notary and signed there, then apostilled or authenticated by DFAT. Check first that you can sell and that every owner is on board. Add a notarised passport copy and any name declaration in the same appointment, and get tax advice in both countries before you sign.

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Selling property abroad? Send us the power of attorney your lawyer has drafted, and we will explain each step before you book.