Written by

Steven Lee

Mortgage Director, ODIN Mortgage & Tax

10+ years in Australian banking and mortgage lending

Last reviewed

Updated on: October 13, 2026 View profile →

About the Author: ODIN Mortgage is Australia’s specialist mortgage brokerage exclusively for Australian expats and foreign investors, having guided 2,300+ clients across 40+ countries through every stage of remote property settlement, including document execution from the UK, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, and beyond.

What Is a Wet Signature and When Do Australian Lenders Require One?

A wet signature refers to a handwritten signature applied directly to a physical document using pen and ink. Despite the growth of electronic execution, Australian mortgage processes have not moved entirely away from wet signatures, and understanding where they are still required prevents costly delays.

Wet signatures are most commonly required for:

• The mortgage instrument itself, which is the document lodged with the relevant state land registry to register the lender’s interest over the property.
• Transfer documents in conveyancing (depending on the state).
• Statutory declarations and certain identity verification forms.
• Documents where a witness must physically observe the signing.

For Australian expats, producing a valid wet signature from overseas means either couriering the physical document or attending a designated authorised witness. Each state has rules about who qualifies as an acceptable witness outside Australia, typically including Australian consular officials, notary publics, and certain legal practitioners.

How Does DocuSign Work for Australian Mortgage Documents?

Building on the wet signature framework above, the harder question is where electronic signatures actually fit within Australian mortgage processes. DocuSign and equivalent platforms allow signatories to execute documents digitally, with audit trails, timestamps, and identity verification built in.

Australian law governs electronic execution under the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Commonwealth) and equivalent state legislation. For many standard loan agreement documents, electronic signatures are legally valid. However, the acceptance of electronic signatures is not uniform across:

• Lenders: Each lender sets its own internal policy on which documents it accepts electronically.
• Document types: Loan agreements, privacy consents, and supporting declarations are generally accepted electronically. Mortgage instruments lodged with land registries have historically required wet ink execution.
• State jurisdictions: Electronic execution rules differ between states and territories, particularly for documents connected to real property.

Remote witnessing via audiovisual link has also been formalised in several Australian jurisdictions following pandemic-era reforms, allowing witnesses to observe a signing over video call. This significantly reduces the burden on expats who cannot travel to a consulate.

What Are Electronic Mortgages and Are They Available Yet?

Stepping back from the document-level detail, a broader shift is underway. Australia’s PEXA platform has enabled the electronic creation and signing of mortgage counterpart documents, with the potential to fully digitalise approximately 120,000 counterpart mortgage documents annually. This is a structural change to how mortgages are registered, not just how loan documents are signed.

However, availability depends on:

• Whether your specific lender has adopted electronic mortgage processes end-to-end.
• The state in which your property is located, as land registry adoption varies.
• Your conveyancer or solicitor being set up to operate within PEXA.

For expats, PEXA-enabled settlement means the possibility of completing an entire property purchase and mortgage registration without physically being in Australia. In practice, whether that is available for your specific transaction requires confirmation with your broker and conveyancer.

How Do Notarisation Requirements Differ by Country?

A related but distinct question is what happens when a wet signature document cannot be witnessed by a qualified Australian consular official, and notarisation becomes the pathway. Notarisation is the process by which a notary public certifies the authenticity of a signature, a document, or both.

Requirements differ meaningfully between major expat corridors:

In every case, confirm specific witnessing and notarisation requirements with your lender and conveyancer before documents are dispatched. Lender policies are subject to change.

What Is the Practical Step-by-Step Process for Expats Signing Remotely?

With the technical framework established, here is how the process typically works in practice for an Australian expat completing a mortgage from overseas:

1. Receive documents from lender or conveyancer (typically as PDFs via email or through a document portal).
2. Identify which documents require wet signatures versus electronic signatures by reviewing lender instructions or asking your broker.
3. For electronic documents: Sign via the designated platform (e.g., DocuSign) following the lender’s instructions.
4. For wet signature documents: Print the document, sign in wet ink, and arrange witnessing by a qualified person in your country of residence.
5. If remote witnessing via video is available: Coordinate with a witness who meets the requirements of your state’s legislation.
6. Return documents: Scan signed documents back to your broker or solicitor; courier originals if required (some lenders require the physical original for registration).
7. Settlement: If PEXA is available and your conveyancer is set up for it, settlement can proceed electronically.

Frequently Asked Questions