In Breskvar v Wall (1971) 126 CLR 376, the High Court of Australia examined the principles surrounding the Torrens system and the indefeasibility of title, particularly in contexts involving fraud and statutory invalidity of instruments. The appellants, Mr. and Mrs. Breskvar, had initially been part of a transaction that was ostensibly a sale of land but was later revealed to be a loan arrangement. The transaction involved a memorandum of transfer without a designated purchaser that eventually named the first respondent's grandson, Wall, as the purchaser. Wall subsequently sold the land to Alban Pty. Ltd., a transfer that the Breskvars attempted to contest through a caveat based on allegations of fraud and invalidity due to non-compliance with statutory requirements for the transfer document.
The court addressed significant issues, including the impact of fraud on the indefeasibility of title and the effect of statutory non-compliance on the validity of land transfers under the Torrens system. Justice McTiernan's judgment affirmed the principle of indefeasibility of title, even in the face of fraudulent transactions, as long as the fraud does not involve the registered proprietor. The judgment also highlighted that registration of a void instrument, in this case, suffices to vest title in the registered proprietor against all but the defrauded party. Despite the apparent invalidity due to the non-insertion of the purchaser's name in the transfer document, the court concluded that, under the principles of the Torrens system, Wall obtained a valid title, which he was able to pass to Alban Pty. Ltd., meaning the Breskvars' appeal was dismissed.
From the TLDR Caselaw Archive