Businesses have been left frustrated after temporary rules put in place enabling electronic signatures on documents during Covid-19 expired meaning many are having to revert to paper and pen.
Venture capital firm partner Niki Scevak of Blackbird Ventures said investing deeds were used in almost every transaction the startup industry and having to print out documents and sign them added unnecessary red tape.“It is Chinese water torture, each layer of red tape adds so much friction that does not need to be there,” he said. “We are in 2021 and electronic signatures are not valid, it is just an indication of how backwards Australia is in technology terms.
The lapse of the relaxed Covid-19 rules means it is unclear whether electronic execution is permitted under the Corporations Act, according to Andrew Hii, partner at law firm Gilbert + Tobin.
This is completely mental. When i lived in the US nine years ago, I bought and sold a house without signing paper. The US, a country still heavily reliant on cheques can sort this out, why can’t we?