Boost Staffing Efficiency with Digital Signature Legitimacy in Australia

How to eSign a document: digital signature legitimacy for Staffing in Australia

Hello everyone and welcome to this  installment of Business Break.   Today we're going to be discussing  what you need to know when you're   using electronic signatures on contracts  and other documents in your business. So, the purpose of our presentation today  is to provide you with a general overview   of the law regarding electronic signatures  and in particular, we're going to discuss   when electronic signatures can be  used on contracts and documents,   the requirements to create a legally binding  signature, and considerations that you might   want to think about before using or allowing  an electronic signature on your documents. So, the first consideration is whether  an electronic signature can or cannot be   used. Whether an electronic signature will be  considered to be legally binding depends on the   type of document that you are signing. In Alberta,  the legislation governing electronic signatures   is the Electronic Transactions Act and the  general rule set out in that act is that   documents can be signed electronically unless  there's an enactment or other legal reason   that they need to be physically executed. The  Electronic Transactions Act sets out in section 7,   sub 1, a number of exceptions for when electronic  signatures will not be legally binding. This means   that on these types of documents you will need to  use a physical signature. These documents include   estate documents, like wills and enduring powers  of attorney, trust documents, personal directives.   It also includes items that or documents that  create or transfer interests in land, including   any interest in mines or minerals. It includes  guarantees and other negotiable instruments.   Those however are not the only exceptions. There  are other documents that will need to be signed   originally in a physical copy in  order for them to be legally binding.   You often can find in other legislation, rules  about whether a document needs to be signed   originally. Some other documents that you'll  come across likely in your business that will   need to be signed originally: any  document that is a land titles document,   bills of exchange, and share certificates all  need to be signed physically. Affidavits need to   be signed before a person and an original copy is  required for the courts. And loan documents which   create a security interest in land or other  security may need to be physically signed. Most documents which are not governed by the  legislations or by legislation and are not   excluded from the Electronic Transactions Act  can be signed electronically. However, no person   is required to use an electronic signature  on a document without their consent, so it's   important that when you are signing a document  that you ensure that the parties have consented   to signing the document in that electronic form,  and we'll talk a little bit more about that later.   This overview of course doesn't cover every  possible document that you might come across   in your business and if you'd like to sign a  document electronically, or if you're asked by   another party to sign a document electronically,  you're going to need to ensure that that document   will be binding in that electronic form.  If you're ever uncertain about whether a   document can be signed electronically, we are of  course happy to assist you with that analysis. So, determining whether a document can be signed  electronically is is not the only issue, the   next question is determining how to ensure that  electronic signature meets the legal requirements.   There are generally two types of signatures:  electronic signatures and digital signatures.   Electronic signatures are types of electronic  information which identify a person, whereas   the digital signature involves additional  electronic data which connects the person   to the document that they're signing. Digital  signatures are used with electronic signatures   to add an extra layer of security and I'll show  an example of each of those on the next slide.   The type of signature required depends on the  type of document the person signing and the entity   providing the document to be signed. The  Electronic Transactions Act at section 1   defines an electronic signature as electronic  information that a person collects or adopts   in order to sign a record and that is  attached or associated with that record.   So, if there are no other  requirements created by legislation,   a document can be signed with only an electronic  signature and no digital signature is required.   The Act also creates additional requirements  for documents being signed by public bodies.   The electronic signature of a public body  meets legal requirements only if it meets the   information technology standards set out by the  minister or the standard set out by the public   body itself, depending on the type of public  body. Additionally, public bodies must acknowledge   receipt of the information or record in ance  with its own acknowledgment rules. Other   enactments create more strenuous requirements  for electronic signatures for certain documents.   For example, the Federal Electronic Signatures  Legislation, which applies to federally owned   government documents, requires a secure  electronic signature for certain documents.   A secure electronic signature is created  by having a digital signature certificate   attached to the electronic documents. This digital  signature identifies the certification authority,   the person who signed the document, and  also contains the person's public key.   The specific requirements for each document  will always depend on the circumstances and   the type of documents. Once again, if you're  uncertain whether a particular form of electronic   signature meets the requirements, we'd be  happy to assist you with that determination. So, the purpose of this slide is simply to  illustrate the difference between electronic   and digital signatures. As you can see, the  electronic signature on the left is simply   a piece of identifying electronic information  created by the individual signing the documents.   Alternatively, if you look to the right,  this is a digital signature which associates   with electronic data connecting a  user to the document they're signing.   It may record information such as  the date the document was signed,   the location, the electronic data of the user  signed into the account, and whether the user has   clicked any necessary consents and acknowledgments  prior to affixing the electronic signature. As mentioned above, the two most important  considerations are whether electronic   signatures will be binding and ensuring the  legal requirements for an electronic signature   can be met. There are other considerations before  accepting or giving an electronic signature as   well. One of these is the level of reliability  and security of that electronic signature.   So, regardless of the legal requirements,  you should consider what level of security   you're comfortable with. This might  depend on the situation; for example,   you might be comfortable with a simple electronic  signature on a letter but you would likely want   a more secure electronic signature with a  digital signature component in order to sign   a legally binding contract. Always signing with  a secure electronic signature is best practice   but realistically this isn't practical and  every situation should be considered separately.   Another consideration to look at is whether you  receive the consent from an individual to create   an electronic signature. The act allows a person's  consent to be implied by their conduct and in   most cases, this likely will not be an issue,  however, the best practice is always to include   in the document, for example, a provision stating  that the parties have consented to the documents   being signed in electronic form. This will prevent  future issues from arising regarding the creation   of the contract. Finally, it's important  to ensure the other requirements in the act   and other enactments are met for electronic  documents. In this presentation, Tamara and   I have focused on electronic signatures, but of  course, there are other requirements related to   electronic documents and once again for each  document it's always important to ensure that   it's created in a legally binding manner  particularly when you're using an electronic   signature. So, we'd be happy to assist  with that if you have any questions. Thank you very much for watching this segment  of Business Break. If your business has any   questions about electronic signatures  please feel free to contact Tamara or I.