What is the legal status of cloud-based e-signatures in Western Australia?

The primary legislation is the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth), which facilitates the use of electronic transactions and signatures nationwide, including in Western Australia. This act is supplemented by the Electronic Transactions (Western Australia) Act 2011, which mirrors the federal provisions to ensure consistency. For specific contracts, such as those involving real property, additional requirements under state conveyancing laws may apply.

For validity, cloud-based e-signatures must adequately identify the signer, indicate their intention to sign, and ensure the method used is reliable in the circumstances, as per the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth). The signature process should maintain the integrity of the document and provide a secure audit trail. Courts may assess reliability based on factors like encryption, authentication, and tamper-evident features provided by the cloud platform.