Conveyancers and Solicitors When Buying Property in Australia

In Australia, buying and selling property involves a large amount of legal work — checking ownership, reviewing legal restrictions on the property, drafting and reviewing contracts, and coordinating the transfer of money and title. This is the job of a conveyancer or solicitor — and engaging one is effectively essential in practice, even though the law does not strictly require it.

Conveyancer vs solicitor: what’s the difference?

Both can carry out the property transfer process (conveyancing) in Australia.

A conveyancer is a licensed professional who specialises in transferring property. They have deep expertise in this process but generally cannot handle complex legal matters outside the scope of a standard property transaction.

A solicitor (lawyer) holds a law degree and can do everything a conveyancer does, plus more complex legal matters — for example: contract disputes, buying through a company or trust, situations involving caveats or disputes over ownership, and matters relating to wills and inheritance.

When should you choose a solicitor over a conveyancer?

Complex transactions (buying through an entity, strata with legal issues)
Caveats or ownership disputes discovered during the title search
A property with a complicated legal history
You want someone who can provide full legal representation if needed

For a standard property transaction (a freestanding home with no special issues), an experienced conveyancer is perfectly sufficient.

When should you engage one?

The answer: as early as possible — ideally before you start inspecting homes seriously.

The reasons:

The buying process can move very quickly, especially after winning an auction. If you win an auction at 11am, you may need to sign the contract that same afternoon — there’s no time to go looking for a conveyancer at that point.
A conveyancer can review the contract before you sign or before auction day. This is your chance to spot unfavourable terms.
Some conveyancers can negotiate certain terms in the contract on your behalf.

What do they actually do?

Review the contract

Before you sign anything, the conveyancer reads the entire sale contract — often a document running to dozens of pages — and explains the key points to you, including:

The settlement date
Finance and inspection conditions (if any)
What is included in the sale (fixtures and fittings)
Any special conditions

Title search and legal checks

The conveyancer searches the property registries to confirm:

The seller is genuinely the lawful owner
There is no caveat (a third party’s claim of interest) registered against the title
There is no unresolved encumbrance (a financial restriction)
Information about zoning, easements, and so on

Coordinate settlement

Settlement is the day the money is paid to the seller and ownership is formally transferred to you. The conveyancer coordinates with:

Your lender (to release the loan funds)
The seller’s conveyancer
The land titles authority (Land Titles Office / Titles Registry)

Most states now carry out settlement electronically via the PEXA platform — your conveyancer will handle this.

Vendor’s disclosure documents

Before you sign a contract, the seller is obliged to provide certain disclosure documents. The name and contents of these documents vary by state:

Victoria: Section 32 (Vendor’s Statement) — mandatory. It includes information about ownership, council rates, restrictions on use, existing mortgages, outgoings, and more. Your conveyancer will explain its contents to you.

NSW, QLD and other states have equivalent disclosure documents, sometimes included directly within the sale contract. Ask your conveyancer about the specific rules in your state.

You should not sign a contract before reading and understanding the Section 32 or its equivalent.

The settlement process from start to finish

Find a home and agree on a price — with the seller (through the agent)
Receive and review the contract — the conveyancer reads it carefully, explains it, and negotiates adjustments if needed
Exchange of contracts — both parties sign and exchange the original contracts. You usually pay the deposit at this step.
Cooling-off period (if applicable) — the window during which you can withdraw
Satisfy the conditions — building inspection, finance approval (if these are in the contract)
Prepare for settlement — the conveyancer coordinates with the lender and the seller’s side to arrange the transfer of money and title
Settlement day — the money is transferred, you receive the keys, and you officially become the owner

The time from exchange to settlement is usually a few weeks to a few months, as agreed between the two parties.

Costs

Conveyancing fees vary considerably depending on the state, the complexity of the transaction, and the service. Always ask for a clear quote up front, including:

The professional fee
Disbursements (the cost of legal searches, registration of the transfer, and so on)
Any possible additional charges

Don’t choose a conveyancer just because they are the cheapest — this is a high-value transaction, and a legal mistake can be very costly to resolve.