In our practice, good conveyancing is mostly invisible: when it's done well, ownership simply changes hands on the agreed day and nobody thinks about the searches, checks and calculations that made it possible. It becomes very visible when it's skipped — an unreleased mortgage, an unpaid rates charge, or a contract term nobody flagged can all surface days before settlement, when your options are narrowest.
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one person or entity to another. This starts when buyers and sellers sign the contract, and ends once settlement has taken place. A conveyancer's work, however, can start before the contract is signed and continues after settlement to wrap up any post-settlement tasks.
Before you sign the contract, it is always a good idea to forward it to your conveyancer to look over the property's title, the contract terms and conditions, and anything that might affect the property and cause issues later on. Depending on the state the property is in, you might have limited recourse to end the contract with minimal cost and penalty; it is important to know what you are committing to.
What conveyancing covers
Across a typical purchase or sale, the work usually includes:
- Contract and title review — reading the contract of sale and the vendor's disclosure, checking the title for mortgages, easements, covenants and caveats, and flagging terms worth negotiating before you sign. See the five checks we run on every contract.
- Property searches — ordering the statutory and council searches relevant to the property and its state (for example planning, rates, water and land tax), so nothing unexpected attaches to the title. These are billed as disbursements, separate from the professional fee.
- Verification of Identity (VOI) — the identity checks required before an electronic property transfer.
- Settlement figures — calculating the balance owing and apportioning council rates, water, and any strata or owners corporation fees between buyer and seller. See what a settlement statement shows.
- Settlement itself — coordinating with your lender and the other side, and completing the transfer of funds and title, now handled electronically for most transactions.
Who can do conveyancing
Who is allowed to carry out conveyancing depends on the state. In New South Wales and Victoria, it can be handled by a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor. In Queensland, property transfers are handled by solicitors rather than a separate conveyancer profession. In Western Australia the work is typically done by a settlement agent or a solicitor, and in South Australia by a registered conveyancer or a solicitor. A licensed conveyancer specialises in property transfers; a solicitor is a qualified lawyer who can also handle disputes and the more complex legal issues that sit outside a standard transfer.
For a step-by-step view of how a purchase runs from contract to keys, see the conveyancing process; for what it costs, see conveyancing costs by state.