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Given soaring property prices over the last few years, it’s natural to feel a sense of relief when your offer on a new home has been accepted.
However, that’s just the start of the process. It can take a frustratingly long time to get the keys to your new property in your hand, while you may well have to navigate several pitfalls along the way.
Conveyancing—the legal process behind transferring ownership of a property from one party to another—typically takes around four weeks to two months in Australia, although it can take much longer.
Reducing stress
The RBA states that property transactions are among the largest and most significant financial undertakings that many Australians enter into, but understanding the process is the first step to keeping stress to a minimum.
This guide looks at the nuts and bolts around what conveyancing entails in Australia, as well as what to look for when choosing a conveyancer and steps you can take to ensure a smooth and successful purchase.
What Does Conveyancing Involve?
In a nutshell, conveyancing is the legal work involved in buying a property and the transfer of ownership from the vendor—or seller—to the buyer.
It protects the buyer against nasty surprises in the future and ensures they’re aware of any potential issues with the property before they commit to the purchase.
See further down for a step-by-step guide to the conveyancing process.
What’s the Difference Between a Conveyancer and a Solicitor?
Either a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer can carry out the conveyancing process. So what’s the difference? Simply that a solicitor is also qualified to carry out other legal services in addition to conveyancing—they just tend to specialise in property.
Both are regulated by their respective professional bodies, carry their own insurance and will carry out the same conveyancing tasks. From here on, we’ll use the term ‘solicitor’ to cover both options.
How Much Does Conveyancing Cost?
Conveyancing fees are split into two parts:
- Legal fees charged by the solicitor. According to the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (AIC), conveyancing fees typically vary from $700-2500, although they can be higher for more complex transactions such as leasehold properties. You’ll usually have to pay conveyancing fees even if your purchase fails.
- Disbursements charged by third parties for various searches and legal documentation. Examples include certificate of title search, mortgage registration, and inspection fees.
It’s important to note that each Australian state and territory is governed by their own individual divisions of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers, and therefore may have different pricing costs and agreements.
In addition, you may choose to take out home buyer protection insurance. This covers you if your purchase falls through for certain reasons, for example, if the vendor pulls out or your property survey reveals major issues. It enables you to claim back some of your upfront costs, such as valuation, conveyancing and mortgage arrangement fees, subject to limits.
This insurance has to be bought before, or within a certain period (usually a week), of instructing a solicitor to act on your purchase.
Upon settlement, you’ll also be required to pay stamp duty upon purchasing a property, which again varies state-by-state. The timeframe required to pay stamp duty also varies depending on your region.
When Do I Have to Pay Stamp Duty?
- NSW: within three months of signing a contract for sale or transfer
- QLD: within 30 days of settlement
- VIC: within 30 days of settlement
- ACT: after settlement and within 14 days after receiving a Notice of Assessment
- TA: within three months of the transfer of the property
- N: within 60 days of settlement
- SA: at settlement
- WA: one month after a duties assessment notice is issued.
What’s the Best Way to Find a Solicitor?
While it’s not a legal requirement to hire a solicitor, if you are buying with a mortgage, it will be required by the lender for its legal work.
If you choose to find a solicitor, it’s worth taking the time to find a good one, rather than simply the cheapest option. You may consider the following:
- Asking family and friends for a recommendation
- Using a comparison service to compare conveyancing firms
- Asking your mortgage lender, broker or estate agent for a recommendation (although this may be more expensive than finding one yourself)
- Checking reviews and ratings on sites such as Trustpilot
- Searching the list of licensed conveyancers on your state or territory’s AIC division
How Will I Be Charged For Conveyancing?
Some solicitors will charge a flat fee—you can provisionally fix this amount upfront—while others charge an hourly rate based on the time they spend on your purchase. Even a fixed fee may change if the legal work becomes more complex than expected, but your solicitor should provide advance notice of this.
Some companies offer a ‘no purchase, no fee’ arrangement, where you’ll pay a small fee upfront, with the balance on completion. However, the overall conveyancing fee is generally higher than for a standard fee arrangement.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens on settlement day?
Ideally, your conveyancer will keep you well informed or settlement date and time so you know when you will be handed the keys to the property. In most cases, conveyancers attend settlement with the other party, and will call you when the transaction has gone through.
What does a conveyancer actually do?
A conveyancer is charged with ensuring the smooth transition of property ownership from one party to the next. Purchasers will often work closely with their chosen solicitor or conveyancer to ensure that they have all of the necessary documentation to complete the sale, help you understand what you’re purchasing, advise of any issues or requirements with body corporate or property titles, co-ordinate with banks and real estate agents, and hold funds on your behalf.
The conveyancer will also often look over a contract before a purchaser makes an offer to highlight any issues or areas of concern.
If you’re selling, the conveyancer will prepare the contract of sale on your behalf, lodge any legal documents, work with your bank to arrange the discharge of your mortgage, and release the deposit to you.
Why is conveyancing important?
Conveyancing is important as it ensures that both buyers and sellers are in the best position when it comes to transferring property ownership. By using a conveyancer, the parties can remove themselves from the many legalities and obligations.
What is e-conveyancing?
In 2014, the RBA introduced new functionalities to support near real-time settlement of property transactions via electronic solutions, replacing the traditional paper-based process.
E-conveyancing minimises settlement risk for the transfer of property ownership, while also ensuring that the property settlement process remains secure, reliable and efficient. Of course, as conveyancing moves increasingly online, so too does the risk of hacks and cyber attacks.
Australian-based e-conveyancers PEXA and Sympli are “investing heavily and taking the necessary precautions” to avoid being struck down by a cyber attack that targeted their UK counterparts CTS late in 2023.
Can conveyancing be done in two weeks?
While the pre-contract phase can take as little as two weeks to complete, with a draft contract even potentially being created within two to ten weeks, it’s highly unlikely that the entire conveyancing process would be finalised this quickly.
The various legal, financial and administrative tasks that the solicitor needs to complete can take between one and four months.
