Conveyancer or solicitor: which do you need in NSW?

Two qualifications, one piece of work

A licensed conveyancer holds a licence under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 and is regulated by NSW Fair Trading. The licence authorises conveyancing work, which is the preparation of the contract, the exchange, and settlement of a property transfer.

A solicitor holds a practising certificate issued by the Law Society of New South Wales. Conveyancing falls within general legal practice, so a solicitor does not need a separate conveyancer's licence to act on your sale.

The relationship runs one way. Every solicitor may do conveyancing. Not every conveyancer is a solicitor, and a licensed conveyancer who is not admitted cannot practise law outside the scope of the licence.

On a standard residential sale, the work itself is identical. The same contract is prepared, the same certificates are ordered, the same settlement is booked on the same electronic platform.

The two overlap more than the question suggests

In practice the line between the two is blurred at the level of the firm, which is why choosing by title alone is a poor way to decide.

Many law firms run a dedicated conveyancing team, often staffed by licensed conveyancers, with a solicitor supervising. Many conveyancing practices have a solicitor principal, or a solicitor available for the matters that need one. Some practitioners hold both qualifications.

The consequence is that engaging a law firm does not guarantee a solicitor personally handles your file, and engaging a conveyancing practice does not mean no solicitor is available to it. This is worth asking about directly rather than inferring from the name on the door.

Where the difference actually bites

The difference is one of scope, and it only becomes visible when a sale stops being standard.

A licensed conveyancer's authority covers the property transaction. Where a matter falls outside it, they must refer it on rather than advise. A good conveyancer identifies that boundary early and tells you, which is a sign of competence rather than a limitation.

A solicitor has no such boundary and can advise on the surrounding legal question as part of the same engagement. Where a sale carries a complication, that continuity saves time and avoids the problem being handled by two people who each see half of it.

So the useful question is not which profession to engage. It is whether your sale is likely to raise something beyond the transfer, and if it might, whether the person you engage can deal with it or will have to send it elsewhere.

When you want a solicitor from the start

Several circumstances make it sensible to engage a solicitor at the outset rather than discover mid-campaign that a referral is needed. They are usually clear in advance.

• The property is part of a deceased estate, or probate has not yet been granted
• The sale forms part of a family law settlement or a separation
• The title carries a complication such as an unresolved caveat, an easement dispute or an adverse possession claim
• There is unapproved building work, an outstanding council order, or a boundary encroachment
• The property is held in a trust or a company, or the sale has structuring or tax consequences
• There is an existing dispute with a neighbour, a tenant or the owners corporation

What each does on a standard sale

Whichever you engage, the scope of work on an ordinary residential sale is the same.

• Preparing the Contract for Sale and ordering the certificates that attach to it
• Advising on the terms that are yours to set, including the settlement period and any special conditions
• Dealing with the buyer's representative on requested amendments
• Arranging exchange, and holding or directing the deposit
• Coordinating settlement, including the discharge of your mortgage
• Calculating the adjustments for council rates, water rates and strata levies

What each costs

For a straightforward residential sale in New South Wales, conveyancing professional fees commonly run around $980. Solicitors generally charge more for the same work, though the gap is not always wide and some firms price competitively for standard transfers.

Separate from the professional fee are the searches and certificates, charged at cost and typically totalling $200 to $400. These are the same regardless of who acts, because they come from the council, the water authority and the titles register rather than from the firm.

Both licensed conveyancers and solicitors are required to hold professional indemnity insurance, so that is not a point of difference between them.

Ask for a fixed fee quote in writing, and ask what is excluded. The common exclusion is anything non-standard, which is precisely the situation where the cost difference between the two matters.

The questions worth asking

The useful questions are practical, and the answers tell you more than the title does.

• Who will actually do the work on my file, and what qualification do they hold
• If something comes up outside the transfer, do you handle it or refer it out
• How many residential sales have you acted on in this suburb or council area in the last year
• What is your fixed fee, and what falls outside it
• How quickly can you have the Contract for Sale ready once I instruct you
• How do I reach you, and how quickly do you respond during a campaign

Engaging one when you sell privately

Selling without an agent changes nothing about this relationship. You engage the conveyancer or solicitor directly, they act for you, and they bill you directly. The absence of an agent does not increase what the legal representative has to do.

What does change is timing. Because the Contract for Sale must exist before the property is advertised in New South Wales, instructing them is the first task of a private sale rather than a later one. Preparation usually takes two to three weeks, most of it waiting on the council and the water authority, so everything else in the campaign is scheduled behind it.