In Victoria you can use either a licensed conveyancer or a lawyer to handle your property purchase.
Conveyancers must be licensed and insured. They are regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria. Generally, to get a licence they must have completed at least 12 months full-time experience supervised by a lawyer or licensed conveyancer. As of April 2027, they must also undertake mandatory continuing professional development.
Lawyers don't need a conveyancing licence, due to their significant qualifications (law degree and post-graduate legal traineeship). They must be admitted to practice and hold a current practising certificate. They must satisfy continuing professional development (learning to stay up to date on legal changes) and character tests.
Australian lawyers can practise in all States and Territories.
Lawyers can handle the property transfer, and they can also advise on disputes, complex title issues and anything that falls outside a standard transaction.
Lawyers are regulated by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner and have coverage under the legal profession indemnity scheme (insurance).
| Factor | Licensed conveyancer | Property lawyer |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed by | Business Licensing Authority | Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner |
| Regulated by | Consumer Affairs Victoria, under the Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic) | Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner |
| Handles the transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Can give legal advice | Only where it is consequential or ancillary to the transaction itself | Yes, without that limit |
| Disputes and litigation | No | Yes |
| Complex title, caveats, easement disputes | Limited, usually refers out | Yes |
| Planning and development consent advice | No, expressly excluded by statute | Yes |
| Typical cost | Lower | Higher |
| Legal professional privilege | Does not apply. Confidentiality duties only | Applies |
Sources: Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic), s 4; Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner; Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 117.
The value of a lawyer shows up when a transaction stops being standard. Often you don't know that in advance, which is the why lawyers are often preferred, not because an experienced conveyancer does the work badly.
Ask your conveyancer when they would have to refer work to a lawyer. Consider the costs of a lawyer to take on the extra work on short notice. These fees may be highe than with a firm that you are already working with for your purchase.
Consider a lawyer if:
What a conveyancer legally cannot do
This isn't a question of skill. Section 4(3) of the Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic) puts a specific list of legal work that might relate to a property transaction outside "conveyancing work" altogether. A licensed conveyancer cannot take it on, however competent they are.
That list includes initiating legal proceedings, creating or varying trusts, preparing wills, applying for probate or letters of administration, establishing a company, financial or investment advice, and two that catch property buyers out: advice on obtaining planning or development and use consent, and adverse possession or boundary applications under the Transfer of Land Act 1958.
If you intend to renovate, extend, subdivide or change how the land is used, the advice you need on whether that's achievable sits outside what a conveyancer is permitted to give.
The general principle: a conveyancer manages a transaction. A lawyer can also manage what happens when the transaction goes wrong.
Related: what to check before you make an offer
Ask these of anyone, conveyancer or lawyer.
Question 1
Someone who knows your file from the beginning makes a real difference when a question arises at 4pm on the day before settlement. Ask who you'll actually be dealing with, and whether that changes after you sign.
Question 2
Property moves quickly. Ask what their response time is, who you call when your main contact is away, and whether you'll get a person or a queue.
Question 3
Property transactions move large sums and sensitive documents. Ask what their tech security looks like, how they verify payment details, how they handle identity documents, and what happens if you receive changed bank details by email. A firm that can't answer this cleanly is a risk.
Question 4
Experience shows up when deadlines are tight and something unexpected appears. Ask how much of their work is property, and how many matters your advisor will be handling.
Question 5
Ask for the fixed fee in writing, and separately for an estimate of disbursements: title searches, certificates, out of pocket expenses. They should be confidently explaining their costs without hidden fees and explaining what would cause the price to change.
Question 6
Price matters. So does whether you believe this person will have your back at the point it counts. If you're being rushed, patronised, or given vague answers before you've engaged, that's information.
Both are publicly verifiable in a couple of minutes, and both registers are free.
Lawyers and law practices
Search the Register of Lawyers, maintained by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner. You can filter by individual lawyer or by law practice, and the register also shows disciplinary action.
Search by name. Practices hold a legal entity ID beginning E00, but that identifier isn't published on the public register, so name is what you match on.
Licensed conveyancers
Search the public register of licensed conveyancers, maintained by the Business Licensing Authority and searchable through Consumer Affairs Victoria.
The register shows the licensee's name, licence number, licence type, business name and any conditions on the licence.
Ask for the licence number, then check it against the register yourself. Anyone legitimate will give it without hesitation. Pay attention to conditions on the licence as well as its existence, a licence can be current and still restricted.
Two separate numbers, and they're often conflated.
Professional fees
What you pay for the work. Conveyancer-led is typically lower; lawyer-led is typically higher. The gap reflects capability, not padding.
Disbursements
Third-party costs passed through: title and plan searches, council and water certificates, land tax certificates etc. Largely the same whoever you engage.
Questions worth asking:
The cheapest quote isn't always the lowest cost. A low professional fee with marked-up disbursements and per-item charges can land higher than a fixed fee that includes everything. Ask for the total.
Property settlements are a standing target, because they involve large one-off transfers to an account the buyer has never paid before.
The pattern: someone intercepts or spoofs an email in the chain and sends you updated bank details shortly before a deposit or settlement payment. The email looks legitimate. The details are not.
Payment redirection fraud is not always covered by standard Professional Indemnity insurance.
How to protect yourself:
This is a fair question to ask before you engage anyone. How they answer tells you a lot.
Either can handle a residential purchase. Licensed conveyancers are licensed by the Business Licensing Authority and regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria under the Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic), and handle the transfer. Property lawyers are admitted to legal practice and can also deal with disputes, complex title issues and matters outside a standard transaction. For a straightforward purchase, a conveyancer is usually sufficient.
Advise outside the scope of conveyancing work, act in disputes and litigation, and handle complex matters such as contested caveats and easements, company share and stratum properties, trust and company structures, and off-the-plan complications. Section 4(3) of the Conveyancers Act 2006 (Vic) also puts planning and development consent advice, adverse possession applications, trusts, wills and estates outside a conveyancer's remit.
Generally yes on professional fees. Disbursements such as searches, certificates and PEXA fees are broadly similar either way. Compare the total, not the headline fee.
Lawyers and law practices appear on the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner Register of Lawyers. Licensed conveyancers appear on the Business Licensing Authority public register of licensed conveyancers, searchable through Consumer Affairs Victoria. Search by name, and ask for the licence number so you can match it.
No. Legal professional privilege protects confidential communications with a lawyer for the dominant purpose of legal advice. A licensed conveyancer is not a lawyer, so privilege does not attach. Conveyancers do owe confidentiality duties, but confidentiality is not the same as privilege and does not resist a subpoena or a regulator's compulsory notice.
Who handles the file from start to finish, what their response times are, how they protect your money and identity documents, how much of their work is property, what the fixed fee includes and excludes, and what would change the price.
Never act on bank details sent by email. Verify any details or changes by phone using a number you already had. Agree the payment process with your conveyancer or lawyer before any money moves, and treat urgency as a warning sign.
Prepared Prime
The contract is worth reading before you offer, not after. That is true regardless of who ends up handling your settlement.
If you'd like us to read the next one, Prepared Prime gives you unlimited contract reviews while you're house-hunting, each prepared by a qualified property lawyer and back within 4 business hours. Normally $49 a review. Free for your first 90 days.
Prepared Legal Services Pty Ltd is an Australian legal practice regulated by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner, legal entity ID E0030050. You can find us by name on the Register of Lawyers — exactly as this page suggests you do with anyone.
When should you get the contract reviewed?
What to check before you make an offer