New South Wales conveyancers: licences, limits and costs disclosure

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Most people who buy or sell a home in New South Wales never read the contract clause by clause. They hand it to somebody who does, and that somebody is either a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. NSW Fair Trading, the state regulator, describes the two as equally qualified to do conveyancing. They are not regulated in the same way, though, and the difference matters when a client wants to know what the person acting for them is allowed to do, what they must be told about the bill, and where to turn if something goes wrong.

This guide follows the conveyancer's side of that picture as NSW Fair Trading sets it out on its pages for conveyancers and for buyers and sellers. It covers when a licence is needed, the two kinds of licence and the routes to each, who is barred from holding one, the application and renewal procedure, the work a conveyancer may not take on, the written costs disclosure, the rules of conduct, insurance and trust money, continuing professional development, and the regulator's disciplinary powers. It describes the general rules for New South Wales only. Other states and territories license the profession under their own laws, and how any rule applies to one person or one sale depends on the facts of that case.

NSW Fair Trading, pages on conveyancer licences and on conducting a conveyancing business, read in October 2026.

What conveyancing covers

NSW Fair Trading defines conveyancing, on its page for buyers and sellers, as the legal work involved in preparing a sales contract, a mortgage and other related documents. A person may do their own, but the regulator notes that most people engage a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor.

The same page lists what the work usually involves for a purchase, in order. It starts with examining the contract for sale, arranging building and pest inspections and, where the property is in a strata scheme, examining the strata inspection report. Finance is arranged if needed, the contract is exchanged and the deposit is paid. Then come arranging the payment of stamp duty, preparing and examining the mortgage agreement, checking for outstanding arrears or land tax obligations, checking whether swimming pool compliance documents are needed, checking whether a government authority has an interest in the land or whether planned development could affect the property, and finding out about undisclosed matters such as fence disputes or illegal building work. Towards the end, council and water rate adjustments are calculated, the change of title is overseen with NSW Land Registry Services, final checks are made and settlement is attended.

A person who decides to do all this alone is allowed to, and the regulator spells out the cost of that freedom. Do-it-yourself kits generally provide guidance material only. The person remains personally liable for any problem with the sale, even after following the instructions, and may find it difficult to buy the same level of insurance that a professional carries.

When a licence is required

In New South Wales, conveyancers must be licensed with NSW Fair Trading. According to the regulator, a conveyancer licence is required under Part 5 of the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 for certain legal work on property transactions: the sale or lease of land, the sale of a business, and the grant of a mortgage or other charge on property.

Lawyers stand outside the scheme. Fair Trading states that legal practitioners, incorporated legal practices and solicitor corporations do not need a conveyancer licence. The separation runs both ways, as the section on disqualification below shows: a legal practitioner cannot hold a conveyancer licence either. A client therefore deals with one regulated profession or the other, never with a person who is both at once.

A licence is issued to an individual or to a corporation, and for a term of 1, 3 or 5 years. It takes effect on the day it is issued, or on a later date if one is specified. Where conveyancers work in partnership, each partner must be licensed, unless the Fair Trading Commissioner approves a partnership with an unlicensed person.

The regulator also recognises licences issued elsewhere in Australia. Under Automatic Mutual Recognition, its page says, the holder of an equivalent interstate licence can work in New South Wales without a NSW licence, unless they move their primary residence to the state. They must notify NSW Fair Trading of their intention to work under the arrangement and must follow NSW laws while doing so. Not every state takes part, and the arrangement does not apply to New Zealand licences, which fall under Trans-Tasman arrangements instead. Overseas qualifications are not approved for NSW licensing.

Full and restricted licences

There are two grades of licence. An unrestricted licence, which Fair Trading also calls a full licence, covers residential and commercial conveyancing, mortgages, business sales and rural property sales. A restricted licence, in the regulator's words, limits the work its holder can do unless they are under the supervision of a full licensee or of an Australian legal practitioner who holds an unrestricted practising certificate. The holder is limited to specific kinds of transaction, with residential conveyancing given as the example. The page does not spell out how far supervision widens that scope in a given case, which depends on the conditions of the licence itself.

The applicant does not simply choose a grade. Fair Trading says its licensing officers decide between a full and a restricted licence on the evidence of work experience that the applicant provides.

Qualifications are set by the Conveyancers Licensing (Qualifications) Order 2006, in its Schedule 1. Each grade can be reached by a conveyancing route or by a legal route, and the difference between the grades lies in the experience required.

Who may hold a licence

An individual applicant, the regulator says, must be at least 18 years old, be a fit and proper person within section 10 of the Act, hold appropriate qualifications and experience, not be a disqualified person, meet the insurance requirements and contribute to the Property Services Compensation Fund. The contribution is paid with the application fee.

A corporation is assessed through its people. Each director must be a fit and proper person, neither the corporation nor any director or executive officer may be a disqualified person, the corporation must contribute to the compensation fund, and at least one director must hold an individual conveyancer licence. A company cannot hold a licence with nobody licensed on its board.

Fair Trading's list of disqualified persons is long. It includes a person convicted of a dishonesty offence within the last 10 years, a person disqualified or suspended in another state or territory, a person who has not paid a compensation fund contribution or a monetary penalty, and a person who did not lodge a trust money auditor's report on time. Unless the Commissioner grants an exemption, an undischarged bankrupt is disqualified, as is a person who was bankrupt within the last 3 years. A licensee must not knowingly employ or pay a disqualified person in connection with the business without the Commissioner's permission.

Two entries protect the separation between professions. A person who holds a licence or certificate under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002, the law that governs real estate agents in the state, is a disqualified person. So is a legal practitioner. In practice this means the conveyancer handling a sale is not at the same time licensed as the agent selling the property.

Applying, renewing and restoring a licence

Applications are made online through Service NSW, for an individual or a corporation licence, and the regulator estimates that the form takes about 20 minutes. An unsuccessful applicant receives written reasons and is told what options remain. The licence fees are published on a separate Fair Trading page that was not read for this guide, so no amounts are given here.

Renewal has to happen before the licence expires. Fair Trading sends a renewal notice about 4 weeks before the expiry date. To renew, the holder must have completed the required professional development and must still be a fit and proper person who is not disqualified. If the licence is not renewed by the due date it expires, and the holder cannot conduct business.

An expired licence is not always lost. If it expired less than 3 months ago it can be restored online, the licence number is kept and the licence is treated as renewed from the expiry date. If more than 3 months have passed, restoration may not be available, and the person would need to apply again and could not trade until the new licence is issued. A licence that was surrendered or cancelled cannot be restored at all.

The work a conveyancer may not do

The licence has edges, and a client with a matter near one of them needs to know where they are. Fair Trading lists the work a conveyancer is not authorised to do.

• Acting on a non-residential mortgage exceeding A$7 million.
• Commencing or maintaining legal proceedings.
• Establishing a corporation, or varying its constitution.
• Creating, varying or extinguishing a trust.
• Preparing a testamentary instrument, such as a will.
• Giving investment or financial advice.
• Investing money, other than in a trust account under Part 5 of the Act.

Each item marks a point where a property transaction turns into something else. A dispute over a deposit that ends in court is no longer conveyancing, and a buyer who wants a company or a trust set up to hold the property needs that structure created by somebody else.

The mortgage ceiling applies to non-residential mortgages only, and only above the stated amount. On the regulator's wording, a commercial loan of A$6.5 million secured by mortgage sits inside the licence and one of A$7.5 million sits outside it; these two figures are illustrations, not market data.

What must be disclosed to the client

The disclosure rules are the part of the scheme a client meets first. Fair Trading says a licensee must disclose to the client the amount of the costs if it is known. If it is not known, the licensee must disclose the basis on which the costs will be calculated, together with an estimate. Billing arrangements must be disclosed. So must the client's rights, under Part 4 of the Act, to have a costs dispute heard by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, known as NCAT. Any conflict of interest or beneficial interest that the Regulation requires to be disclosed is part of the same disclosure. Where the licensee also does non-conveyancing work for the client, that fact and the nature of the work must be disclosed too.

What a conveyancing bill is made of is described on the regulator's page for buyers and sellers. Professional fees are the charge for the work and vary between providers. Disbursements, charged on top, may include a title search, certificate fees from water, electricity, road and school authorities, photocopying, and the registration of the mortgage and of the transfer.

The form and the timing are fixed. The disclosure is made under Part 3, Division 5 of the Act, in writing and in clear, plain language. It is made before the licensee is retained or when the licensee is retained. If that is not reasonably practicable, it is made as soon as possible afterwards.

Rules of conduct and the running of the business

The rules of conduct sit in Schedule 2 of the Conveyancers Licensing Regulation 2021. Fair Trading summarises their subjects: dealing honestly, fairly and professionally with clients and other parties; doing the work competently, with reasonable skill, care and diligence; keeping clients informed about their matters; keeping records of certain communications; keeping client information confidential; never letting a conflict of interest interfere with a client's best interests; disclosing an interest when referring clients to service providers; the termination and transfer of client matters; conducting another business alongside a conveyancing business; giving advice on loan or security documents; honouring undertakings; and knowing the relevant laws. Rule 11 of the Schedule deals with one particular conflict, the one between duties owed to a former client and to a current client.

Breaking a rule of conduct has two separate consequences. The regulator states that failing to comply is an offence under section 8 of the Regulation, and that this is in addition to disciplinary action under Part 9 of the Act.

The business itself is regulated as closely as the person. A licensee cannot be in charge of more than one place of business, so a firm with two offices must employ a separate licence holder to be in charge of each, and the same holds for a corporation. The Commissioner may grant an exemption, which Fair Trading says is generally reserved for remote offices where a licensee in charge at each branch is hard to arrange. The licensee is responsible for supervising the business conducted under the licence and for the work done by employees, and must establish, monitor and enforce procedures to ensure that the relevant laws are complied with.

Records are covered by Part 6 of the Regulation. Originals or copies of all documents for a transaction are kept, including associated documents such as inspection reports and requisitions and other records such as letters, file notes, invoices and settlement sheets. They are kept in a separate file for that transaction only, safely, for at least 7 years unless lawfully transferred to another licensee or a legal practitioner. Records that the licensee is required to make or produce must be in English. Trading under a name other than the licensee's own requires the approval of the NSW Fair Trading Commissioner.

Insurance, trust money and the compensation fund

Three protections stand behind a client's money and a client's claim.

The first is insurance. All licensed conveyancers doing conveyancing work must hold professional indemnity insurance, a requirement Fair Trading places in section 6 of the Conveyancers Licensing Regulation 2021. A conveyancer can hold a policy of their own, be covered by an employer's policy, or work only as an employee of a complying law practice. The policy must be an approved one. For the period from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the regulator names a master policy issued by AAI Limited, trading as Vero Insurance, under the number LPS022960493, and describes it as the only current policy approved by the Fair Trading Commissioner for licensed conveyancers. A conveyancer returning from an extended break is expected to have the cover reinstated before resuming work.

The second is the audit of trust money. Records of trust money held by conveyancers must be audited. The audit period ends on 30 June each year, and the auditor's report must be submitted no later than 30 September, which is within three months of the period ending. The deadline carries real weight, because a person who failed to lodge a trust money auditor's report on time is a disqualified person.

The third is the Property Services Compensation Fund, which NSW Fair Trading administers and to which every licensee contributes. If a conveyancer is dishonest with money entrusted to them, the regulator says, a client may be able to claim from the fund. The wording is "may": the fund answers dishonesty with entrusted money, and whether a particular loss qualifies is decided on the claim.

Electronic settlement adds one more safeguard. On its page about contracts and deposits, Fair Trading explains that to settle electronically a buyer must engage a lawyer or licensed conveyancer who subscribes to an Electronic Lodgment Network, and must give them a written Client Authorisation, photo identification and evidence of land ownership. If a licensee's access to the network is restricted, suspended or terminated, the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 means they are not required to complete the conveyancing work. They must, however, take all reasonable steps to ensure that the client, another licensee or a solicitor can complete it, so that the matter is not left stranded.

Continuing professional development

A licence is kept current by study. Fair Trading requires licence holders to complete 5 continuing professional development points, known as CPD points, in each 12-month period after the licence is issued or renewed. The activity must be relevant to conveyancing and run by someone qualified in the subject.

Points are earned at different rates. One hour of participation in a seminar, workshop, lecture, conference, webinar or discussion group, online or in person, earns 1 point. So does one hour spent preparing material for a conveyancing course. A published legal article earns 1 point per 1,000 words, up to a maximum of 3 points. Private study of conveyancing or legal audio or video material earns 1 point for every 2 hours, again up to a maximum of 3.

A worked example shows how the caps operate, with invented activities. A conveyancer who attends a three-hour webinar earns 3 points, and a 2,000-word published article adds 2, for a total of 5: the year's requirement is met. A second conveyancer who writes a 4,500-word article would reach 4 points on the word count but is held to the maximum of 3. Eight hours of recorded lectures studied privately would also come to 4 points at the rate of one per two hours, and is likewise held to 3. The two capped activities together still give 6 points, and because surplus points can be carried forward for 12 months, the sixth counts towards the following period, leaving 4 to find.

The requirement is enforced at renewal. Evidence of 5 points for each 12-month period immediately before renewal or restoration is required, and failure to meet it may lead to refusal. On a three-year licence that amounts to 15 points across the term, counted period by period. Exemptions exist only for exceptional circumstances, of which the regulator gives serious illness and misadventure as examples.

Discipline, reviews and complaints

Disciplinary action under Part 9 of the Act can follow a breach of the Act or the Regulation, including the rules of conduct, a breach of a licence condition, becoming a disqualified person, ceasing to be fit and proper, failing to pay a compensation fund contribution, failing to comply with an undertaking or a direction, failing to pay a fine, or holding a licence obtained fraudulently or by mistake.

The process starts with a show cause notice, issued in writing, which must give the person at least 14 days to respond. The Commissioner's powers then range from a caution or reprimand, directions and undertakings, through conditions on the licence, to suspension for no longer than the unexpired term, cancellation, and disqualification either permanently or for a set period. A monetary penalty may be imposed of no more than A$11,000 for an individual and A$22,000 for a corporation, the corporate ceiling being twice the individual one. The regulator can also issue public warnings and appoint a manager to a business. Minor offences may be dealt with by penalty notice under Schedule 3 of the Regulation.

A person refused a licence, a renewal or a restoration, or who objects to a discretionary licence condition, has a two-stage path. The first stage is a written request to the Fair Trading Commissioner for an internal review, made within 28 days of being notified of the decision. Only after that review can the person apply to NCAT. The regulator's page gives no time limit for the application to the Tribunal.

For clients, the route depends on who acted. Fair Trading says complaints about a conveyancer go to NSW Fair Trading itself, while complaints about a solicitor go to the NSW Legal Services Commissioner. A disagreement about the bill has its own forum, since Part 4 of the Act gives the client the right to have a costs dispute heard by NCAT, the right that the costs disclosure must mention at the outset.

A New South Wales conveyancer's licence is defined as much by its edges as by its centre: a list of forbidden work, a written price, a file kept for years.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Agents Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for real estate professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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