Legal Services Board

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Regulation of conveyancers

• On this page:
• What is conveyancing?
• Regulation of conveyancers
• Can a conveyancer carry out legal work?
• Who can help me with if I have problems with a conveyancer?

What is conveyancing?

Conveyancing is working carried out in connection with certain property transactions including, for example, the sale of a freehold interest in land or the grant of a mortgage.

Conveyancing work may be performed by lawyers and by people who are not lawyers.

However, the Conveyancing Act 2006 (Vic) restricts the carrying on of conveyancing business by non-lawyers for fee or reward. Non-lawyers wishing to carry on a conveyancing business must be licensed by the Business Licensing Authority and comply with other requirements under the Act.

Regulation of conveyancers

The Board has regulatory responsibility for lawyers and for people who engage in legal practice without being lawfully permitted to do so. As such, the Board is not responsible for the regulation of non-lawyer conveyancers, unless they engage in legal practice that is not permitted.

Non-lawyer conveyancers are licensed and regulated under the Conveyancing Act. For further information, please contact Consumer Affairs Victoria.

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Can a conveyancer carry out legal work?

Licensed conveyancers are authorised to carry out some legal work in connection with conveyancing transactions including preparing agreements, conveyances, transfers, leases or mortgages in the course of those transactions.

However, non-lawyer conveyancers may not carry out legal work that is not “conveyancing work” within the meaning of section 2 of the Conveyancing Act.  Conveyancing work does not include, for example, legal work connected with the sale of a business, or carried out for the purpose of:

• commencing or running legal proceedings
• establishing a corporation or varying the constitution of a corporation
• creating, varying or extinguishing a trust or
• giving investment or financial advice

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Who can help me with if I have problems with a conveyancer?

If you have problems with a non-lawyer conveyancer, please refer to information available from Consumer Affairs Victoria.

If you would like to make a complaint about a lawyer, whether in relation to conveyancing or other legal work, please refer to the Legal Services Commissioner.

If you believe a non-lawyer conveyancer is doing legal work that is not conveyancing work, please contact the Board.

 

 

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• page updated 21.04.2009