In short. In Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria refers to a seller's legal practitioner or conveyancer holding the deposit in trust, so both professions act on sales there1. In Queensland, the government's buying guide tells buyers to appoint a solicitor who specialises in property or conveyancing3, and also says you may do your own conveyancing2.
What is the difference in practice?
A licensed conveyancer specialises in property transfers. That is the whole job: the contract, the searches, the adjustments, settlement, lodgement. A solicitor does that work too, and can also advise on matters that run past the transfer, such as a dispute with the vendor, a deceased estate, a trust structure or a family arrangement.
For an ordinary purchase of an established home with no complications, the work is the same either way. The difference shows up when something goes sideways and the answer needs legal advice, not just someone to manage the transaction.
What could we actually verify?
The table below lists only what an official page states in plain terms. Where we have not found that, the row says so.
| Jurisdiction | What the official source says |
|---|---|
| Victoria | Consumer Affairs Victoria refers to the seller's legal practitioner or conveyancer holding the deposit in trust, so both professions act on transactions1. |
| Queensland | The state buying guide tells buyers to appoint a solicitor3. The state also says you may do your own conveyancing, and should get legal advice even then2. |
| NSW, SA, WA, TAS, ACT, NT | Not yet confirmed from the regulator's own page. Check the public register for your state before you engage anyone. |
Rows are added only when an official page states the rule plainly, not when an industry article repeats it.
Is it true that Queensland is solicitors only?
You will often read that only solicitors may do conveyancing in Queensland. The official pages we checked do not put it in those words, and do not contradict it either. What the Queensland Government does publish is a buying guide that points you to a solicitor, suggesting you find a firm that specialises in property or conveyancing, alongside the statement that you may do your own conveyancing or have it done for you.
So the safe reading is narrower: in Queensland, the path the government describes for buyers who want help is to appoint a solicitor, and a buyer is not compelled to engage anyone at all. If you need the legal position, not just the practical one, ask the Queensland Law Society or the Legal Services Commission, and get it in writing.
We treat the ACT the same way. We did not find an official page setting out who may be engaged for conveyancing work, so there is no claim here in either direction.
Which should you engage?
General information, not legal advice. Which professional suits your purchase depends on the contract, the property and your circumstances, and on who is permitted to act in your state.
Start with the transaction, not the job title. A first purchase of an established house, one buyer, standard finance, nothing unusual on the title: a licensed conveyancer in a state that licenses them is built for exactly that kind of job.
Lean to a solicitor when the situation carries legal questions: buying with family, a deceased estate, a property with an access or easement problem, an off-the-plan contract with terms you want argued, a dispute that is already brewing. Ask each firm what it would do, and charge, if the matter becomes a dispute.
How do you check who you are hiring?
Ask for the licence or practising certificate number and look it up on the regulator's public register. Anyone legitimate will give it to you without a pause. It takes a few minutes and confirms you are dealing with someone who is regulated.
Then compare quotes on scope and disbursements as well as the headline fee, which the fees guide goes through line by line.
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