In short. A conveyancing quote has two parts: the professional fee for the work your conveyancer or solicitor does, and disbursements, which are amounts they pay to others on your behalf and pass on at cost. Compare the two separately, and ask what would push the fee above the quoted figure.
What are you actually being quoted for?
Conveyancing is the work that turns a signed contract into a registered change of ownership. In the Queensland Government's words, it involves all the steps needed to make sure the land is registered in the buyer's name at the land title office6. Each state runs that through its own system, but the shape of the job is the same.
A quote therefore covers labour and outlays. The labour is reviewing the contract, ordering and reading searches, dealing with the other side's representative, preparing the transfer, booking settlement and lodging the documents. The outlays are what gets bought along the way: certificates from councils and authorities, title searches, lodgement fees and the settlement platform charge. Those are the disbursements, and they are one reason two careful quotes differ.
Why is there no fee range on this page?
Because no government body publishes one. Fees are set by each firm, and we have not yet gathered enough dated, published price lists from licensed firms in each state to print a range we could stand behind. When we do, it will appear here with every firm's page listed as a source and labelled as industry data.
Until then, the most reliable figure is a written quote for your own purchase, in your own state, for your own type of property. Two or three of them, compared line by line, tell you more than an average would.
What should the professional fee cover?
Ask for the scope in writing. A quote for a straightforward purchase may not cover what can happen along the way: a delayed settlement, a second contract when the first falls over, strata records that turn up a special levy, or an extension to a finance clause. It is reasonable for a firm to charge for extra work. It is better to know the price of it before it happens.
In Queensland the state government notes that you may do your own conveyancing or have it done for you, and says to get legal advice even if you do it yourself4. Few buyers take that route, but it is a reminder that the fee pays for expertise and for someone carrying the risk of a mistake.
Fixed fee or hourly?
Some firms charge a set price for conveyancing, and the Queensland Government suggests asking for a detailed quote before you appoint anyone5. A set price makes comparison easier, as long as you check what falls outside it. Hourly billing is more likely when a matter is unusual: a deceased estate, a transfer between relatives, or a title problem such as a disputed easement. Neither is a trap by itself. A fixed fee with an unclear scope can be.
How does the fee compare with the duty?
Keep the fee in proportion. On a $750,000 home you will live in, transfer duty ranges from $19,600 to $40,070 across these four states, before any first home buyer relief. Put any quote you receive next to that figure.
Chart data
| Item | Duty payable |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | $27,937 |
| Victoria | $40,070 |
| Queensland | $19,600 |
| Western Australia | $29,741 |
None of that is a reason to ignore the fee. It is a reason to check the duty and any relief first, then compare quotes knowing what the rest of the settlement statement will hold.
Five questions before you engage anyone
- Is this a fixed fee, and what would take the work outside it?
- Which disbursements do you expect for this property, and which of them are estimates?
- Who does the work, and who will answer the phone the week before settlement?
- What is your licence or practising certificate number?
- What do I owe if the contract does not go ahead?
Ask the fourth question of everyone and check the answer on the regulator's public register. It is the quickest way to confirm you are dealing with someone who is regulated.
For firms: if you publish your conveyancing fees online and want a website that sets them out this plainly, see our website plan for conveyancing firms.