Guide

Conveyancer vs Solicitor NSW: What's the Difference?

5 min readUpdated 17 May 2026

Both a licensed conveyancer and a solicitor can legally act on a NSW property transfer, and for most routine purchases either will get you to settlement. The two professions sit under different licensing regimes, charge different fees, and handle different ends of complexity. This guide explains the practical difference, when each is the right choice, and what tends to happen if a routine matter turns out not to be routine after all. It's general information only — for advice on your specific transaction, confirm with a licensed practitioner.

Who licenses each profession

The licensing regimes are separate, and they matter because they define what each practitioner is allowed to do and where you complain if something goes wrong.

Conveyancers are licensed in NSW under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 (NSW) and regulated by NSW Fair Trading. The public register of licensed conveyancers is searchable on the Fair Trading website.
Solicitors are admitted under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) and regulated by the Law Society of New South Wales, with discipline overseen by the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC).
Both professions are required to hold Professional Indemnity insurance and to maintain a regulated trust account for client funds passing through settlement.

What each is allowed to do

The defining difference is scope. A conveyancer is licensed for a defined set of transactional work — preparing, reviewing, and completing the legal documents that transfer real property. A solicitor can do everything a conveyancer can do, plus everything else: contested matters, litigation, family law, estate administration, commercial structuring, and any dispute that needs to be argued in court or in formal correspondence. If your transaction is and stays purely transactional, a conveyancer covers it. If it has a dispute, an estate, or a non-property legal question attached, you need a solicitor.

The cost difference

For a standard residential transfer in NSW in 2026, the fee gap is meaningful but not enormous:

Licensed conveyancer: $1,099 to $1,600 professional fee, plus $300 to $600 in disbursements.
Solicitor (property work only): $1,500 to $3,500+ professional fee, plus the same disbursements. Boutique CBD firms sit at the top of that range; suburban general-practice solicitors often quote at the lower end and can be competitive with a conveyancer.
Conveyancing fees in NSW are not based on property value — a $900,000 apartment and a $2.4 million house attract the same fixed fee for the same scope of work.

When a conveyancer is the right choice

A licensed conveyancer is the standard, lower-cost option for routine residential work — which is the bulk of the Sydney market. Choose a conveyancer when:

It's a clean torrens-title transfer with no caveats, easements of concern, or registered disputes.
It's a strata purchase or sale with a standard contract and a recent, readable strata report.
It's a straightforward house-and-land package with a reputable developer and a contract that doesn't depart from the standard NSW form.
It's a first home purchase with a standard lender and no unusual structuring.
Both sides of the transaction are individuals (not companies, trusts, or estates) and there's no family-law overlay.

When a solicitor is the safer call

Pay the extra for a solicitor — usually one who advertises a property-law focus — when the matter has any of the following attached. The cost difference buys you the ability to handle a dispute without referring out mid-transaction.

Deceased estate sales, where a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration sit upstream of the contract.
Off-the-plan apartments with sunset-clause concerns, lengthy completion timelines, or developer-friendly variation clauses you want negotiated before exchange.
Caveats, registered mortgages from undischarged lenders, boundary disputes, or unresolved encroachments on the title search.
Heritage-listed property, old-system or limited title, or land with restrictive covenants you may want to challenge.
Property settling under a binding financial agreement or family-court order (e.g. divorce or separation).
Company- or trust-owned property where the structuring affects stamp duty and capital gains treatment.
Cross-border transactions with an overseas vendor or buyer, FIRB approval issues, or unusual identity verification needs.

What happens if a problem surfaces mid-transaction

This is the practical risk of choosing a conveyancer for a matter that turns out not to be routine. A licensed conveyancer is not authorised to provide legal advice on contested issues — if a caveat appears on the title two days before settlement, if the vendor refuses to complete, if a deposit dispute arises, or if a sunset clause is triggered, the conveyancer must refer the matter out to a solicitor. You then pay both: the conveyancer's fee for work already done, plus the solicitor's fee from that point forward, usually on hourly rates rather than a fixed scope. The total can comfortably exceed what a solicitor would have charged from the start. For genuinely simple transactions this rarely happens; for anything in the list above, factor it into the decision.

Complaint paths if something goes wrong

Both professions have a defined regulator and a public complaint process. Keep these in mind when you choose, because the complaint mechanism is part of what your fee buys.

Conveyancers: complaints go to NSW Fair Trading, which can investigate, mediate, and in serious cases suspend or cancel the licence.
Solicitors: complaints go to the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC), which works with the Law Society of NSW on conduct issues and can refer matters to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Both regimes give you access to fidelity-fund compensation if a practitioner misappropriates trust money — separate from the practitioner's Professional Indemnity insurance.

How to decide in practice

If the contract is standard, the title is clean, and both sides of the deal are individuals, a licensed conveyancer is the cost-effective default. If anything on your title search, contract review, or family situation looks unusual, get a written quote from a property-focused solicitor before you exchange — most will scope a fixed fee for property work even though they're qualified to do far more. Either way, get the engagement terms in writing, confirm the practitioner is currently licensed (Fair Trading public register for conveyancers; Law Society public register for solicitors), and ask who personally will run the file day-to-day.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can a conveyancer do everything a solicitor can on a NSW property sale?

No. A licensed conveyancer can handle the transactional work — contract preparation, review, and settlement — but cannot advise on contested issues, disputes, or matters outside property law. A solicitor can do everything a conveyancer does, plus disputes, estates, and litigation. For a routine sale or purchase the difference rarely matters; for anything contested it matters a lot.

Is a conveyancer cheaper than a solicitor in NSW?

Usually yes. A conveyancer typically charges $1,099 to $1,600 for a standard residential transaction in 2026. A solicitor doing the same work typically charges $1,500 to $3,500+. Disbursements are the same for both. The gap reflects scope of practice and overhead, not quality of the transactional work itself.

Do both conveyancers and solicitors carry insurance?

Yes. Professional Indemnity insurance is a condition of licensing for both. Both also operate regulated trust accounts for client funds passing through settlement, and both regimes back this with a fidelity fund if money is misappropriated.

What happens if I hire a conveyancer and a dispute comes up?

The conveyancer must refer the disputed part of the matter to a solicitor, because they're not authorised to advise on contested issues. You'll typically pay the conveyancer for work already done plus the solicitor's hourly rate from that point forward. For property with caveats, deceased estates, sunset-clause concerns, or family-law overlays, starting with a solicitor often costs less overall.

Where do I complain if something goes wrong?

For a conveyancer, complaints go to NSW Fair Trading. For a solicitor, complaints go to the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC), which works alongside the Law Society of NSW. Both regulators publish their complaint processes online and can take regulatory action against the licence or practising certificate.

How do I check if a conveyancer or solicitor is currently licensed?

NSW Fair Trading maintains a public register of licensed conveyancers, searchable by name. The Law Society of NSW maintains a public register of solicitors with current practising certificates. Check both before signing an engagement letter — a current licence is the minimum threshold for either profession.