Conveyancing History

In NSW as with all States in Australia , if you want to buy or sell your house, land or investment property you’ll have to sign a contract of sale. The legal work involved in executing this sales contract, mortgage and other related documents, is called conveyancing. "Conveying" the ownership of property from one person or entity to another.  You can do it yourself (not recommended) or you can have a solicitor or licenced conveyancer do it for you but before you start organising your conveyancing, it’s important to do your homework first.

Modern conveyancing gets its roots from English legal systems dating back to 1290 AD.  The system was complicated with each document creating a chain of proof of ownership and is now referred to as "Old System Title". This was the method used in the early days of colonisation in Australia. In 1857 Sir Robert Torrens introduced a Real Property Act in South Australia which provided for the owners of land to be registered and a certificate of title issue. This is known as the Torrens system of title registration. The system was gradually introduced throughout Australia and subsequently adopted in England, New Zealand, parts of Canada and the USA. There is still a small amount of property held in NSW as "Old System"but this is being transferred to the Torrens system as properties are sold.

From the late 1790's in New South Wales, conveyancers practiced without any legal status or recognition. In 1847 an approved system of certifying conveyancers became established. The Practice of Conveyancing Act (2 Vic 33) provided that a person could apply (for a fee) to the Supreme Court to become a certified conveyancer. There were never more then 73 certified conveyancers practicing in New South Wales up to the Introduction of the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Act in 1933. This Act provided that no further certificates to practice as a conveyancer would be granted and the number declined with the natural passing of time.  Eventually, by 1967 the four remaining conveyancers were granted unrestricted Solicitor's Certificates by the Law Society of New South Wales.

By 1989 a small group of unregulated practicing conveyancers joined together to create and develop a cohesive body, The Association of Property Conveyancers Ltd. to lobby the State Government to re-establish official regulatory licensing of conveyancers.  After much lobbying of NSW State parliamentarians the profession gained recognition with the passing in 1992 of the Conveyancers Licensing Act which acknowledged there was a role for non-lawyers in conveyancing.  The initial number of licenses granted under the Act was 43. About this time, the NSW Government introduced a deregulation approach to the legal profession to break the monopoly of solicitors. In 1994 the legal profession became deregulated in that no longer were costs in most aspects fixed to a scale. It also became apparent that the conveyancers Licensing Act 1992 was only partially able to expand consumer choice and break the conveyancing monopoly as the scope of work that could be carried out by licensed conveyancers was restricted and the control by the Law Society was anti-competitive.

The Conveyancers Licensing Act 1995 was passed which expanded the work that could be performed by licensed conveyancers to encompass commercial and rural property and businesses. It also passed control of the profession from the Law Society to the Department of Fair Trading as it was most desirable to have an independent body administer the Act.  Some aspects such as the conduct of conveyancers come under the Legal Professions Act and the Legal Services Commissioner oversees this. Since the 1992 Act, the number of licensed conveyancers has grown with a proliferation of conveyancing firms now offering specialist conveyancing services to the public. 

The profession is rapidly expanding with a large number of students emerging each year from the Macquarie and Southern Cross Universities and TAFE where they undertake an average two year course in conveyancing law and practice. As public awareness grows of the profession, the public has considered licensed conveyancers as their first choice when buying or selling property.  Conveyancers are encouraged to explain the processes in plain English to their clients without confusing legalese for which many clients have expressed their appreciation. The longer established firms report that a considerable amount of work comes from past client referral which indicates a high degree of client satisfaction.

Source: Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW Division web site www.aicnsw.com.au