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Conveyancers feel squeezed by added compliance

SPECIAL REPORT

2024: THE ANNUAL INDUSTRY CHECK-UP

The Australian Conveyancer conducts its first annual nationwide check-up of the conveyancing industry. Leaders and decision-makers who represent more than 5,000 conveyancer provide their prognosis on a sector that is buffeted by legislative and technological change.

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AUSTRALIA SHUTS THE LAUNDRY DOOR

Of the $1.1 billion of criminals’ assets seized by AFP between July 2019 and June 2024, more than $720 million involved real estate. Now federal autho ...

SPECIAL REPORT

SUBURBAN SHIFT:
WE’RE MOVING OUT.

Outer suburbs that ring Australian capital cities are home to the country’s record population growth. Latest Australian Bureau of Statisti ...

SPECIAL REPORT

CONVEYANCERS:
WE’RE COOKED

Working in a high pressure, time-poor, multi-tasking environment, many Australian conveyancers are at risk of reaching burnout if they don’t heed the ...

SPECIAL REPORT

THRIVING IN THE AI REVOLUTION

Time poor and work-stressed conveyancers are turning to artificial intelligence to give themselves an edge in the workplace. The practitioners are adamant they don’t lose the personal touch with customers that provides unique value, but used smartly AI is like having an extra set of hands when it matters most. Australian Conveyancers examines best practice in the technology.

SPECIAL REPORT

AN INSPIRATION
TO ALL OF US

The property conveyancing industry in Australia is driven by a workforce that is predominantly female. There are numerous reasons for this but in a pr ...

Why we must navigate the state’s perfect storm

SPECIAL REPORT

FIGHTING THE
FORCE OF NATURE

A 30-year climate outlook is shaping the risk profile for properties prone to bushfires, floods and coast erosion. Scientific modelling reveals thousands of NSW homeowners and investors face a perfect storm with severe consequences to land values, zoned restrictions, and insurance premiums. The situation is being closer monitors by all states and territories.

SPECIAL REPORT

BETTER. FASTER. STRONGER

The Self-Improvement Issue. How to unlock opportunities. How to connect with customers.

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NEWSROOM

TOP STORY

Kickbacks to real estate agents should be illegal for all conveyancers

Passionate property lawyer George Sourris believes that allowing kickbacks in some states is leading to a race to the bottom mentality among practitioners. “I personally believe that paying for an introduction for a legal service is ethically incorrect to begin with,” he says. “I’d be happy to see it outlawed.” George, whose Queensland-based Empire Legal law firm is involved in hundreds of transactions a month, says the whole country should follow the regions where introduction fees are banned. Currently in Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania, legal firms are no

3 Key Reasons Why Conveyancing Pricing Models Are Unsustainable

Conveyancers campaign for competition reform

Why are practitioners devaluing the industry with cheap fees?

Female conveyancers outnumber men five to one

Baby Boomers behind soaring sales in Queensland

Door opens for first-home buyers to unlock ownership

AUKUS will need 24,500 new apartments for workforce

VOICES

States and territories created this problem. They need to step up to solve it in the interest of their citizens.

— Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh on eConveyancing reform delays.

VOICES

Running your own business is one of the most empowering, daunting, and thrilling experiences. It can also be lonely.

— Property Council Qld chief Jess Caire on running a practice.

VOICES

Overall, the demanding nature of the job can take a toll on a conveyancer’s mental and physical well-being.

— AIC Victoria president Shakila MacLean

VOICES

I know there are many households and small businesses that are struggling with interest rates where they are.

— Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock

VOICES

When a solicitor identifies a legal risk but considers they are unable to advise, they should liaise with their client about seeking specialist assistance.

— NSW Law Society guidance update

VOICES

We are behind the eight ball some decades against most of our competitors.

— Property Council CEO Mike Zorbas on the need for foreign capital to fund building projects.

VOICES

The industry needs 500,000 extra people into our sector if we are going to build those 1.2 million homes,

— MBA chief executive Denita Wawn.

Perth still housing market shining light in 2025

The City of Light’s property market will keep shining in 2025 as Sydney and Melbourne house prices continue to record falls of up to -5 per cent They’re the headline takeouts from SQM Research’s managing director Louis Christopher’s Housing Boom and Bust Report 2025. Nationally, dwelling prices will rise between 1 per cent to 4 per cent with Perth, Brisbane, Adelaid

Boomers flexing finances as younger Australians still feel pinch

New data from the Commonwealth Bank shows overall spending continues to trail inflation – up by just 1.5 per cent compared to the same time last year. Young Australians in the 18–29 bracket have cut back on spending by two per cent over the past year, with a notable decline in both essential (-2.3 per cent) and discretionary (-1.9 per cent) spending. The 30- to 39-year-olds als

HOT TOPICS

COMPETITION

Threats and opportunities in a free market

COMPLIANCE

Navigating the burden of responsibility

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

The numbers that drive our future

HOUSING CRISIS

Australia stepping up to the challenge

Panel to let developers bypass council scrutiny

Large-scale housing proposals will be allowed to avoid council as Australia’s most expensive housing market gets worse under decade-low approvals. Local communities will have less say on major housing developments as new homes laggard NSW tries to pull out of a nosedive. From early 2025, housing developments of about 100 homes in greater Sydney will be able to bypass coun