Demands to level playing field for conveyancers in Queensland 

CONVEYANCERS are calling for equal footing with property lawyers in Queensland. 

The Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW has written to the Queensland Law Society and QLD State Premier David Crisafulli – while Leader of the Opposition – to suggest a change to current regulations. 

“This is the obvious future for Queensland,” said AIC NSW President Ann Blannin-Ferguson, who explained that the issue had been rumbling since last July when Queensland Law Society and Titles Queensland asked the NSW AIC for assistance on electronic conveyancing and interoperability. 

“I thought it was a bit cheeky of them to reach out to us because they got rid of licensed conveyancers back in the 1980s. 

“I understand they got rid of people who were working as conveyancers in their own right – the ones that had proper businesses were given a kind of restricted licence.” 

In NSW, conveyancing was officially reinstated as a profession in 1992 after years of legal advocacy. 

Despite this, Queensland has remained an outlier, according to Ann who added: “The QLS worked very hard at not allowing conveyancers to remain up there.” 

She said that changes under the Property Law Act 2023 as an ideal opportunity for reform. 

“With the reintroduction of vendor disclosure … why can’t their QLD paralegals be elevated into an acknowledged profession and are able to run their own businesses?” she said. 

“There’s no reason paralegals couldn’t be licensed conveyancers and on par with our professionals.” 

“In my letter to Mr Crisafulli I pointed out that with the introduction of vendor disclosure, they really did need proper conveyancers who specialise in this area. 

The responses so far have been underwhelming though. 

“I haven’t had many responses back to be honest,” she said. 

A Queensland government spokesman this week issued a terse statement, saying: “The Government is not currently considering any changes to the relevant laws.” 

Earlier, Ann had said: “They’ve obviously waded through all our correspondence and thought maybe that’s a bit too difficult.” 

Ann quoted the NSW Legal Services Commissioner in support of her argument for putting conveyancers in Queensland and NSW on a level playing field. 

“It’s long been the position of this office that the day-to-day work of conveyancers does not differ from legal work carried out by lawyers,” she quoted. 

“The work done by conveyancers is indistinguishable from the legal work of conveyancing using solicitors.” 

In NSW under the Legal Profession Uniform Law, conveyancers are recognised as part of the legal profession. 

“You’ve got barristers, you’ve got lawyers slash solicitors and then you’ve got conveyancers,” she said. 

Despite the lack of formal recognition, conveyancing paralegals do much of the legal work already, according to Ann. 

“The majority of legal firms that do conveyancing actually employ licensed conveyancers to do the majority of it here in NSW,” she said. 

Ann said: “It’s time for the Queensland Law Society to acknowledge what’s coming. 

“This is the future. We’re not going to be able to stop it from happening.” 

“You can put in place standards, standards of education, standards of practice. 

“License them to do what we do in NSW. 

“Queensland’s evolving legal landscape demands reform. 

“It’s just becoming much more complex than it used to. 

“Why not have people who specialise in that area and acknowledge them for their knowledge and their experiences?” 

She added: “Allow them to bill for their time rather than just work for wages from a lawyer.”

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