Law Plus Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of property from one person to another. It sounds simple, but it involves a series of checks, documents and deadlines that all have to line up correctly — miss one and settlement can be delayed, or worse, the deal can fall through. Here's what the process actually looks like, step by step.
1. Before you sign anything
For buyers, the most valuable step happens before the contract is signed: getting it reviewed. A contract of sale sets out the price, settlement date, inclusions, and any special conditions — and it's the special conditions that most often cause problems later. A lawyer reviewing the contract before you commit can flag issues like unfavourable finance clauses, unclear boundaries, or terms that shift risk onto the buyer. For sellers, this stage is about preparing an accurate contract and disclosure documents, since errors or omissions can give a buyer grounds to delay or walk away later.
2. Exchange of contracts
Exchange happens when both parties have signed identical copies of the contract and they're formally swapped — usually electronically these days. This is the point at which the sale becomes legally binding, subject to any cooling-off period or conditions (such as finance or a building and pest inspection). A deposit, typically 10% of the price, is usually paid at this point and held in trust until settlement.
Depending on the state, buyers may have a statutory cooling-off period after exchange during which they can withdraw, usually for a small penalty. See our state-by-state cooling-off guide for how this works in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
3. Searches and due diligence
Between exchange and settlement, your lawyer or conveyancer runs a series of searches to confirm there's nothing that could affect your ownership or use of the property — title searches, council and planning searches, land tax and rates searches, and checks for unregistered easements or encumbrances. If the property is a unit or townhouse, this also includes reviewing the owners corporation or body corporate records for upcoming special levies, disputes or defects.
4. Finance and conditions
If the contract is conditional on finance, the buyer's lender needs to formally approve the loan and value the property within the timeframe set out in the contract. Any other special conditions — such as a satisfactory building and pest inspection, or the sale of the buyer's existing property — also need to be satisfied or waived by their deadline. Missing a condition deadline can mean losing the right to rely on it.
5. Preparing for settlement
In the lead-up to settlement, your lawyer prepares the settlement figures — adjusting rates, water and any other outgoings between buyer and seller for the portion of the period each of you owns the property — and, for most residential transactions today, lodges the settlement electronically through PEXA. Buyers typically arrange a final pre-settlement inspection to confirm the property is in the same condition as when they inspected it, and that any agreed inclusions are still there.
6. Settlement day
On settlement day, the balance of the purchase price is paid, the title transfers to the new owner, and any existing mortgage on the property is discharged. For electronic settlements this all happens simultaneously through PEXA rather than requiring anyone to physically attend. Once settlement is confirmed, the buyer collects the keys and the sale is complete.
What varies from state to state
The broad shape of the process is similar across Australia, but the details differ — cooling-off periods, the standard contract form, stamp duty (transfer duty) rates and concessions, and the specific searches required all vary by state. Our Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns location pages cover some of the state-specific detail for Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Getting it right the first time
Most conveyancing problems trace back to something that could have been caught earlier — a contract clause no one queried, a search that wasn't run, or a deadline that slipped past. Our property and conveyancing lawyers handle residential and commercial matters across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and will walk you through exactly what to expect for your settlement before you commit to anything.