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The AIC actively advocates to advance the interests of the Conveyancing Profession on national issues, and has built strong partnerships with other industry stakeholders.

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History

25+ Years as the Peak Body supporting
the Conveyancing Profession Nationally

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What is the Australian Institute of Conveyancers?

We currently have Divisions of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers in New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia , Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia , with affiliations with the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers.

History of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers

State organisations representing specialist conveyancers have been in place in several states for a number of years, the oldest being South Australia since 1923.

Aims of the AIC

The Constitution specifies the objects of the Institute. These are summarised in the Vision and Mission adopted by the Institute as follows:

AIC Members

The Members of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers are the State Divisions of New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.

NSW Division

There have been non-solicitor conveyancers since the 1790s but in low numbers. In 1989, a group of unregulated conveyancers formed the Association of Property Conveyancers to lobby for licensing of specialist conveyancers. That Association became the NSW Division of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers. Since the passing of the Conveyancers Licensing Act 1992 and the expanded role allowed under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 1995, numbers of specialist conveyancers have been rapidly increasing.

NT Division

Conveyancing licences started in 1993 when the Agents Licensing Act was amended to include specialist conveyancers. A new Act has now been enacted dealing specifically with conveyancers. The Jeff Hockley (a conveyancer licensed in SA at the time) opened Hockley Wu Conveyancing Servces. Other early starters were Bill Palmer and Nick Thomas. The Northern Territory Division of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers was started by Jeff Hockley almost immediately afterlicences became avaialble in 1993, with membership steadily expanding as licence numbers grew.

SA Division

The Real Property Act was intorduced in the SA Parliament in 1857 by Sir Robert Torrens, SA’s third Premier. This world first legislation established a new government-guaranteed system of land ownership enabling the transfer of land using one document recorded at a single registry. The Torrens model is now used throughout Australia and has been adopted in New Zealand, England, Canada and the USA. The legislation was refined in 1860 when specilaist conveyancers (then called land brokers) were authorised to handle the transfer of land.

The majority of conveyancing work in South Australia is now undertaken by specialist conveyancers who are registered under the Conveyancers Act 1994.

There have been Associations representing specialist conveyancers in SA since 1923 when the Licensed Landbrokers and Auctioneers Association of South Australia was formed. The Landbrokers Society of SA Inc was formed in 1973 and subsequently became the South Australian Division of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers .

Tasmania Division

The Conveyancing Act was passed by the Tasmanian Government in 2004. The first exams were held statewide in 2006 which resulted in 3 licences being issued. Since the second exam was held we now have 10 Licensed Conveyancers. Two are from the North, two are in the North West and six are in the South of the state. Two are former legal practitioners who have relinquished their Legal Practising Certificates.

The Tasmanian Division the Australian Institute of Conveyancers was established following the AGM of the AIC in 2008.

Victoria Division

In Victoria, independent conveyancers began practising in the early 1980, offering Victorian consumers the freedom of choice for conveyancing services that had existed in some Australian States for many years. The Victorian Conveyancers’ Association (VCA) was formed in 1989 and incorporated in 1991 with a Charter to promote and monitor high standards of professional service and ethics among independent non-lawyer conveyancers.

It became the Victorian Division of the Australian Insitute of Conveyancers in 1997.

WA Division

Property settlements were traditionally conducted by law firms, real estate agents and banks, meeting at the Land Titles Office, who checked all documents before registration.

The first settlement agency started in 1967, with numbers growing to 30 by 1972. After much concern that no legislation governed settlement agents, and following much dispute with the legal fraternity and political lobbying, the Settlement Agents Act 1981 was proclaimed.

The Settlement Agents Association was incorporated in Western Australia in 1978, and was recognised in 1995 as the WA Division of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers.

Member Benefits:

Members of State and Territory Divisions may access the following benefits and services –

Assistance and support from their Division
National magazine published twice yearly
National website as an information resource and with important links
National Conference held biannually – networking, information, education
Representation on national issues
Participation in the Australian Council of the Australian Institute of Coveyancers
Opportunities for cooperation in provision of services

AIC Australian Council

The governing body of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers is its Australian Council. The role of the AIC Australian Council is to:

Council representatives

The AIC Australian Council consists of the President (elected annually at the AGM) and two representatives nominated by each Division.

A Division may also nominate an alternate representative who attends if an appointed representative cannot attend.

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What is a CPC?

The title of Certified Practising Conveyancer (CPC) is awarded to conveyancers who annually meet the standards set by each Division to maintain best practice through constant professional development.

FAQs

Below are some very general answers relating to Conveyancing and Conveyancers.

What is Conveyancing?

In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or lien. A typical conveyancing transaction contains two major landmarks: the exchange of contracts (whereby equitable title passes) and completion (whereby legal title passes).

Conveyancing in Australia is usually completed by a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor.

Why use a Member of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers?

Licensed conveyancers have received on average two years focused training on property ltransactions, conveyancing procedures, property law and contract law. As specialists in conveyancing, a licensed conveyancer can offer clients the benefits of specialised knowledge and practice.

Members of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers are supported by their Divisions in continuing specialised training and keeping up to date with the latest developments in legislation, practices, products and services to enable them to deliver the most informed and efficient service available.

How do I get a licence to practice as a conveyancer?

Licence requirements vary a little across Australia. All have similar educational qulaifications and require Professional Indemnity Insurance. Some require a period under the supervision of a licensed conveyancer.

Consult the website of the Division you are interested in and the websites of the licensing authority in that State or Territory.

How do I find a conveyancer?

Go to the website of the Division in which you need a conveyancer to do work for you. Each Division carry lists of its members licensed to practise in that State or Territory.

Fellows Of AIC:

The award of the title of Fellow of the Australian Institute of Conveyancers is a recognition of outstanding service to the profession coupled with high levels of ability and professionalism.

The first fellowships were presented at the national conference held in West Australia on 7 May 1998.

ARNECC

The National Executive will be preparing feedback on the following papers:

E-Conveyancing

e-Conveyancing minimises the manual processes and paperwork associated with property settlement by enabling lawyers, conveyancers and financial institutions to transact together online.

The origins of e-Conveyancing

e-Conveyancing is an initiative championed by the property industry to simplify and digitise the complex process of property exchange. Instigated by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), it’s built around an online network of members supported by PEXA.

To ensure the integrity of the network, the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC) has developed a regulatory framework, under which PEXA operates. Industry safeguards include the Participation Agreement, Verification of Identity and Digital Certificates.

e-Conveyancing is currently live in five states and is a collaboration between many industry participants, including financial institutions, Land Registries and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

PEXA is committed to supporting the property industry as it transitions towards a 100% digital future.

Register for PEXA

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National Licensing.

The COAG decision to not pursue national licensing is not only disappointing but a blow to industry and the economy.

Message from the Chair

elizabeth%20cropped.jpg The COAG decision to not pursue national licensing is not only disappointing but a blow to industry and the economy. A mature and developed economy like Australia can no longer afford a myriad of licensing systems across all states and territories and yet the decision was taken to pursue some form of automatic mutual recognition (AMR) ahead of national licensing. This decision was taken despite the Productivity Commission’s recent report on labour mobility recommending that national licensing proceed.

With this decision, the $200 million in deregulation savings that would have flowed under national licensing have been foregone. Instead the states and territories will now work via the Council for the Australian Federation to develop alternative options for minimising licensing impediments to labour mobility. The challenge for any AMR model will be to maintain consumer protection while allowing for industry to work seamlessly across state borders.

In less than 18 months, NOLA had made significant progress towards the establishment of a national licensing system. Detailed policy work had been completed, providing solutions to many of the complex issues surrounding occupational licensing. Sound governance structures including a range of consultative committees had been formed, allowing industry and other stakeholders to fully engage in the development of the national licensing model.

NOLA had worked with the industry to resolve many of the concerns evident in the Decision RIS and proposed alternatives to the Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations. These alternatives reflected industry consensus on outstanding issues.

Importantly, the National Licensing Register, which was to provide easy access for consumers and regulators to details of licensees, was at testing stage. This Register would have included a state-of-the-art, Google-like search function. In a recent independent review of the work on Register, KPMG found that the project was well managed, comprehensively documented and would have comfortably met the go-live date.

I wish to personally thank my colleagues on the National Occupational Licensing Board for diligence and commitment to national licensing. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the staff of NOLA for their dedication and hard work with special thanks to our Deputy CEO Barbara El-Gamal, for her professionalism, solid leadership and her unwavering commitment to delivering good public policy.

Elizabeth Crouch
Chair, National Occupational Licensing Board

Message from the Deputy CEO

I have written to many of you who took part in the committees and other groups that worked with NOLA on a national licensing system for Australia. Id like to publicly thank you all for your efforts since our establishment in May 2012.

As we awaited the final decision on national licensing, the NOLA team worked with many of you industry and jurisdictional representatives, operational and IT experts, and others to identify and resolve any issues that arose in developing the national licensing system.

Through this input, we devised a model that provided the foundation for a national licensing system in Australia one that we would have continued to improve and refine with your input. This workable model provided better outcomes than alternative proposals for automatic mutual recognition while meeting the original COAG objectives for national licensing.

Following the December COAG decision, work on national licensing will now be transferred to a council that meets annually with limited secretariat support and resources. As NOLA winds down, we hope the knowledge gained and the resources developed over the last 18 months will contribute to an efficient and workable model moving forward.

Id like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the expertise and professionalism of the staff here at NOLA they worked under challenging conditions yet helped to create a cooperative and productive work environment.

On behalf of all the staff at NOLA, Id like to thank our Board for their guidance and assistance. Id also like to thank our industry and jurisdiction stakeholders for their engagement and feedback. The real challenge lies ahead and hopefully the work done so far will guide the way towards an efficient and workable model for Australia.

Barbara El-Gamal
Deputy CEO