Does conveyancing cost the same in every state?

No. The professional fee a conveyancer or solicitor charges is broadly similar across Australia, but the government costs bolted on to it are not. Stamp duty, the land title transfer registration fee and the searches required all vary by state, and these usually dwarf the professional fee.

Who does conveyancing in each state?

Most states let a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor do the work. Western Australia calls the specialist a settlement agent. Queensland and the ACT have no independent conveyancer licence, so conveyancing there is done by a solicitor.

What is the transfer registration fee?

It is the fee the state land registry charges to register the transfer of title into your name. It is a separate government cost from stamp duty. On a $750,000 purchase it ranges from under $200 in the Northern Territory to several thousand dollars in South Australia, because some states charge a flat fee and others scale it with the price.

Do all states require the seller to disclose information before you buy?

No. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT require a prescribed vendor disclosure statement or set of documents before you sign. Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have no mandatory pre-contract disclosure statement, so the position is closer to buyer beware and your own searches matter more.

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Conveyancing costs by state: fees, disbursements and duty compared

People often ask what conveyancing costs in Australia as if there were one answer. There is not. The professional fee your conveyancer or solicitor charges is broadly similar across the country, but the government costs stacked on top of it, and the rules they have to follow, are set state by state. This guide shows what changes when you cross a border, and what does not.

Conveyancing compared: all 8 states and territories

The registration fee below is the land registry's charge to register the transfer of title on a $750,000 purchase. It is a government cost, separate from both stamp duty and your practitioner's fee, and it is a clear illustration of how the same purchase costs different amounts in different places.

The practitioner, the title transfer registration fee on a $750,000 purchase, the vendor disclosure regime and the cooling-off rule, by state. Every state and territory name links through to its own full Conveyancing Explained guide.
State or territory	Practitioner	Transfer registration fee ($750,000)	Vendor disclosure regime	Cooling-off
New South Wales	Conveyancer	$340	Vendor disclosure (s52A) and the section 10.7 planning certificate	5 business days
Victoria	Conveyancer	$1,860	Section 32 vendor statement	3 clear business days
Queensland	Solicitor (no independent conveyancer licence)	$2,901.96	Seller disclosure statement (Form 2)	5 business days
Western Australia	Settlement agent	$375.10	No general vendor disclosure statement (caveat emptor)	None
South Australia	Conveyancer	$7,703	Form 1 vendor statement (section 7)	2 clear business days
Tasmania	Conveyancer	$256.76	No mandatory vendor disclosure statement (buyer beware)	None
Australian Capital Territory	Solicitor (no independent conveyancer licence)	$496	Required documents (Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003, s9)	5 working days
Northern Territory	Conveyancer	$181	No mandatory vendor disclosure statement (buyer beware)	4 business days

General information only, current as at 13 July 2026. Registration fees are the land registry lodgement charge for a standard single-title transfer at $750,000, taken from each state registry's fee schedule or calculator; some are flat fees and some scale with price. They exclude stamp duty, search disbursements and your practitioner's professional fee. Confirm current figures with the relevant registry.

What varies from state to state

Three of the four columns above move when you cross a state line, and together they explain most of the difference in what a purchase costs:

Stamp duty. By far the biggest variable, and usually the single largest cost of the whole transaction. It is a separate state tax with its own rates and concessions in each jurisdiction. We compare it in detail in our guide to stamp duty by state.
The transfer registration fee. As the table shows, this ranges from a flat $181 in the Northern Territory to $7,703 in South Australia on the same $750,000 purchase, because some registries charge a flat fee and others scale it with the price.
The searches and disclosure required. What your practitioner must obtain and review differs by state. Where there is a mandatory vendor disclosure statement (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT), a defined bundle of certificates comes with the contract. Where there is not (Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory), more of the checking falls to the buyer's side, which can change the searches your practitioner orders.

What stays roughly the same

The part people focus on most, the conveyancer's or solicitor's professional fee, is actually the most consistent cost across the country. The work involved in a standard residential purchase, reviewing the contract, ordering and reviewing searches, handling duty and settlement, is similar everywhere, so professional fees fall in a broadly comparable range regardless of state. Because conveyancing fees are not government-regulated, the biggest differences you will see in a quote usually come from the individual firm and the complexity of your matter, not from which state you are in.

In other words, when a purchase in one state costs noticeably more than the same-priced purchase in another, the professional fee is rarely the reason. The government costs, led by stamp duty, are.

Who is allowed to do your conveyancing

In most states you can use either a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor. Two places are different. Western Australia calls the licensed specialist a settlement agent. Queensland and the ACT have no independent conveyancer licence at all, so conveyancing there is carried out by a solicitor (or staff working under one). This affects who you engage, though not the core steps of the transaction. If you are weighing up the choice where you do have one, see our guide to conveyancer versus solicitor.

The cooling-off column is a reminder that the protections around your purchase also differ: some states give you days to reconsider, and two give you none. We cover that in full in our guide to cooling-off periods by state.

Estimating your total cost

A realistic budget for a purchase adds up four things: the professional fee, the search disbursements, the transfer registration fee in the table above, and stamp duty. Our conveyancing cost calculator brings these together into a single estimate for any of the 8 states and territories, with fully researched professional-fee ranges for NSW and Victoria today and a general Australian range shown elsewhere until each state's own fee research is published. Every state and territory also has its own detailed cost guide (linked from the table above), and the stamp duty by state guide lets you compare the largest line item across the country.

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Conveyancing Explained provides general information about property transactions in Australia. It is not legal advice and does not create a client relationship. For advice on your situation, engage a licensed conveyancer, settlement agent, or property solicitor in your state or territory.