How to Choose a Conveyancer When Selling in Brisbane 2026
Your conveyancer handles the legal side of your sale. A good one protects your interests and keeps the process moving. Here is what to look for.
Most sellers choose their conveyancer the same way they choose a dentist: they take a recommendation from someone they know without looking too closely at what they are actually getting. For a lot of transactions, this works out fine. But property settlements can and do go wrong, and when they do, the quality and responsiveness of your conveyancer determines whether the problem is resolved quickly or escalates into something that threatens your sale.
In Queensland, both licensed conveyancers and solicitors can handle property sales. The choice between them matters less than many people assume. What matters more is finding someone who is experienced in residential property, responsive to communication, familiar with current Queensland disclosure requirements, and properly equipped for electronic settlement through PEXA. This guide explains how to evaluate your options and what questions to ask before you appoint anyone.
What your conveyancer does when you sell
As a seller, your conveyancer's primary responsibilities are: reviewing and advising on the contract of sale before you sign, preparing the seller disclosure statement required under the Queensland Property Law Act 2023, managing the satisfaction (or waiver) of conditions such as finance and building and pest, liaising with the buyer's legal representative through the contract period, arranging the discharge of any mortgage with your lender, and managing the electronic settlement through PEXA on the settlement date.
The seller disclosure requirements introduced by the Property Law Act 2023, which commenced on 1 August 2025, represent a significant change to Queensland conveyancing practice. Sellers are now required to provide a Seller Disclosure Statement containing prescribed information about the property before a buyer signs a contract. A conveyancer who is not current with these requirements is a liability. Ask specifically how they handle the disclosure statement and what process they use to ensure it is complete and accurate before your contract goes to the buyer.
Conveyancer or solicitor: which do you need?
A licensed conveyancer is a specialist in property transfers. Their knowledge is narrower than a solicitor's but often deeper in the specific area of residential conveyancing. For a standard residential sale with a single vendor, no unusual ownership structure, and a straightforward contract, a licensed conveyancer is entirely adequate and often more affordable than a solicitor.
A solicitor becomes the better choice when your sale involves complexity. Deceased estate sales, where you are selling as executor or administrator of an estate, typically require a solicitor. Sales from a company or trust structure, situations where there is a disputed ownership or a family law property settlement involved, and sales with unusual contract conditions or commercial elements all benefit from the broader legal capacity that a solicitor brings. If your situation is straightforward, the cost difference between a conveyancer and a solicitor is not worth over-weighting in your decision. What matters more is competence and communication.
What to ask before appointing
Before you appoint a conveyancer or solicitor, ask these specific questions. First, how many Queensland residential property sales do you handle per year, and what proportion are in Brisbane's inner east suburbs? Volume and local experience both matter. A conveyancer doing 20 residential sales a year in your area understands local conditions, is familiar with the agents and lenders active in your market, and has seen the contract conditions and issues that commonly arise. One doing two or three may not.
Second, do you use PEXA for electronic settlement? Paper settlements are still technically possible in Queensland but rare and slower. Any conveyancer not using PEXA for standard residential transactions is working in an outdated way that creates unnecessary risk and delay. The answer should be yes, without hesitation.
Third, who specifically will handle my matter? In larger law firms, the partner you meet is often not the person doing the day-to-day work. If your matter will be handled by a paralegal or junior staff member, ask about their experience and how they are supervised. There is nothing inherently wrong with this model, but you should know who is actually managing your transaction.
Fourth, what is your communication process during the campaign period? Will you call me, email me, or use a portal? How quickly can I expect responses to urgent queries? Conveyancing involves time-critical decisions, particularly around condition satisfaction deadlines. A conveyancer who takes 48 to 72 hours to respond to emails is a problem when your buyer's finance condition expires on Friday and it is Wednesday morning.
What you should pay
Fixed-fee pricing is standard for residential conveyancing in Queensland. For a straightforward Brisbane house or unit sale, expect to pay between $800 and $1,800 in professional fees depending on complexity and the firm's positioning. Disbursements, covering title searches, PEXA fees, and bank discharge fees, are charged separately and typically add $200 to $400 to the total.
Be cautious of very low-cost conveyancing services. Fees below $700 for a Queensland residential sale usually mean the firm is operating on very high volume with minimal personalised attention. That works until something goes wrong. The difference between $900 and $1,400 is not significant in the context of a property transaction worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the quality difference between a low-volume attentive firm and a high-volume processing firm can be significant when a problem arises.
Similarly, be cautious of conveyancers who quote fees dramatically higher than the ranges above without being able to explain specifically what additional services justify the premium. Residential conveyancing in Queensland is relatively standardised. Very high fees for standard transactions often reflect overhead rather than superior service.
Using your agent's recommendation
Most real estate agents will suggest a conveyancer when you list your property. Take the recommendation as a starting point, not a definitive endorsement. Good agents recommend conveyancers whose communication style works well in the campaign context, who are responsive to urgent requests, and who have experience resolving the issues that commonly arise in their market. These are genuinely useful endorsements of process and communication.
What agent recommendations cannot tell you is whether the conveyancer's fees are competitive, whether their legal knowledge is current, or whether they are the right choice for your specific ownership structure and situation. Take the recommendation, call two or three options including the recommended firm, ask the questions above, and make your own assessment. Appointing a conveyancer is your decision, not your agent's.
Thinking about selling in Brisbane's inner east? Daniel can point you toward conveyancers who work well in this market and give you a realistic picture of what your property is worth in current conditions. Book an appraisal.