When you compare conveyancing quotes, the headline number is the professional fee — what the conveyancer charges for their work. But that fee is rarely the total cost of settling. The rest is "disbursements", and a quote that leaves them out is not cheaper, just less complete.
The professional fee
This is the part you actually compare between firms. Most conveyancers quote a fixed fee for a standard purchase or sale — commonly a few hundred to around fifteen hundred dollars. It covers reviewing the contract, ordering searches, coordinating with your lender and the other side, and attending settlement.
Disbursements — paid to third parties at cost
On top of the fee sit costs the conveyancer pays on your behalf and passes through:
- Title and property searches — confirming ownership, planning, zoning and encumbrances.
- Land registry lodgement fees — the government's charge to register the transfer of title and, if you have a loan, the mortgage. These are set per state and are the same whoever you use.
- PEXA fee — the electronic settlement platform charge.
Stamp duty is separate again
Bigger than all of the above is transfer (stamp) duty, paid to the state revenue office — not the conveyancer. On a typical purchase it usually dwarfs every other cost.
See the full picture
Our stamp duty calculator estimates both the duty and the land registry transfer and mortgage registration fees for your state, so you can add them to a conveyancer's professional fee and see what settling actually costs — before you commit. A "cheap" quote that excludes searches and registry fees only looks cheap until those land.