{"id":"F2022L00851","name":"Automatic Mutual Recognition (Australian Capital Territory) (Exemption—Conveyancers) Declaration 2022","slug":"automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":441427,"registerId":"F2022L00851-fast-fetch-1775956723973","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Automatic Mutual Recognition (Australian Capital Territory) (Exemption—Conveyancers) Declaration 2022","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nAutomatic Mutual Recognition (Australian Capital Territory) (Exemption—Conveyancers) Declaration 2022\n\nI, Andrew Barr, Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory, make the following declaration.\n\nDated  27 June 2022  \n\nAndrew Barr\n\nChief Minister\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Simplified outline of this instrument\n\n5  Definitions\n\n6  Exemption\n\n7  Significant risk statement\n\n8  Human Rights Act statement\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Automatic Mutual Recognition (Australian Capital Territory) (Exemption—Conveyancers) Declaration 2022.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument 1 July 2022. 1 July 2022.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 42S of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.\n\n4  Simplified outline of this instrument\n\nThe purpose of this instrument is to exempt registrations for conveyancing occupations, or for conveyancing activities covered by occupations, from the automatic deemed registration provisions of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth until 1 July 2027 because of a significant risk to consumer protection.\n\nThis instrument has effect only in relation to the Australian Capital Territory.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.\n\nAustralian legal practitioner has the same meaning as in the Legal Profession Act 2006 of the Australian Capital Territory.\n\n6  Exemption\n\n       For section 42S(1)(b) of the Act, registration as an Australian legal practitioner in the ACT, to the extent that it authorises the carrying on of conveyancing work, is excluded from the operation of automatic deemed registration until 1 July 2027 because of the significant risks set out in section 7 if automatic deemed registration operates solely on the basis of a registration under any of the following laws:\n\na) the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 of New South Wales;\n\nb) the Agents Licensing Act 1979 of the Northern Territory;\n\nc) the Conveyancers Act 1994 of South Australia;\n\nd) the Conveyancing Act 2004 of Tasmania;\n\ne) the Conveyancers Act 2006 of Victoria; and\n\nf) the Settlement Agents Act 1981 of Western Australia.\n\n7  Significant risk statement\n\n        For section 42S(2) of the Act, the exemption in section 6 is necessary because of the significant risk arising from circumstances to consumer protection in the Territory. In other States and Territories, conveyancing activities can be undertaken by registered individuals who are not legal practitioners, for example, conveyancing agents and settlement agents. The ACT does not have a licensing scheme for conveyancing agents or settlement agents, nor is there a regulatory framework for conveyancing activities. In the ACT, conveyancing activities are undertaken by legal practitioners, regulated by the Legal Profession Act 2006 which includes provisions for occupational registration and a disciplinary framework.\n\nFurther, the ACT is unique in terms of its leasehold land title system. Specific training would be required for those relying on automatic deemed registration (ADR) to work in the Territory and there is currently no framework to deliver this.\n\nThe outlined issues create a significant risk to consumers who are buying or selling property in the Territory and who may use the services of an individual who is not a legal practitioner but is relying on their ADR to work in the Territory and who will not be regulated to ensure the high level of legal competency in relation to land transfer in the Territory is maintained.\n\n8  Human Rights Act statement\n\nSection 40B(1) of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) provides that it is unlawful for public authorities to act in a way that is incompatible with a human right or, in making a decision, fail to give proper consideration to a relevant human right. Accordingly, in making this exclusion in section 6, I have considered any relevant human rights that may be impacted as required by s40B. Section 27B(1) of the Human Rights Act 2004 provides that everyone has the right to work, including the right to choose their occupation or profession freely. I am satisfied that the making of the exclusion in section 6 would not be incompatible with the right to work and the right to choose an occupation or profession freely.\n\nWhile the exclusion may limit the right to work, it is important to note that the making of the exclusion does not prevent an individual from carrying on conveyancing work in the ACT. Rather, the making of the exclusion will mean that all individuals who wish to carry on conveyancing work in the ACT must meet requirements set out in ACT law. Upon meeting the relevant requirements, individuals would be able to carry on conveyancing work in the ACT. The requirements are a necessary, proportionate and reasonable measure through which consumer protection is afforded to those seeking conveyancing services in the ACT. Any limitation on the right to work is reasonable and justified because the exclusion will allow the ACT to assess the risks associated with the transitioning of this occupation to AMR to determine if current levels of consumer protection can be maintained.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument narrows the scope of automatic mutual recognition within the ACT by excluding registration that permits conveyancing work from being automatically deemed under the Mutual Recognition Act until 1 July 2027 (s 6). It replaces the default AMR effect for conveyancing with a requirement to meet ACT registration standards, thus limiting cross‑jurisdictional entry pathways for non‑ACT practitioners during the exemption period."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, single-issue instrument limited to one activity (conveyancing) and one jurisdiction (ACT)","Cross-reference to Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (authority under s 42S)","Temporal limitation (exemption until 1 July 2027) requiring future review or renewal","Dependency on definitions in other ACT laws (eg. Legal Profession Act 2006) for scope of ‘Australian legal practitioner’","Lists multiple external state statutes as reference points for which out-of‑jurisdiction registrations would otherwise trigger ADR","Includes policy justifications and a human-rights compatibility statement (ss 7–8), which affect administrative risk assessment"],"plain_english_summary":"This declaration (made by the ACT Chief Minister) temporarily excludes conveyancing work from automatic mutual recognition in the ACT until 1 July 2027, so people cannot rely on out‑of‑territory registrations to be automatically deemed registered for ACT conveyancing (see ss 3, 6). It affects lawyers and non‑lawyer conveyancers seeking to provide conveyancing in the ACT and ACT consumers. The ACT government says the change protects consumers because the Territory has no non‑lawyer licensing and a unique leasehold system (s 7)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains its original narrow scope. It was always intended as a temporary, targeted exemption for conveyancers in the ACT from automatic mutual recognition arrangements, and it does exactly that without expanding into broader regulatory territory."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 8 sections spanning approximately 3 pages","Minimal defined terms: only 2 definitions in section 5 ('Act' and 'Australian legal practitioner')","Single purpose legislation: creates one specific exemption with clear scope","Limited cross-referencing: only references to the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth) and ACT Legal Profession Act 2006","No nested exceptions or conditional logic: straightforward exemption with fixed end date","Clear structure with simplified outline (section 4) that explains the instrument's purpose in plain language"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument temporarily exempts ACT conveyancing (property law) from the national automatic mutual recognition scheme until 1 July 2027. It prevents non‑lawyer conveyancers registered elsewhere from automatically practising in the ACT, reflecting the Territory’s rule that only qualified lawyers handle conveyancing and its unique leasehold land system.\n\nThe pause protects ACT home buyers and sellers by ensuring practitioners meet local legal standards; out‑of‑jurisdiction practitioners must meet ACT requirements to work there."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022","history":"/api/acts/automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022/history","analysis":"/api/acts/automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/automatic-mutual-recognition-australian-capital-territory-exemption-conveyancers-declaration-2022/documents"}}