The Regulation directly affects every person who holds a licence under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 to carry out conveyancing work in New South Wales. This includes individual licensees (sole proprietors), partners in a conveyancing practice, corporate licensees, and employees who are themselves licensed. The requirements apply to licensees whether they conduct business from a single office or multiple places of business. The persons in charge of a place of business are specifically addressed by section 7, which regulates exemptions allowing a licensee to supervise more than one location. Employees who are not licensees are affected indirectly through the delegation provisions: section 29 permits a licensee to delegate authority to sign trust cheques or effect electronic funds transfers to not more than two employees at each place of business, subject to conditions. Clients of conveyancers are affected by the disclosure obligations in section 10, which requires an estimate of costs if the amount is not known, and notification if the licensee will perform non-conveyancing work. Clients also benefit from the trust accounting protections in Part 5 and the right to request an itemised account under section 11 (service of requests) and to notify a costs dispute to the Tribunal within 60 days under section 12. The Regulation also affects service providers to whom a licensee may refer a client: rule 15 of Schedule 2 imposes disclosure obligations about rebates, commissions or personal or commercial relationships. The Secretary of the Department of Customer Service is a key actor , the Secretary maintains the Register (section 34), approves professional indemnity insurance policies (section 6), considers exemption applications under section 7, has power to waive, reduce or refund fees under section 37, and issues guidelines. The Compensation Fund, administered under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002, is relevant to every licensee because section 5(4) requires licensees to pay contributions and levies to that fund. The Regulation also affects the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) which receives costs dispute notifications (section 12) and may refer disputes to independent experts for assessment (section 13). Corporations that are licensees are subject to special rules: section 36 requires that a notification under section 77 of the Act (which relates to change in directors) be lodged by the sole director or, if multiple directors, by any two of them.

The Regulation imposes numerous duties on licensees and confers correlative rights on clients and other parties. The most fundamental duty is to comply with the rules of conduct in Schedule 2 , failing which attracts a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units for a corporation or 20 for an individual (section 8(2)). The rules require licensees to know the Act and the Regulation (rule 1), act honestly, fairly and professionally (rule 2), exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence (rule 3), comply with fiduciary obligations (rule 4), only accept work within their competence (rule 5), perform work promptly (rule 6), act in the client’s best interests (rule 7), communicate regularly (rule 8), act in accordance with instructions unless unlawful (rule 9), confirm oral instructions in writing (rule 10), avoid conflicts of interest (rule 11), and maintain confidentiality (rule 13). Rule 14 requires written file notes of all instructions, advice, telephone conversations and enquiries (other than trivial ones) and those notes must be kept for seven years. Rule 15 prohibits falsely representing that a referred service provider is independent and requires disclosure of any relationship or benefit. Rule 16 prohibits offering inducements to secure work. Rule 17 allows a licensee to terminate services only by giving 14 days written notice (or earlier if the client agrees or terminates, or if the licensee’s electronic lodgement network access is restricted). Rule 18 requires a former licensee to deliver documents within 14 days of a client direction to transfer work to another conveyancer or solicitor. Rule 19 governs transfer of an entire business, requiring 14 days written notice to each client and disclosure of trust money balances.

Under trust accounting duties, a licensee must pay trust money into the trust account before the end of the next banking day if practicable (section 21), prepare receipts immediately (section 22), ensure trust money is only drawn by cheque or electronic funds transfer (section 23), maintain a cash book and journal (sections 25 and 26), and keep a separate ledger for each client (section 27). Section 20 prescribes the procedure for withdrawing cost from trust money: the licensee must have disclosed costs under the Act or be able to claim an exemption from disclosure, give a bill or account with a 30-day notice of intention to withdraw, and obtain written authorisation or wait until the notice period expires without objection.

The duty to keep records under Part 6 requires licensees to keep originals or copies of all documents evidencing transactions, including agreements, conveyances, transfers, leases, mortgages, requisitions on title and responses, letters, file notes, invoices and settlement sheets (section 31(1)). All records must be kept for at least seven years (section 32(1)), in English (section 33), and in a separate file for each transaction (section 31(2)). Records may be kept electronically but must be kept in viewable form (section 16(1)) and backups must be made at least every four weeks (section 18(4)(f)). Clients have the right to request an itemised account under section 11, served personally, by post or by email. Clients may also request a statement of account under section 19, which must be provided within 14 days of a written request, and within 21 days after completion, closure, or at 31 March and 30 September each year (with exceptions for accounts open less than six months, zero balance accounts, or where the client has waived the half-yearly statement). The duty to give a statement of account is subject to a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units for a corporation or 20 for an individual.

The Regulation establishes a two-tier enforcement framework: court-imposed maximum penalties and penalty notice amounts. For most offences created by the Regulation, the maximum penalty is 40 penalty units for a corporation and 20 penalty units for an individual , this applies to breaches of trust account requirements (sections 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30), record-keeping duties (sections 31, 32, 33), and the rules of conduct (section 8(2)). The penalty unit amount is adjusted annually under Schedule 1, Part 2 , for 2025-26 the fee unit is $126.59, so a 20-unit penalty is approximately $2,531.80 and a 40-unit penalty approximately $5,063.60 (rounded to nearest dollar under clause 3 of Schedule 1, Part 2). However, the actual dollar amount will depend on when the offence is prosecuted.

The penalty notice regime in Schedule 3 allows enforcers to issue on-the-spot fines without court proceedings for designated offences. For most Regulation offences, the penalty notice amount is $550 for an individual and $1,100 for a corporation (as shown in Schedule 3, Column 2 and Column 3). By way of example, a penalty notice for failing to comply with the rules of conduct (section 8(2)) is $550 for an individual and $1,100 for a corporation. Failure to keep records properly (sections 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31) similarly attracts $550/$1,100 penalty notices. For offences under the Act, penalty notice amounts vary: for example, carrying on conveyancing business without a licence (section 6(1)) is $1,100; various trust account breaches are $1,100; and section 83(1) (likely relating to improper conduct of a business) carries a $5,500 penalty notice for individuals (and presumably the same for corporations as no higher corporate amount is specified). Schedule 3, clause 1 provides that where a Column 3 amount is specified and the offender is a corporation, the higher amount applies.

The Secretary is required to maintain a Register under section 34 which records, among other things, any disciplinary action taken under Part 9 of the Act that resulted in an adverse finding, any conviction for an offence under the Act or Regulation, and any payments from the Compensation Fund for failure to account. These entries must be removed after 10 years (section 34(4)). Under section 35, certain provisions of the Act remain applicable to a suspended licence , including provisions relating to failure to account, receivers and managers, the Compensation Fund levy, and disciplinary proceedings. This means that suspension does not shield a licensee from ongoing obligations or enforcement.

The Secretary also has power under section 37 to waive, reduce, postpone or refund fees payable under the Act or Regulation if satisfied the person is suffering financial hardship or special circumstances exist (including natural disasters). Section 38 provides a partial refund mechanism for licences with a term of 3 or 5 years where the licence is cancelled at the request of the licensee or the licensee dies , one-third of the fixed component per complete remaining year for 3-year licences, one-fifth for 5-year licences (but not where the licence was suspended or cancelled for disciplinary reasons).

The Regulation does not operate in isolation. It explicitly cross-references several other NSW and Commonwealth statutes. The Act itself is the primary statute, and the Regulation is made under it; section 3 defines the Act as the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 and notes that the Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions affecting interpretation. The Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002 interacts with licence application processing: section 5(2) of the Regulation notes that the processing component of the application fee is a processing fee for the purposes of Part 2 of that Act, meaning if an application is made by electronic communication the fee is discounted, and if refused or withdrawn the applicant is entitled to a refund of all fees except the processing fee. The Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 is referenced in multiple provisions: section 5(4) and (5) require licensees to pay contributions and levies to the Compensation Fund under sections 167A, 168 or 169 of that Act, and the same contribution as a class 1 licence holder under that Act. Section 34(1)(l) of the Regulation requires the Register to record the number of payments made from the Compensation Fund under Part 10 of that Act for any failure to account. The Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) appears in section 6(3), where a licensee is deemed to have required professional indemnity insurance if they are an employee of a complying law practice , defined as a law practice under the Uniform Law that complies with Part 4.4. The Legal Profession Act 1987 and 2004 are referenced in section 7(1)(d)(iii) as relevant to the licensee’s compliance record when considering exemptions.

The Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 governs the procedure for costs disputes: section 12 requires that a notification of a costs dispute be made in accordance with the requirements for making applications to the Tribunal under that Act, and within 60 days after the bill or account is given. The Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 is mentioned in rule 17(1)(d) of Schedule 2: a licensee may terminate services if the licensee’s access to the Electronic Lodgement Network has been restricted, suspended or terminated. The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 of the Commonwealth (and its National Credit Code) is referenced in rules 22(2)(d) and 22(4)(f) of Schedule 2, requiring licensees to advise borrowers and guarantors that if the Code applies, additional obligations, rights and remedies may apply. The Fair Trading Act 1987 is mentioned in section 34(1)(m), requiring the Register to record any suspension under section 79A of that Act. The Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 is noted in section 2 as the reason the previous regulation would have been repealed on 1 September 2022 if not replaced.

The interaction with the Act itself is pervasive: the Regulation prescribes matters that the Act leaves to the regulations , for example, the definition of “Operating Account” (section 4), fees (section 5), professional indemnity insurance (section 6), exemptions from section 20 (section 7), rules of conduct (section 8), disclosure matters (section 10), costs dispute procedures (sections 12, 13, 14), trust money record-keeping (sections 15-30), and records generally (sections 31-33). The compensation fund levy under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 is applied to conveyancers via section 89 of the Conveyancers Licensing Act.

The Regulation commenced on the day it was published on the NSW legislation website (section 2). It repeals and replaces the Conveyancers Licensing Regulation 2015, which would otherwise have been repealed by operation of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 on 1 September 2022. The Regulation has been amended twice since commencement, as noted in the source text. Section 5 (fees for licence) was amended by 2025 (275), Sch 1[1]-[5]. Section 18 (electronic records) was amended by 2024 No 25, Sch 2.2[1] [2]. Additionally, Schedule 1 (Fees) was amended by 2025 (275), Sch 1[6] [7]. The editorial note in Schedule 1, Part 2 shows the fee unit amounts for subsequent financial years: 2022-23 ($111.14), 2023-24 ($119.23), 2024-25 ($123.72), and 2025-26 ($126.59). This indicates that the automatic indexation mechanism has been operating each year. The Regulation itself does not contain an expiry date, but as a regulation made under the Act it would remain in force until repealed or until the Act is amended. The source does not indicate any further amendments beyond those noted.

The source text does not name any specific cases or litigation history. The Regulation does not contain any references to decisions of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Supreme Court, or any other court. Because the Regulation is largely prescriptive and procedural, litigation would typically arise under the Act or under the rules of conduct, with the Regulation providing the framework for penalties, trust accounting, and record-keeping. The only litigation-related provision in the Regulation is section 14, which prescribes the procedure for transferring proceedings from a court to the Tribunal when a costs dispute is involved: the court hearing the dispute must order the transfer, the registrar gives notice to the principal registrar of the Tribunal, all documents are transferred, and the principal registrar fixes a hearing date. There is no reference to any case law in the notes or definitions. A practitioner would need to search for decisions of NCAT under the Act or the Regulation to identify interpretative trends.

Several provisions in the Regulation contain traps for the unwary. The most significant is the prohibition in section 9(1) on a licensee conducting, or being employed in the conduct of, a conveyancing business together with the business of an agent (as defined under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002). This is a strict prohibition , there is no exemption mechanism within the section. A licensee who also holds a real estate agent’s licence must ensure the conveyancing practice is entirely separate from any agency business, and cannot even be employed in an agency business while holding a conveyancer’s licence. Rule 20 of Schedule 2 imposes additional obligations if the licensee conducts any other business concurrently, requiring separate files and records and cessation of acting if the other business interest conflicts.

Another trap is the rigid trust accounting timetable. Section 21 requires trust money to be banked “before the end of the next banking day after the day of its receipt, if practicable” , any delay risks a penalty notice. Section 22 requires a receipt to be prepared “immediately” upon receipt of trust money, and the original must be given to the person from whom the money is received “on demand”. The requirement to give a receipt even if not demanded is not explicit , but if demanded and not given, there is a potential breach. The requirement to keep “the original of a receipt that is not given” and “original receipt that is cancelled” (section 22(6)) means the trust receipt book must be retained even for voided entries. The specific requirements for electronic records in section 18 are highly prescriptive: the computer program must not accept entries that result in a debit balance unless a contemporaneous record is made, must not allow amendment of already recorded transactions except by a separate transaction, must not allow deletion of an account with a non-zero balance, and must require input in all fields of the data entry screen. The backup copy must be kept in a separate location where a power failure or other incident would not affect it (section 18(4)(g)). The prohibition on cheques payable to “cash” (section 23(2)(c)) and the requirement that cheques be “not negotiable” (section 23(2)(b)) are strict , a cheque drawn to cash or without the crossing could be an offence even if no loss occurs.

The delegation of authority to sign trust cheques or effect transfers (section 29) is limited to a maximum of two employees at each place of business, and the delegation must be in writing and signed by both the licensee and the delegate. For a sole proprietor or partner, the delegation is only effective if the licensee is sick, injured or absent for good reason and cannot act with due expedition (section 29(6)(a)). For a corporation, delegation is only to directors who are licensees and up to two employees. A person who signs a trust cheque or effects a transfer without proper authorisation under this section commits an offence punishable by up to 40 penalty units for a corporation or 20 for an individual (section 29(9)).

The requirement to maintain a separate ledger account for each client under section 27 is absolute , no exceptions. The trial balance under section 28 must be prepared within 21 days after each named month, and the statement reconciling the trust account with the cash book must be prepared at the end of each month under section 25(6). The 21-day rule for compiling trial balances and the 21-day rule for giving half-yearly statements of account (section 19(2)(b)(iii)) are easily missed. Section 30 requires that money transferred to the licensee’s own account (for costs) must be withdrawn within 21 days, and money held in a personal capacity (as vendor, purchaser, etc.) must be withdrawn within six months or at conclusion of the matter. Failure to withdraw on time is an offence.

The rules of conduct contain several specific requirements that may catch practitioners unawares. Rule 11(3) prohibits acting for a current client if confidential information from a former client could be material and detrimental, unless the former client gives written informed consent , this goes beyond the general conflict rules. Rule 12(2) requires a licensee acting for more than one party to a transaction to cease acting for all parties if they cannot continue without acting contrary to the interests of one , meaning the licensee cannot choose to keep one client and drop the other. Rule 17(1)(d) allows termination of services if the licensee’s access to the Electronic Lodgement Network has been restricted, suspended or terminated, but the licensee must then take all reasonable steps to ensure another licensee or solicitor can complete the work. The 14-day notice period under rule 17(1)(c) for voluntary termination by the licensee does not apply if the client agrees or terminates earlier , but the 14-day notice must be strictly complied with if not. The transfer of conveyancing work rule (rule 18) requires delivery of documents within 14 days after receipt of a written direction from the client , but the licensee retains a general retaining lien over documents. The transfer of business rule (rule 19) requires 14 days written notice to each client, and if trust money is held, the client must be advised of the balance and the intention to transfer the account unless the client directs otherwise.

Finally, the penalty notice amounts in Schedule 3 are for on-the-spot fines, but they do not preclude prosecution , a regulator may choose to take the matter to court seeking a higher penalty. The notes to the Schedule indicate some Act offences have maximum penalty provisions that differ from the Regulation’s maximums. Practitioners should note that the Register under section 34 will record adverse findings and convictions for up to 10 years, which can affect fitness to hold a licence and may be publicly accessible.

Compliance with the Regulation requires a systematic approach covering licensing, trust accounting, professional conduct, record-keeping, and disclosure. Licensees must first ensure their licence is current and that all applicable fees are paid , including the annual contribution to the Compensation Fund levied under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (section 5(4)). When applying for a new licence or renewal, the correct fee from Schedule 1 must be remitted, and if the application is made electronically the processing component is discounted under the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002. Licensees must hold approved professional indemnity insurance (section 6) unless they are employees of a complying law practice. The Secretary must have approved the policy by order.

For trust money, compliance demands a robust accounting system. All trust money must be deposited into the trust account before the end of the next banking day if practicable (section 21). A receipt must be prepared immediately for every receipt of trust money, containing all the particulars listed in section 22(2). The trust receipt book must have machine-numbered duplicates. The cash book must record daily receipts and payments, and at the end of each month the cash book must be balanced and a reconciliation statement prepared (section 25). A journal must record all transfers between ledger accounts not effected by cheque or EFT (section 26). A separate ledger account must be maintained for each client (section 27). Within 21 days after each named month, a trial balance must be prepared listing all ledger accounts with non-zero balances, showing total balances compared with the cash book reconciled balance (section 28). The licensee must also compile with the records the trial balance statement and maintain a summary of total trust money (section 16(4)). Cheques must be drawn in numerical order, marked “not negotiable”, not payable to cash, signed by an authorised person, and records must be kept for each cheque (section 23). EFTs must also be recorded with similar detail.

The software used for electronic records must comply with section 18: it must maintain an audit trail of changes to client names, addresses, matter numbers, and account numbers; must not accept a transaction that would cause a debit balance without creating a contemporaneous record; must not allow amendment of recorded transactions except by a separate transaction; must not allow deletion of accounts with non-zero balances; must require input in all data entry fields; must allocate journal reference numbers sequentially; and must number pages or entries for easy verification of completeness. A backup must be made at least every four weeks and stored in a separate location.

Withdrawal of costs from trust money must follow the procedure in section 20: disclose costs under the Act (or claim the exemption), give the client a bill or account with a 30-day notice of intention to withdraw, and either obtain written authorisation, wait for the 30 days to expire without objection, or wait for the objection period to expire without a Tribunal notification. Money held in the licensee’s own name in the trust account ledger must be withdrawn within 21 days (for aggregated costs) or within six months (for personal interest money).

Record-keeping under Part 6 requires a separate file for each transaction containing originals or copies of all documents evidencing the transaction , agreements, conveyances, transfers, leases, mortgages, inspection reports, requisitions, responses, letters, file notes, invoices, settlement sheets (section 31). These must be kept for at least seven years (section 32), in English (section 33). Records must be kept at the place of business where the conveyancing business is conducted (section 16(2)), or if multiple places, either at each place or at one place notified to the Secretary.

Professional conduct compliance requires understanding and observing all 23 rules in Schedule 2. Particular attention should be paid to the conflict rules (rules 11 and 12), the confidentiality rule (rule 13), the file-note requirements (rule 14), the referral disclosure rules (rule 15), the inducements prohibition (rule 16), and the termination and transfer rules (rules 17, 18, 19). Licensees who also conduct another business must maintain separate files and records and cease acting if a conflict arises (rule 20). Any advice on loan or security documents must be competent, independent and disinterested, with written acknowledgment from the borrower or guarantor (rules 21 and 22). Undertakings must be honoured and must not require the cooperation of a third party not party to the undertaking (rule 23).

The costs dispute provisions require that a notification to NCAT be made within 60 days after the licensee gives the bill or account (section 12). The licensee must also respond to requests for itemised accounts under section 11, served personally, by post or by email. The licensee must give statements of account within 14 days of a written request and within 21 days after completion, closure, or at six-monthly intervals (section 19). A waiver of the half-yearly statement can be accepted but must be in the form approved by the Secretary. A copy of each statement must be kept with the client’s file.