Conveyancing in the ACT: what it is and the steps explained

Conveyancing in the ACT, explained

Buying or selling a home in Canberra runs on a process that is genuinely different from other parts of Australia. The ACT has its own rules about what a seller must do before a property can even be advertised, its own cooling-off settings, and a fully electronic settlement system. This guide walks through what conveyancing is, who does it, and the steps from contract to settlement.

What conveyancing is

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of property from a seller to a buyer. It covers preparing or reviewing the contract of sale, carrying out searches and inquiries, managing the deposit and the balance of the price, and lodging the transfer so the new owner is recorded on the official register. In the ACT, changes to land title ownership are lodged with the ACT Land Titles Office (Access Canberra) and recorded on the ACT Land Titles Register, the official record of ownership and registered interests.

Who does it: conveyancer or solicitor

You can use a licensed conveyancer or a solicitor. The ACT uses electronic conveyancing (e-conveyancing) through the PEXA platform. Under the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (ACT) Participation Rules, only legal practitioners and financial institutions can operate in that system, so buyers and sellers transact through a solicitor or licensed conveyancer rather than lodging documents themselves. See Access Canberra on e-conveyancing.

The contract of sale and required documents

A seller cannot legally advertise, offer or list residential property for sale until a complete contract of sale has been prepared. That pre-marketing requirement comes from the Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003.

The contract must include a defined set of seller-provided documents. For a typical existing house, these generally are:

• Land title searches
• Government and conveyancing inquiry documents
• A building and compliance inspection report
• A pest inspection report
• An Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) statement

For units, townhouses or apartments, owners corporation and units plan information must also be included, including a unit title certificate (often called a section 119 certificate) under the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011. The building and pest inspection reports must be based on inspections carried out within a defined recent window before the property is first advertised. The Access Canberra Reality Check guide states inspections no earlier than three months before first advertising. The seller orders and pays for these reports up front but is generally entitled to seek reimbursement of the cost from the buyer at settlement.

The EER is a mandatory part of marketing and contracting. It measures a home's energy efficiency on a star scale prepared by an accredited assessor, and the star figure must be disclosed in advertising. For the current rating scale and disclosure rules, see ACT Planning on energy efficiency.

Searches and inquiries

Your conveyancer reviews the title searches and inquiry documents in the contract, and may make further inquiries about the property. For a unit, this means examining the registered units plan (boundaries, unit entitlements, common property), the section 119 unit title certificate (fund balances, insurance, levies, executive committee, service contracts) and the owners corporation rules. Under the Act, an owners corporation cannot deny the truth of what is stated in a section 119 certificate, so a buyer can rely on it.

Exchange, deposit and cooling-off

Once terms are agreed and the buyer has paid the deposit, contracts are exchanged and the parties become bound, subject to any cooling-off rights. The settlement date is agreed at exchange.

For private treaty (non-auction) sales, the buyer has a statutory cooling-off period after exchange, during which they can cancel by serving notice on the seller. The length of that period is set by the Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003, so confirm the current number of business days against the Act. A buyer who cancels during this period forfeits a cooling-off penalty calculated as a percentage of the purchase price; the exact percentage is set by the Act and its regulation, so confirm the current figure rather than relying on a number you have heard. A buyer can also waive cooling-off by giving the seller a certificate under section 17 of the Act, signed by a solicitor who has advised them on its effect. These section 17 certificates are now common in ACT private treaty deals.

Auctions work differently. Properties sold at auction in the ACT have no cooling-off period. The contract is unconditional and binding immediately on the fall of the hammer, which is why doing your inspections, finance and legal review before auction day matters.

Settlement

Settlement is the final stage. The buyer pays the balance of the purchase price and ownership transfers to the buyer. Settlement is commonly 30 to 90 days after exchange but can be varied by agreement, and the seller remains responsible for the property until settlement occurs. As part of the electronic lodgement process, sellers complete an online Seller Verification Declaration and buyers complete a Buyer Verification Declaration, an identity step required before title documents are lodged.

Conveyance duty (stamp duty) is generally paid by the purchaser. Under the ACT's barrier-free model, duty is payable after settlement on a notice of assessment, rather than before. Rates are tiered and concessions exist, including the Home Buyer Concession Scheme and owner-occupier and pensioner concessions. Because these figures change, confirm current rates, thresholds and eligibility at the ACT Revenue Office.

Your quick checklist

• Engage a licensed conveyancer or solicitor early
• Read the contract documents in full, especially the building, pest and EER reports
• For units, review the units plan, section 119 certificate and owners corporation rules
• Understand cooling-off: a statutory period for private treaty (confirm the current length with the Act), none at auction
• Arrange finance and inspections before bidding at auction
• Confirm current duty rates and any concessions with the ACT Revenue Office

This is general information compiled with AI assistance, not legal or financial advice. Figures and rules change, so confirm current details with the linked official sources and seek advice from a licensed conveyancer, solicitor or broker.