Each residential sale requires a mandatory Contract, which is a legal document subject to many laws such as the Sale of Land Act, Property Act, Land Act etc.

As the Contract is a legal document, you would require assistance from a Lawyer or a Conveyancer.

Before the inception of the Conveyancing Act in Victoria in the year 2006, Conveyancing service was only provided by Lawyers.

In the year 2006, the Victorian government introduced legislation enabling people with specific qualifications around Conveyancing to also provide the Conveyancing services after procuring a Conveyancing license. The qualification required to be eligible for the license is a one year a Diploma, currently extended to one and a half years, followed by some relevant work experience.

There is no right or wrong answer here; if the service provider is right, you will get the same level of advice.

However, in general, Lawyers have much more areas of expertise and are familiar with many other aspects of law, which can be instrumental in your Conveyancing process. A Lawyer with additional expertise in Family law or Succession law can provide valuable inputs during your Conveyancing process.

Conveyancers, on the other hand, work particularly in this field day in, day out. They could have much more experience in terms of number of files but, with respect, may have tunnel vision.

Lastly, in an extreme situation, if the matter is litigated, a Lawyer can assist straightway, which saves the hustle of looking out for another representation during the tough time. In contrast, Conveyancer will cease their services, and you would then have to start the process afresh, spending additional money in engaging a new Lawyer, who will charge much more even just to review your file first.