How Australian Expats Verify a Solicitor or Conveyancer’s Credentials Remotely Before Engaging Them From Overseas

A buyer can verify a solicitor’s licence through their state Law Society’s online directory or the Australian Legal Profession Register, and can verify a conveyancer’s licence through a state government public register such as Verify NSW or the Consumer Affairs Victoria register. Both checks can be completed from a browser, in minutes, from anywhere in the world. This matters more than most overseas buyers realise: since 1 July 2026, identity verification has become a legal requirement for every party in a property transaction handled by a conveyancer or property lawyer in Australia, which means the practitioner you engage is now doing formal identity checks on you as much as you should be checking them.

ODIN Mortgage coordinates settlement for Australian expats across more than 40 countries, working alongside the conveyancers and solicitors clients engage for purchase and refinance transactions. That vantage point, sitting between the lender, the borrower, and the legal side of settlement, is why the practical verification steps below reflect what actually happens during a remote Australian settlement, not just what the regulations say on paper.

TL;DR

• Solicitors are regulated by state Law Societies and Legal Services Boards; conveyancers are licensed by state consumer affairs departments, and in Queensland conveyancing must be handled by a law firm.
• A law society solicitor search through your state’s Law Society directory or the Australian Legal Profession Register confirms admission status and a current practising certificate.
• Conveyancer licences are checked through state registers such as Verify NSW or the Consumer Affairs Victoria public register, not through a law society.
• Both professions must hold professional indemnity insurance to keep their licence active, so an active registration status is itself indirect proof of current cover.
• Disciplinary history is public: state Registers of Disciplinary Action cover solicitors, while conveyancer complaints and licence conditions sit on the same consumer affairs registers as the licence check.

About this guide: ODIN Mortgage manages remote settlement logistics, including PEXA, power of attorney, and remote signing, for Australian expat clients purchasing or refinancing property from overseas, which means coordinating directly with conveyancers and solicitors on a recurring basis across every major expat corridor.

Why Does Remote Verification Matter More for Expats Than for Local Buyers?

A buyer physically in Australia can walk into a solicitor’s office, see the practising certificate on the wall, and ask a receptionist a question in person if something feels off. An expat cannot do any of that, and the transaction is usually higher-stakes because it involves foreign income documentation, overseas identity verification, and settlement timed across time zones. The identity verification rule introduced from 1 July 2026 cuts both ways here: it protects the transaction from fraud, but it also means an unlicensed or lapsed practitioner cannot simply skip the paperwork and hope no one checks. If your conveyancer is not meeting their own identity verification obligations properly, that is itself a signal their licence status is worth checking first.

What Regulatory Bodies License Solicitors and Conveyancers in Australia?

Solicitors and conveyancers sit under two entirely different regulatory systems, and confusing the two is the most common mistake overseas buyers make. Solicitors are regulated by state Law Societies and Legal Services Boards, and becoming one requires a law degree, admission to the Supreme Court of the relevant state, and a current practising certificate. Conveyancers are licensed separately by state consumer affairs departments, such as NSW Fair Trading, and require specific conveyancing qualifications rather than a full law degree. Queensland is the one state exception: all conveyancing there must legally be conducted by a law firm, so a standalone licensed conveyancer is not an option in that state.

Because the oversight bodies differ, the online tools used to check each one differ too, which is the next step.

How Do You Run a Law Society Solicitor Search From Overseas?

Building on the regulatory split above, checking a solicitor is done through the Law Society of the state where they practise, not a single national database. Every state Law Society maintains an online directory searchable by the practitioner’s name, and this confirms whether the person is currently admitted and holds a valid practising certificate. A law society solicitor search is the fastest way to rule out someone using an expired admission or a name similar to a real practitioner, a rare but real risk in high-value overseas transactions. For a second data point, the Australian Legal Profession Register aggregates admission and practising certificate status, which is useful when you are unsure which state’s Law Society a solicitor is actually registered under [lsbc.vic.gov.au].

Practically, a buyer should search the solicitor’s full legal name exactly as it appears on their engagement letter or email signature, since law firm marketing pages sometimes list a nickname or shortened version that will not return a match.

How Do You Verify a Licensed Conveyancer’s Credentials Remotely?

Unlike the solicitor check above, conveyancer verification runs through consumer protection registers rather than a legal profession body, because conveyancers are overseen by state consumer affairs agencies, not law societies. In New South Wales, the Verify NSW register lets you search a licence number or business name and confirms current licence status. Victoria runs an equivalent public register through Consumer Affairs Victoria. Each state maintains its own version, so the correct register depends entirely on which state the property, and the conveyancer, is located in.

This distinction is not academic for an expat coordinating settlement across states. A buyer purchasing in Queensland who assumes they can engage a standalone “licensed conveyancer” the way they might in NSW will find that option does not legally exist there, since Queensland requires conveyancing to be handled by a law firm.

How Do You Confirm a Practitioner Actually Holds Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Following on from licence verification, insurance is not something you check separately, it is bundled into the licence itself. Both solicitors and licensed conveyancers are legally required to hold approved professional indemnity insurance in order to maintain their practising certificate or licence in the first place. That means confirming a practitioner’s registration is current on the relevant state register is, in practical terms, indirect confirmation that their insurance is also current, since a lapse in either usually triggers a lapse in the other.

A buyer wanting extra certainty can ask the practitioner directly for their insurer’s name and policy period as part of the engagement process. A practitioner with nothing to hide will provide this without hesitation, and a refusal is itself a useful data point.

Where Do You Check a Practitioner’s Disciplinary History?

Stepping past current licensing status, the next layer of due diligence is history: has this practitioner ever been disciplined? For solicitors, each state’s Legal Services Commissioner maintains a public Register of Disciplinary Action, listing findings of misconduct and any conditions placed on a practising certificate. For conveyancers, this same information sits on the licensing registers run by state consumer affairs or fair trading departments, alongside the licence check itself, rather than on a separate database.

This step matters most for expats because a solicitor or conveyancer with a history of complaints is far harder for an overseas buyer to detect through normal channels, word of mouth, local reputation, a recommendation from a friend, than it is for someone living in the same city. The public register closes that information gap.

How Does This Fit Into an Overseas Purchase or Refinance More Broadly?

Verifying a solicitor or conveyancer is one piece of a larger remote settlement process that includes borrowing power assessment, foreign income verification with the lender, and coordinating power of attorney or remote signing arrangements. ODIN Mortgage works with clients through exactly this sequence, from initial pre-approval or refinance assessment through to settlement, and coordinates with the client’s chosen legal representative on timing, document flow, and PEXA settlement mechanics. None of this replaces the legal advice a solicitor or conveyancer provides, and ODIN Mortgage does not provide legal advice itself, but having a mortgage broker who understands the settlement mechanics for expats specifically reduces the number of things that can go wrong when you are coordinating across time zones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a law society solicitor search if I only know the firm name, not the individual solicitor?
Most Law Society directories search by individual name rather than firm name, since practising certificates are issued to individuals. Ask the firm directly for the name of the solicitor who will personally handle your file, then search that name.

Is a licensed conveyancer regulated the same way as a solicitor?
No. Solicitors are overseen by legal profession regulators and can provide comprehensive legal advice and handle litigation. Conveyancers are overseen by state consumer protection agencies and are limited strictly to services and advice directly related to property transfers.

What happens if I engage a conveyancer in Queensland?
Queensland requires all conveyancing to be conducted by a law firm, so you would engage a solicitor rather than a standalone licensed conveyancer.

Do I need to verify credentials again closer to settlement?
It is reasonable to re-check registration status if significant time has passed between initial engagement and settlement, since licences and insurance are renewed periodically and can occasionally lapse.

Does identity verification from 1 July 2026 affect me as an overseas buyer?
Yes. Conveyancers and property lawyers are now legally required to verify the identity of every party in a property transaction, which means you should expect to provide identity documents as part of formal onboarding regardless of where you are based.

Can ODIN Mortgage recommend a specific solicitor or conveyancer?
ODIN Mortgage focuses on mortgage structuring, lender selection, and settlement coordination, and works alongside the legal representative a client chooses, rather than providing legal advice or acting as a law firm.

Is professional indemnity insurance compulsory or optional for these practitioners?
It is compulsory. Both solicitors and licensed conveyancers must hold approved professional indemnity insurance to maintain their practising certificate or licence, so confirming current registration is a reliable proxy for confirming current cover.

About ODIN Mortgage

ODIN Mortgage is a mortgage brokerage built exclusively for Australian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign investors living overseas, regulated under ASIC and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCP). Part of ODIN alongside ODIN Tax, the firm has served 2,300+ Australian expats across more than 40 countries, with access to a panel of over 40 Australian lenders that accept foreign income. Headquartered in Hong Kong, ODIN Mortgage handles borrowing power assessments, refinancing, and remote settlement coordination, including PEXA and power of attorney arrangements, for clients who cannot be physically present in Australia. This article is general information only and does not constitute personal credit, legal, or investment advice; borrowing power, LVR, and approval outcomes depend on individual circumstances and current lender policy, which is subject to change.

If you are assessing your borrowing power or reviewing an existing Australian loan from overseas, get in touch with ODIN Mortgage to start the conversation.