As a conveyancer, it is your responsibility to understand your legal obligations under the Conveyancers Act 2006.
You must also understand your responsibilities under other laws that set rules for your business – for example, the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012, which applies to all Victorian businesses.
You may be penalised for breaches of the Conveyancers Act. Some offences and their penalties are listed below.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has a range of options to deal with breaches we identify. For more information, go to Regulatory approach and compliance policy.
Monetary penalties under the Conveyancers Act can be imposed by:
- a court, after it finds charges proven
- an infringement notice, issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria officers. For more information, go to About infringement notices.
The value of a penalty unit is $197.59 for financial year 2024-25. For more information, visit Indexation of fees and penalties - Department of Treasury and Finance.
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Section of the Conveyancers Act
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Obligation
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Maximum court-imposed penalty for breaching your obligation
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8
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- Corporation trading as an unlicensed conveyancer
- Person trading as an unlicensed conveyancer
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1200 penalty units and 2 years jail
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78
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You must not, without reasonable excuse, cause: a deficiency in any trust account or trust ledger account; or a failure to pay or deliver any trust money.
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1800 penalty units and 15 years jail
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80
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You must keep in permanent form trust records in relation to trust money received by the licensee. The licensee must keep the trust records:
- in accordance with the regulations
- in a way that at all times discloses the true position in relation to trust money received for or on behalf of any person
- in a way that enables the trust records to be conveniently and properly investigated or audited
- for 6 years, or the period determined in accordance with the regulations.
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60 penalty units
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84
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If you are required to keep trust records, you must have those records audited by an approved auditor in respect of each audit period in accordance with the regulations.
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120 penalty units
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