+61 7 4063 5900

[email protected]

Conveyancing & Property Law

The most familiar form of property law is property leasing and conveyancing, but property law actually covers all of the legal rights, powers, and duties of a person in relation to a thing (whether the thing is a car, a wristwatch, or a pet dog). Whether you are buying your first home, leasing commercial premises for your business, or taking on a complex development, we can help. Our conveyancing and property team is highly experienced and can assist you with a broad range of property law matters, including:

Conveyancing & Leasing

  • Buying and selling residential, rural, or commercial property
  • Purchase and sale of land
  • Off the plan sales and purchases / body corporate sales and purchases
  • First Home Owner Grants
  • Stamp Duty Concessions
  • Leasing – commercial, retail, industrial and rural

Planning & Development

  • Property development and subdivision
  • Option deeds and joint ventures
  • Development applications and approvals
  • Town planning and zoning
  • Land acquisitions
  • Environmental law, compliance and prosecutions
  • Local Government Law

Building & Construction

  • Residential building disputes
  • Building contracts and special conditions
  • Building and Construction Industry Payments Act (BCIPA)
  • BSA licensing and inspections
  • Subcontractor’s charges

Mining & Resources

  • Mining lease applications
  • Applications for compensation
  • Prospecting permits
  • Mining claims
  • Exploration permits
  • Mineral development licences
  • Land Court appearances

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the process of transferring legal ownership of land from one person/entity to another. Although common, property conveyancing (both purchase and sale) is quite a risky legal process, involving very strict deadlines and high penalties for non-compliance. Most buyers, for instance, do not realise how crucial it is for them to be ready to settle on the settlement date in the contract. A buyer bears the penalty if they cannot settle on time, even if the delay was beyond the buyer’s control (for example, because of a failure on the bank’s end). A conveyancing solicitor will ensure that a buyer (or seller) is aware of their obligations.

A conveyancing solicitor can also ensure that you gain all the property rights that you pay for, and check that there are no undeclared debts or other liabilities (such as caveats) attached to the property. Your solicitor can also conduct a range of searches to ensure that you encounter no unpleasant surprises after settlement, such as lack of planning permission or the property being subject to flooding.

Building and Construction Law

Building and Construction Law is a complex area of law, which encompasses a complicated set of legislation and common law precedents.

We can assist residential and commercial builders (including developers) with a range of legal matters. Ensuring that your contracts are carefully drafted can reduce your risk over the course of a long building project. This includes contracts with suppliers, sub-contractors, and employees, as well as agreements with homeowners or purchasers.

Builders working directly with homeowners often find that there are significant issues with obtaining payment, especially when variations are involved, material prices rise, or schedules are changed. Under the current legislation, the onus is on the builder to comply with all legal obligations around payments, otherwise it can be difficult or even impossible to enforce payment for completed work.  

We can also assist those on the other side of a property build. If you are engaging a builder to construct your home, or investment/commercial property, you need to fully understand the terms of the contract. This is even more challenging if you are buying a property off-the-plan from a developer. In that case, it is vital that you have someone on your side to review the standard form contract and help protect your interests. Unfortunately, some developers have been known to build predatory clauses into off-the-plan contracts.  Our experienced building and construction solicitors can review these contracts and negotiate amendments directly with the developer. These amendments can protect you and your investment and may even be able to build in flexibility in case your situation changes.

Planning and Environmental Law

Planning law deals with the development of land for a particular purpose or its regulation to ensure it is used in accordance with permitted development. This area of law has become more complex over time as it evolves to deal with environmental issues and the need to balance public, social and cultural needs, and resources.

We can assist government authorities, energy providers, mining companies, developers, business owners, and landowners with planning and environmental law issues. This includes providing support and assistance in the planning and preparation stages, through the permissions and compliance stage, and on to the construction phase and completion. 

If you need assistance, contact one of our lawyers at [email protected] or call 07 4063 5900 for expert legal advice.