Conveyancers and Legal Executives

ANZSCO ID 5991

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
15,700
Future Growth
0%
Weekly Earnings
$1,150
Full-Time Share
61%
Female Share
82%
Average age
35

Summary

Conveyancers and Legal Executives act for and on behalf of clients in the areas of property transfer, company and business law, trusts, wills, probate and litigation.

Tasks

  • preparing, examining and advising on contracts of sale for properties and businesses

  • carrying out title searches and contacting government authorities to find out if any planned development, illegal building work and disputes could affect properties and businesses

  • preparing, examining and advising on mortgage documentation

  • negotiating the terms and conditions of, and exchanging, contracts of sale, paying deposits, arranging payment of stamp duty, checking for outstanding arrears and land tax obligations, and calculating adjustments for council and water rates

  • interviewing clients to determine the nature of issues, and receiving written information concerning cases from Legal Professionals and clients

  • conferring with clients and potential witnesses and drawing up statements and proposed affidavits in preparation for court proceedings

  • maintaining legal files

  • preparing, analysing and interpreting a variety of legal documents

  • assisting Legal Professionals to prepare cases for court by conducting investigations, undertaking research, arranging witness preparation and attendance, and preparing and filing court documents

  • may supervise Law Clerks and Legal Secretaries and take responsibility for their work

Characteristics

Job Type
Clerical And Administrative Workers
Skill Level
High skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
Below average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Analytical
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers in this occupation is likely to remain stable.

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
0%
(or 0 jobs)
From
17,300
in 2021
To
17,400
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 9,200
2012 15,100
2013 9,700
2014 12,900
2015 14,400
2016 10,000
2017 10,500
2018 15,500
2019 18,300
2020 16,500
2021 17,300
2026 17,400

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 62% of people employed as Conveyancers and Legal Executives work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 4 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,150 per week, this is much lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,054
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,308

    Median hourly earnings are $30, this is lower than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Earnings Conveyancers and Legal Executives All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,150 1,593
Total Earnings 0 0

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.


Industries

Main industries

1
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
90.6%
2
Public Administration and Safety
3.1%
3
Retail Trade
1.9%
4
Financial and Insurance Services
1.3%
5
Other industries
2.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

36.9% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

23.6% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

19.5% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.2% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

9.9% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.1% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

2.2% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Conveyancers and Legal Executives All Jobs Average
NSW 36.9 31.6
VIC 23.6 25.6
QLD 19.5 20.0
SA 6.2 7.0
WA 9.9 10.8
TAS 1.1 2.0
NT 0.6 1.0
ACT 2.2 1.9


  • Around 71% of Conveyancers and Legal Executives live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    New South Wales has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
35
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
82%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Conveyancers and Legal Executives is 35 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 82% of the workforce. This is 34 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Conveyancers and Legal Executives All Jobs Average
15-19 1.7 5.0
20-24 19.3 9.3
25-34 27.7 22.9
35-44 18.5 22.0
45-54 17.6 21.6
55-59 6.4 9.0
60-64 4.9 6.0
65 and Over 3.8 4.2
Median Age 35 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Extensive experience or a formal qualification in a related field (like conveyancing, law or legal studies) is needed to work as a Conveyancer or Legal Executive. University and Vocational Education and Training (VET) are both common study pathways.

Registration or licencing may be required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Conveyancers and Legal Executives All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 7.7 10.1
Bachelor degree 22.3 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 21.3 11.6
Certificate III/IV 8.9 21.1
Year 12 28.6 18.1
Year 11 4.1 4.8
Year 10 and below 7.1 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Conveyancers and Legal Executives who have a high attention to detail, are professional, courteous and responsible.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 54%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 54%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 50%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 50%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 46%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 45%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 43%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 43%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 41%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 41%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 39%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 37%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 37%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 36%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 36%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 36%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 32%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 32%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 29%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 77%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 71%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 66%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 55%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 48%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 40%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 38%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 37%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 35%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 34%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 26%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 24%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 24%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 21%

    Foreign language

    Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • 19%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 18%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 16%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 14%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 10%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 8%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 61%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 57%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 54%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 50%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 50%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 48%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 48%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 46%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 46%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 46%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 41%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 41%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 39%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 39%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 39%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 37%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 36%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 34%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 79%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 71%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 70%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 69%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 69%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 68%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 65%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 65%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 61%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 60%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 56%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 56%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 55%

    Providing office support

    Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.

  • 54%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 53%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 51%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 48%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 41%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 40%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 40%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 81%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 71%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 62%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 29%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 24%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 14%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 71%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 62%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 62%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 57%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 52%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 43%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 97%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 97%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 97%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 96%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 94%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 93%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 88%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 88%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 87%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 87%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 86%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 83%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 81%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 78%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 76%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 75%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 74%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 73%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 61%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 59%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 23-2011.00 - Paralegals and Legal Assistants.


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