Victorian Conveyancers Association- Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) Inc

The Victorian Conveyancers Association and the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) Inc were the parties involved in proceedings before the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute concerned the proper interpretation and application of certain provisions within the *Conveyancers Act 2006* (Vic) and the *Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014* (Vic), specifically in relation to the regulation and licensing of conveyancers in Victoria.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) Inc, as a professional body, had the power to impose certain conditions on the registration of its members, and whether these conditions were consistent with the statutory framework governing conveyancers. The Court was also required to consider the relationship between the self-regulatory powers of the Institute and the overarching statutory scheme established by the *Conveyancers Act 2006* (Vic).

Justice McDonagh reasoned that the *Conveyancers Act 2006* (Vic) established a comprehensive regulatory regime for conveyancers, including requirements for licensing and professional conduct. While acknowledging the role of professional bodies like the Australian Institute of Conveyancers (Victorian Division) Inc in upholding professional standards, the Court found that the Act did not grant such bodies the authority to impose conditions on registration that were not contemplated or permitted by the statutory provisions themselves. The Court applied principles of statutory interpretation, emphasizing that the powers of a statutory body must be found within the express terms of the legislation or necessarily incidental to its conferred powers. The Court concluded that the conditions imposed by the Institute were beyond its statutory authority and therefore invalid.