How much does it cost?

Unlike many other insurance policies, title insurance is a one-off cost. You won't pay ongoing premiums. There are only two title insurance companies in Australia: First Title and Stewart Title Limited. First Title quotes its policies from $225 for strata properties and from $300 for standard residential properties. Stewart Title Limited quotes its premiums specific to the state or territory in which the property resides. For example, NSW residential title insurance premiums start at $330 while premiums for strata titles start at $247.50. During the home buying process, you're likely to be pitched on a number of different insurance products. It's hard to sort through which are worth your time and which aren't. However, title insurance represents a minimal cost and can provide ongoing peace of mind. Consider your circumstances and decide if title insurance could be right for you.

Is title insurance mandatory in Australia?

No. Title insurance is optional in Australia. It isn't a legal requirement when you buy a property, although your conveyancer or solicitor may recommend it as an additional layer of protection. Australia's Torrens title system provides a government-backed system of land ownership, with state and territory assurance schemes providing protection in certain circumstances involving fraud or errors in the land register.

How long does title insurance last?

Title insurance is generally a one-off purchase and can protect you for as long as you own the property. Policies typically end when you sell the property, although the exact terms depend on the policy. Some policies can also extend protection to beneficiaries if the property passes to them after your death.

Does title insurance protect me from property fraud?

It can. Title insurance can cover certain losses resulting from fraud, forgery or other problems affecting your legal ownership of a property. The exact cover varies between policies, so check the policy wording and exclusions before buying. State-based title assurance schemes may also provide protection against certain types of fraud or registration errors, so title insurance shouldn't be viewed as your only protection against property fraud.

Who pays for title insurance: the buyer or seller?

The buyer pays for title insurance when they choose to take out a policy. It's generally purchased as a one-off policy during the property-buying process, often before settlement. Who pays can depend on the transaction and any agreement between the buyer and seller, so check the contract and your conveyancer's advice

Is title insurance a waste of money when buying a home?

Title insurance is an optional insurance product that protects your property ownership rights in case of fraud or other illegalities.
Title insurance can be worth it because it protects you from disastrous, hard to foresee risks like illegal building works or encroachment.
It's something your conveyancer normally suggests you purchase prior to settlement, and usually costs $225-$3,000, depending on the property type and value.

What is title insurance?

Title insurance is a policy that provides coverage for risks that could impact the ownership of your home and your legal rights to it. It's a one-off payment, unlike the ongoing costs of, say, a home and contents insurance policy.

Let's say you bought a house but later discovered the boundaries of the property were misrepresented, meaning you own less land than you were led to believe. Or perhaps after settlement, you discover that the previous sellers had unpaid council rates. Title insurance could protect you in these situations.

While it's the job of your conveyancer to uncover most of these risks, there are other risks conveyancing can fail to uncover. Title insurance offers extra protection.

What does title insurance cover?

"When we think about health or car insurance, it's straightforward to imagine what kind of risks we're protecting ourselves against," says manager for insurance risk at First Title Claudia Argandona.

"Title insurance protects against perhaps less obvious risks - like legal risks."

These risks include:

Title defects and planning errors
Boundary issues and encroachment from neighbouring properties
Illegal additions and building work (and the cost of rectifying them)
Outstanding council rates and water rates
Non-compliance with existing zoning and planning laws
Third-party claims on the land
Registration gaps
Fraud and forgery
Survey and boundary defects

Encroachment? Unregistered easement?

Encroachment is when someone builds illegally on your land. It can be an innocent mistake, like a misaligned fence, or even a tree growing on a boundary over time. But it also includes someone building a new structure that touches on land you own.

An easement means that part of your land is accessible to other parties for a specific reason. For example, if part of your backyard is built over an access point for utilities, then the power company may have a right to access it. You may also be forbidden from building on that part of the land.

Easements should be included in your title and your conveyancer should mention them to you. But some older easements can be unregistered on a title but still in effect.

When is title insurance a good idea?

Sometimes a buyer purchases a new home only to later discover a previous owner had carried out building works without council approval. A granny flat or an extension, for example.

If your local council finds that these additions were added without proper planning approval, they might require you to repair or even demolish the unapproved building works, which can come at a substantial cost.

If you have title insurance, this can help could cover the costs of these rectification works.

Illegal building works and title insurance

A recent title insurance claim saved one Victorian home buyer $160,000 in costs from the previous owner's illegal building works.

The new owner, according to First Title's Claudia Argandona, complained to their local council about a non-compliant gas connection. But the inspector uncovered multiple building works, including a verandah, shed and carport, all done without permits or council approval.

"Council issued a Building Notice to the client. They had to hire draftspersons, engineers, and other consultants to provide the plans and certification necessary to approve the building works."

"Not only did our client express understandable relief when they found out they were covered, but they were incredibly grateful to the conveyancer who handled their property purchase for advising them to purchase title insurance," Argandona says.

"We got title insurance when we bought our place. It was several hundred dollars and our conveyancer wasn't pushy about it at all. But I felt the peace of mind benefits were worth it. We had no title issues, but later one of my neighbours did build a ridiculous extension with no council approval. Good luck to whoever buys that place but they better have title insurance!"

Richard Whitten

Senior Money Editor

How much is title insurance?

Unlike many other insurance policies, title insurance is a one-off cost. You won't pay ongoing premiums.

There are only 2 title insurance companies in Australia: First Title and Stewart Title Limited. Insurance policy costs vary widely depending on which state or territory you are buying in, the type of property and the value of the property.

According to First Title's policy documents, a title insurance policy on the purchase of a residential home in NSW valued at $900,000 is $914.
Stewart Title quotes similar prices, starting from $959 when purchasing a residential property for $900,000 in NSW. Similar premiums apply in other states.
A Finder reader had a quote for title insurance in June 2025 that came in at nearly $2,600 on a $2 million home.

So, is title insurance worth it?

It's hard to work out which insurance policies are worth your money and which aren't. However, title insurance represents a minimal cost and can provide ongoing peace of mind in the unlikely but serious event of legal trouble with your new property. Consider your circumstances, talk to your conveyancer and decide if title insurance is right for you.

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Frequently asked questions about title insurance

Title insurance is a policy that provides coverage for risks that could impact the ownership of your home and your legal rights to it. While title insurance is common in the United States, it's still a relatively new product to the Australian market.
Chances are your lender will already have title insurance. Since they hold the title to your property as security, they'll want to protect their investment and their legal rights to the property in the event you default. But their policy doesn't cover you.
However, you can take out your own title insurance policy to cover yourself against risks that ownership issues could arise both before and after settlement. While conveyancing will uncover many of these potential risks, there are other risks it can fail to uncover.
Title insurance also protects you from risks that arise in the future. These can be risks such as forgery and fraud, encroachments and unregistered easements on your property.
Unlike many other insurance policies, title insurance is a one-off cost. You won't pay ongoing premiums.
There are only two title insurance companies in Australia: First Title and Stewart Title Limited. First Title quotes its policies from $225 for strata properties and from $300 for standard residential properties.
Stewart Title Limited quotes its premiums specific to the state or territory in which the property resides. For example, NSW residential title insurance premiums start at $330 while premiums for strata titles start at $247.50.
During the home buying process, you're likely to be pitched on a number of different insurance products. It's hard to sort through which are worth your time and which aren't. However, title insurance represents a minimal cost and can provide ongoing peace of mind. Consider your circumstances and decide if title insurance could be right for you.
No. Title insurance is optional in Australia. It isn't a legal requirement when you buy a property, although your conveyancer or solicitor may recommend it as an additional layer of protection. Australia's Torrens title system provides a government-backed system of land ownership, with state and territory assurance schemes providing protection in certain circumstances involving fraud or errors in the land register.
It can. Title insurance can cover certain losses resulting from fraud, forgery or other problems affecting your legal ownership of a property. The exact cover varies between policies, so check the policy wording and exclusions before buying. State-based title assurance schemes may also provide protection against certain types of fraud or registration errors, so title insurance shouldn't be viewed as your only protection against property fraud.

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Written by

Richard Whitten

Senior Money Editor

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Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University. See full bio

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2 Responses

SmokeyJune 3, 2025

You might need to update the cost range. We were quoted nearly $2,600 on a $2M.

Finder

SarahJune 5, 2025Finder

Thank you, we haven done some updated quote research and updated this article.

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Is title insurance a waste of money?

Title insurance is a one-off cost that can offer substantial protection from legal issues related to your property, from encroachment to illegal works.