It doesn’t have to be done by a lawyer, but it does have to be done by someone with a PEXA account. I just checked and we paid $375 in 2023 to a firm called “Sydney Legal Agents”, who mainly provide this service to solicitors.
Be warned, they’re used to dealing with people who understand the arcane language of PEXA – which bears only a passing resemblance to English. It took me three goes to get it right.
I’ve since found out my solicitors have a PEXA account and will do it for about the same fee.
So shop around. And minimise the intermediaries! Adding the managing agent into the chain isn’t helpful.