How a home is bought, state by state: a buyer’s atlas

An atlas of how a home is bought, state by state

Cross a state line and the rules of buying move with it: how an offer is made, what a deposit is for, whether there is time to change your mind after signing. A buyer who signs a contract in Victoria has three clear business days to cool off; in Queensland, five business days; in Western Australia there is no mandatory period at all.

This guide explains how residential property is bought in the states and territories beyond New South Wales, written and published by Dotto. It is drawn as an atlas: each state a plate with its own border colour, each topic a plate of its own, and every rule taken from the state’s own regulator.

The plates

Six plates, one for each stage of a purchase

A straight sealed road running through red earth and low scrub under a wide sky with white cloud. — A long road between places. Photo by Daniele Nabissi on Unsplash

At a glance

The cooling-off line after signing

The quickest way to see how far apart the states sit. Plate I has the exceptions, the cost of leaving and the waiver rules.

Cooling-off after a private sale contract, as each state’s page describes it
State	Period	Starts
VIC Victoria	Three clear business days	When the buyer signs the contract
QLD Queensland	Five business days	When the buyer receives the contract signed by both parties
SA South Australia	Two clear business days, in many cases	On receiving the vendor’s statement or signing, whichever is later
WA Western Australia	No mandatory period	Not applicable
TAS Tasmania	Not required by the Act; an option in the standard contract	No statutory start
ACT ACT	Five clear working days	The first valid weekday after exchange
NT Northern Territory	Four business days, where the sale isn’t by auction	When the contract is last signed and exchanged

Legend

Where each state publishes its rules

Every plate is drawn from these pages. They are the place to check the current rule.

VictoriaConsumer Affairs Victoria, buying property by private sale and expert advice on property.
QueenslandQueensland Government, Office of Fair Trading: cooling-off period.
South AustraliaSA.GOV.AU: rules for offers, auctions and buying off the plan and buying a home.
Western AustraliaConsumer Protection WA: buying property by private sale and planning to buy a property.
TasmaniaConsumer, Building and Occupational Services: advice when buying or selling property.
Australian Capital TerritoryAccess Canberra: fair trading and consumer rights, home of its guide Reality Check.
Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory Government: contract of sale.

About this atlas

General information, from the source

Each plate describes the rules as the state’s own regulator publishes them, with the regulator’s pages listed at the foot of each plate. It is general information, not legal or financial advice, and it describes the rules rather than any one purchase. A solicitor or conveyancer in the state where the property sits can advise on a particular contract.

New South Wales is drawn but hatched: this atlas charts the other seven jurisdictions.