What to gather and what to disclose when you sell property in Victoria, so your Section 32 is ready before marketing starts.
A buyer must receive the Section 32 Vendor Statement before they sign, so the legal paperwork has to be finished before your first open inspection. Missing permits or undisclosed problems can hold up a sale, or give the buyer grounds to end the contract.
When you’re ready, fill in our Vendor Questionnaire online and it goes straight to our conveyancing team. Buying your next place? See our buying a house checklist.
What the questionnaire asks
- Who’s selling, and where you’ll be after settlement
- Tenancies, services and any building work in the last seven years
- Pools, easements, notices and planning issues
- Material facts a buyer would want to know
- Owner-builder work, if there is any
You can upload permits and certificates at the end. Everything you send is secure and only seen by Hendersons Legal staff.
Your selling checklist, stage by stage
Start on this as soon as you decide to sell. Some documents take weeks to track down.
Before you list
- Talk to us early. We prepare the Section 32 and the Contract of Sale, and both need to be ready before the property is marketed.
- Verify your identity online through InfoTrack. We send you a secure link as soon as you enquire.
- Find your title details and your mortgage account numbers so we can arrange the discharge.
- Gather building permits, occupancy permits or certificates of final inspection, and warranty insurance for any work done in the last seven years.
- If there’s a pool or spa, check it’s registered with council and has a current barrier compliance certificate.
- If the property is tenanted, have a copy of the lease ready.
Preparing your disclosure
- Tell us about any notices from council, a water authority or another government body.
- Tell us about easements, covenants, section 173 agreements, or anything built over a boundary.
- Tell us anything a buyer would reasonably want to know, such as past flooding or bushfire, structural defects, illegal building work, combustible cladding or a serious crime at the property. Knowingly concealing a material fact is an offence under the Sale of Land Act.
- If you did owner-builder work, you’ll usually need a defects report from a prescribed building practitioner before you sell. Depending on when the work was done and what it cost, you may also need insurance. The Statutory Insurance Scheme applies from 1 July 2026.
After the contract is signed
- Your buyer may have a three business day cooling-off period, unless the property sold at auction.
- The deposit is held until settlement. It can only be released to you early in limited circumstances, so tell us if you’ll need it.
- Contact your lender to start the mortgage discharge. It can take a few weeks, so start early.
- Get an ATO clearance certificate. Every sale needs one, whatever the price, or the buyer must withhold 15% of the price at settlement.
- Tell us if GST applies to the sale, or if you want to use the margin scheme.
Settlement day
- Keep your building insurance in place until settlement.
- Arrange final meter readings and take the utilities out of your name.
- Leave the property as the contract requires, with the included chattels in place for the buyer’s final inspection.
- We settle through PEXA. Your mortgage is paid out and the balance goes to your nominated account.
Vendor Questionnaire
Hand the paperwork to us
Our online Vendor Questionnaire opens a file with our conveyancing team. It asks for what we need to prepare your Section 32, and you can upload permits and certificates at the end.
- Your answers are sent securely to our practice management system, and only Hendersons Legal staff can see them.
- Leave anything blank if you’re not sure. We’ll help you finish it.
- Upload permits, certificates and notices securely at the end.
What happens next
- We send you a secure link to verify your identity online through InfoTrack. You’ll need your passport or driver licence.
- We go through your answers with you and confirm our scope and costs.
- Once you’ve accepted our costs agreement, we start preparing your Section 32 and contract.
Rather talk it through first? Call us on (03) 9629 2211.
Documents to have ready
These are the documents we most often wait on. Having them early keeps your Section 32 on schedule.
Building records
Permits, final inspection certificates and warranty insurance for work done in the last seven years.
Title and rates
Your latest council rates notice and any title documents you hold.
Mortgage details
Your lender and loan account numbers, so we can arrange the discharge.
Pool and spa
Registration details and your current barrier compliance certificate.
Leases and notices
Any tenancy agreement, plus notices from council or government bodies.
Things sellers often miss
Disclosure has to come first
A buyer must have the Section 32 before signing. Under reforms that became law in September 2026, sellers will have to make it available at least 14 days before an advertised auction or sale date. They start no later than 1 June 2027.
Early deposit release is changing
At the moment a deposit can be released early under section 27 of the Sale of Land Act if certain conditions are met. The 2026 reforms remove that process, so early release will need an express term in the contract.
Owner-builder rules are strict
Selling without the required defects report and insurance can be an offence, and it may let the buyer end the contract. Check before you list, not after.
Clearance certificates take time
Apply for your ATO clearance certificate as soon as you decide to sell. Without it, 15% of the price is withheld at settlement.
Common questions from sellers
You’ll need your title and rates details, mortgage details, building permits and certificates for work done in the last seven years, pool or spa compliance documents if relevant, any lease, and any notices from council or government bodies. We use these to prepare your Section 32 Vendor Statement. You’ll also need an ATO clearance certificate before settlement.
It’s the disclosure document a seller must give a buyer before the buyer signs. It covers the title, planning, outgoings, services, building permits and other matters that affect the property. If it’s missing or wrong, the buyer may be able to end the contract before settlement.
Everything the Section 32 requires, plus any material fact you know about. A material fact is something that would affect a buyer’s decision to buy, or the price they’d pay, such as a history of flooding, a serious crime at the property or illegal building work. Knowingly concealing one is an offence.
It opens a file with our conveyancing team. The first step is confirming your identity: we’ll send you a secure link to complete a verification of identity (VOI) online through InfoTrack. We’ll then go through your answers, confirm what you need and explain our costs. Filling in the questionnaire doesn’t commit you to anything, and we only start work once you’ve accepted our costs agreement.
Only if owner-builder work was done on the property in the last seven years. If you’re not sure, leave it blank and tell us, and we’ll check.
Yes. The Vendor Questionnaire is sent over a secure, encrypted connection and goes straight into our practice management system. Only Hendersons Legal staff can see your answers, and we treat everything you tell us as confidential.