To sell a house in Victoria you need a signed Section 32 Vendor Statement ready before any buyer signs, so the legal paperwork comes before the marketing.
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. Selling off the plan, including commercial property? See off-the-plan contracts.
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. Your documents go straight into our practice management system, not an email inbox.
What is a Section 32 Vendor Statement?
It’s the disclosure document a seller must sign and give a buyer before the buyer signs the contract, under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. It covers title details and restrictions, planning, rates and outgoings, services that aren’t connected, building permits from the last seven years, notices affecting the land and, where relevant, owners corporation details and owner-builder insurance. If it’s missing or wrong, the buyer may be able to end the contract before settlement.
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. 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.
- Title and mortgage. Find your title details and your mortgage account numbers so we can arrange the discharge.
- Building records. Gather building permits, occupancy permits or certificates of final inspection, and warranty insurance for any work done in the last seven years.
- Pool or spa. If there’s a pool or spa, check it’s registered with council and has a current barrier compliance certificate.
- Tenancy. If the property is tenanted, have a copy of the lease ready.
Preparing your disclosure
- Notices. Tell us about any notices from council, a water authority or another government body.
- Title restrictions. Tell us about easements, covenants, section 173 agreements, or anything built over a boundary.
- Material facts. Tell us anything a buyer would reasonably want to know, such as combustible cladding or asbestos, building work done without the required permits, past use as a drug lab, or a homicide or other serious crime at the property. Knowingly concealing a material fact is an offence under the Sale of Land Act.
- Owner-builder work. If you did owner-builder work in the last 6 years and 6 months, you’ll need a defects report from a prescribed building practitioner, no more than 6 months old, before you sell. If the work cost more than $20,000, you’ll also need home warranty cover and a notice of cover for the buyer.
After the contract is signed
- Cooling off. Your buyer usually has a three clear business day cooling-off period, unless the property sold at or around an auction or another exception applies.
- Deposit. 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.
- Mortgage discharge. Contact your lender to start the mortgage discharge. It can take a few weeks, so start early.
- Clearance certificate. Get an ATO clearance certificate. If you are an Australian resident, you need one whatever the price, or the buyer must withhold 15% of the price at settlement.
- GST. Tell us if GST applies to the sale, or if you want to use the margin scheme.
Settlement day
- Insurance. Keep your building insurance in place until settlement.
- Utilities. Arrange final meter readings and take the utilities out of your name.
- Final inspection. Leave the property as the contract requires, with the included chattels in place for the buyer’s final inspection.
- Settlement. 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 go straight into our practice management system rather than an email inbox.
- 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. From a date still to be set, and no later than 1 June 2027, it must also be available earlier: generally within 14 days after advertising starts for a private sale, and at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale.
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. From a date still to be set, and no later than 1 July 2027, that process is replaced, so early release will depend on what the contract says, and agents won’t be able to take their commission from an early-released deposit.
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.
Unpermitted work needs dealing with
Building work done without the required permits is a material fact a buyer would want to know about, and knowingly hiding it is an offence. Tell us early so the Section 32 and the contract deal with it properly.
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 combustible cladding, building work done without permits, or a homicide or other serious crime at the property. 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. It does not sit in an email inbox, and we treat everything you tell us as confidential.