A Section 32 review is a lawyer’s check of the vendor’s statement and the contract of sale before you sign or bid, so you know what you’re buying and what to ask to change.
Once you sign a contract of sale in Victoria, your options narrow very quickly. At auction they close immediately, because there is no cooling off. Even in a private sale, the cooling-off period is short and comes with a penalty. The most useful thing a buyer can do is have the contract and the Section 32 read properly while there is still time to ask for a change.
That is what this service is. You send us the contract of sale and the vendor’s Section 32 statement. We read both, and we come back to you with a plain written summary of what you are buying, what is unusual about it, and anything we would want changed before you sign. We quote the fee before we start, and we confirm the timing around when you need to sign or bid.
We have been reviewing Victorian contracts since 2001, on everything from first homes in the outer suburbs to commercial premises and rural blocks.
What you get
- A plain-English written summary of what you are agreeing to
- Any issues flagged, with what you can do about them
- A fixed fee, quoted before we start
- Timing confirmed up front, built around your signing or auction date
We review Contracts of Sale and Section 32 Vendor’s Statements for buyers across Victoria.
What a Section 32 review covers
We read the contract and the Section 32 together, because problems often show up in the gap between them. The review looks at:
- Title and restrictions. Easements, covenants, caveats and other registered interests, and whether any of them limit what you can build or where.
- Planning and notices. Zoning, overlays and heritage controls, plus notices from council, the water authority or another agency, including any proposed acquisition.
- Rates, fees and outgoings. Rates, land tax, owners corporation fees, the owners corporation fund and any special levy, and whether the growth areas infrastructure contribution applies.
- Building work. Building permits from the last seven years, any owner-builder work, and whether the required permits and insurance are in place.
- Contract terms. The special conditions, which is where vendors most often shift risk onto the buyer, plus the settlement date, deposit terms and default interest rate.
- Gaps in disclosure. Whether the Section 32 is complete, and what your position is if it isn’t.
You get a written summary in plain English, and a phone call to talk it through if you want one. Buying off the plan or a house and land package? See our off-the-plan contract reviews.
What a Section 32 has to tell you
The Section 32 statement, properly called the vendor’s statement, is required by section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. The vendor has to sign it and give it to you before you sign the contract. It is the vendor’s disclosure of the things about the property that a buyer would want to know: title particulars and encumbrances, planning information, rates and outgoings, which services (such as gas, water or sewerage) are not connected, building permits issued in the last seven years, notices and orders affecting the property, and owners corporation information where relevant.
The statement matters for two reasons. First, it is where most of the surprises live. Second, if a vendor fails to give you a statement, or gives you one that is incomplete or incorrect, that can give you a right to end the contract in some circumstances. Whether it does depends on what was left out and when you find out, which is a legal question rather than a form-filling one.
A Section 32 being present is not the same as a Section 32 being adequate. We see statements every month that are missing a permit, understate the owners corporation position, or attach a title search that is months out of date.
What we actually find
Most reviews turn up something. Usually it is minor and easily dealt with. Occasionally it is the reason a client walks away.
None of these are exotic. They are simply the sort of thing that is obvious to someone who reads contracts for a living and invisible to someone reading their first one.
Common examples include:
- A sewer or drainage easement running under the part of the block where the buyer intended to build
- A covenant limiting the property to a single dwelling when the buyer planned to develop
- An owners corporation with a special levy already resolved but not yet struck
- A settlement period that does not line up with the buyer’s finance approval
- Extensions built without a permit, which become the new owner’s problem
- Special conditions that remove the buyer’s usual rights if settlement is delayed
Buying at auction
If you are bidding at auction, get the review done beforehand. There is no cooling-off period on an auction purchase, and none on a sale made within three clear business days before or after a publicly advertised auction. You sign on the day and you are bound by it.
We are used to short timeframes in auction season and will tell you honestly whether we can turn your contract around before the day.
3
clear business days to cool off after signing most residential private sales in Victoria. There is no cooling off at auction.
Cooling off in a private sale
For most residential private sales in Victoria, a buyer has a cooling-off period of three clear business days after signing. If you use it, you forfeit the greater of $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price.
Cooling off does not apply to auction purchases, to sales made within three clear business days either side of a publicly advertised auction, to land used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes, to farm land over 20 hectares, or where the buyer is a company or an estate agent. It is a safety net with holes in it, and it is not a substitute for having the contract read.
Changes coming for vendors and buyers
The Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 became law on 8 September 2026. Some of its property changes have started and others haven’t yet. Until each change starts, the current rules apply.
Already in force. Since 1 October 2026, agents must publish the seller’s reserve price at least 7 days before an auction or fixed-date sale, and the Statement of Information has been replaced by a Property Price Statement.
Section 32 timing. From a date still to be set, and no later than 1 June 2027, the Section 32 will have to be available earlier: generally within 14 days after an advertised private sale begins, or at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale. Contracts signed in the first 28 days after the change starts stay on the old rules.
Deposits. From a date still to be set, and no later than 1 July 2027, the statutory early release process is replaced, so a deposit can only be released before settlement if the contract allows it. Agents won’t be able to take their commission out of a deposit before settlement.
For buyers, earlier access to the Section 32 means more time to have it reviewed. If you’re preparing to sell, the statement will need to be ready earlier in the campaign, so talk to us early.
7 days
before an auction or fixed-date sale, agents must now publish the seller’s reserve price. This started on 1 October 2026.
14 days
before an auction or fixed-date sale, the Section 32 will need to be available, from a date to be set no later than 1 June 2027.
Contract of Sale and Section 32 Review
Send us the contract before you sign
Our online form opens a file with our property team. Upload the Contract of Sale and the Section 32 Vendor’s Statement, tell us when you need our advice, and we’ll take it from there.
- Your answers and documents go straight into our practice management system rather than an email inbox.
- Tell us your signing or auction date and we will confirm whether we can meet it. Send the contract as early as you can, and before auction day if you are bidding.
- Leave anything blank if you’re not sure. We’ll follow it up with you.
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 confirm the scope and give you a fixed-fee estimate, with our disclosure statement and costs agreement.
- Once you’ve accepted, we review the contract and Section 32 and send you our advice in writing.
Rather talk it through first? Call us on (03) 9629 2211.
Fees and timing
We quote the fee for the review before we start, so you know the cost up front. Tell us when you need to sign or bid and we will confirm the timing when we quote. If you are bidding at auction on the weekend and it is already Thursday, call us on (03) 9629 2211 and we will tell you honestly whether we can make it.
If you go on to buy the property, our conveyancing lawyers can act on the purchase through to settlement, and we will tell you what that costs at the same time.
Selling? We prepare Section 32 statements too
We also prepare vendor statements and contracts of sale for sellers. Getting the statement right at the start is what prevents a buyer from having a reason to walk away later, and once the new Section 32 timing starts (no later than June 2027) it will need to be ready earlier in the campaign than it used to be. See our page on selling a property.
Frequently asked questions
It is the disclosure document a seller must sign and give a buyer before the buyer signs the contract, as required by the Sale of Land Act 1962. It sets out title details and encumbrances, planning information, rates and outgoings, services, building permits from the last seven years, and any notices affecting the property. If it is incomplete or incorrect, the buyer may have grounds to end the contract in some circumstances.
Yes. Once you sign, changing the terms depends on the vendor agreeing, and they usually have no reason to. Before you sign, a special condition can be added or removed with a phone call between the agents. The review is cheap relative to the purchase and it is the only point at which you have leverage.
It depends on when you need to sign or bid. Tell us your deadline when you send the contract and we will confirm whether we can meet it before you engage us. If time is tight, call us on (03) 9629 2211.
We charge a fixed fee, quoted before we start, so there are no surprises. Call us on (03) 9629 2211 or send the contract through the enquiry form and we will quote the fee before we start.
A free check is often offered on the basis that you then use the same firm for the conveyancing. Our review is written legal advice on the contract and the Section 32 from a lawyer, and we quote the fee before we start, so you can decide whether it’s worth it before you commit to anything.
Yes, and you should have it done before the auction. There is no cooling-off period on an auction purchase, so the review is your only opportunity to understand what you are committing to.
It depends on what is missing and at what stage you discover it. In some circumstances a buyer can end the contract, and in others the vendor can rely on a defence. This is one of the areas where having a lawyer rather than a conveyancer matters, because it is a legal argument rather than an administrative step.
There’s no cooling off if you buy at a publicly advertised auction or within three clear business days either side of one, if the land is used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes, if it’s farm land over 20 hectares, or if the buyer is a company or an estate agent. In those cases a review before you sign matters even more.