Property due diligence
Before-auction due diligence
Auction contracts can't be made conditional and carry no cooling-off — everything has to be checked before you bid, not after.
- There is no cooling-off period for a property bought at auction in Victoria.
- A buyer can't make an auction contract conditional on finance or inspection unless the seller agrees.
- A pre-auction offer signed within 3 clear business days of the auction also loses cooling-off protection.
- The seller must make the official due diligence checklist available at open-for-inspections.
- There's no binding contract at auction until both buyer and seller have signed it — that happens immediately after the hammer falls, with no chance to negotiate terms.
There is no second chance after the hammer falls
A property bought at auction in Victoria carries no cooling-off period (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026) — New South Wales shares this rule (NSW Department of Customer Service (in collaboration with NSW Fair Trading), verified 12 Aug 2026), and every other state and territory excludes auction purchases from cooling-off too, see the full 8-state cooling-off comparison for the detail — though this guide's checklist below is Victorian. A buyer also cannot make the auction contract subject to further conditions — such as obtaining finance or a longer settlement period — unless the seller specifically agrees to them (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Everything a private-sale buyer can still investigate during a cooling-off window or a finance/inspection condition has to be done before auction day for an auction purchase.
The pre-auction due-diligence checklist
Sellers, or the estate agent acting for them, must make Consumer Affairs Victoria's due diligence checklist available to prospective buyers at open-for-inspections (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). It covers urban living, owners corporation, growth areas, flood and fire risk, rural properties, earth resource activity, soil and groundwater contamination, land boundaries, planning controls, proposed or granted planning permits, safety, building permits, Aboriginal cultural heritage, insurance cover for building works, utility connections, and buyers' rights (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Work through it before the auction, not after.
What "no cooling-off" means for pre-auction offers
The cooling-off exclusion doesn't only apply on auction day itself — a private-sale contract signed within three clear business days before or after a property's scheduled auction also loses the cooling-off period. If you're considering a pre-auction offer, check the auction date and count the days before assuming you'd have cooling-off protection.
Worked example
A buyer wants to make a pre-auction offer on a property scheduled for auction the following Saturday. Because the offer would be accepted only two business days before the auction, it falls inside the exclusion window — no cooling-off period would apply, the same as if they'd bought at the auction itself. They treat their due diligence as already needing to be complete before signing, not something they can still do afterwards.
There is no legally binding sale until both sign
There's no legally binding contract at auction until both the buyer and seller have signed it (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026) — the successful bidder signs the displayed contract immediately after the hammer falls and pays the agreed deposit. Bring your conveyancer's sign-off on the contract and any agreed amendments with you; there's no opportunity to negotiate terms at that point, only price.
Practical checklist
Before auction day
- Read the Section 32 and contract of sale in full, ideally with a conveyancer
- Negotiate and confirm any contract amendments in writing before auction day, not on it
- Complete a building and pest inspection, and any specialist follow-up it recommends
- Review the owners corporation certificate and records if the property has one
- Check planning overlays and any building permits or notices affecting the property
- Confirm your finance is genuinely ready to settle, not just pre-approved
- Get an insurance quote for the property before bidding
- Confirm who is authorised to bid, and in what name(s) the contract should be signed
- Set a firm bidding limit in writing before you arrive, and don't change it on the day
- Work through Consumer Affairs Victoria's due diligence checklist
- Check whether any pre-auction offer would fall inside the 3-day cooling-off exclusion window
Questions for a professional
- Can you review this Section 32 and contract before the auction, not after?
- Is my finance approval genuinely unconditional and ready to settle on this timeline?
- Are there any amendments we should negotiate into the contract before auction day?
Official resources
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying property at auction
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Due diligence checklist
Sources and methodology
- Buying property at auction — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
- Buying property by private sale — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
- Due diligence checklist - for home and residential property buyers — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
- Buying property at an auction — NSW Department of Customer Service (in collaboration with NSW Fair Trading) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.