Property due diligence
The cooling-off period
Cooling-off compared across all 8 Australian states and territories, then Victoria's full detail — length, start date, refund calculation and exclusion list.
- Two states — Western Australia and Tasmania — have no automatic statutory cooling-off period at all; protection there depends entirely on contract conditions the buyer negotiates.
- Victoria: 3 clear business days, starting the day after the buyer signs — not the seller.
- NSW and Queensland: 5 business days each — materially longer than Victoria; South Australia's 2-day period is the shortest of the states that have one.
- The withdrawal cost differs too: Victoria charges the greater of $100 or 0.2% of price; NSW, Queensland and the ACT charge a flat 0.25%; the Northern Territory charges no penalty at all.
- Auction purchases get no cooling-off almost everywhere; a Victorian private sale signed within 3 days of that property's auction date also loses it.
- Also excluded in Victoria: mainly industrial/commercial property, rural land over 20 hectares used mainly for farming, a repeat contract on the same terms, and agent/corporate buyers.
Eight jurisdictions, three genuinely different approaches
Most states give a residential buyer a statutory cooling-off right after a private-sale contract is signed, with auctions the near-universal exception — but two states (WA and Tasmania) have no automatic cooling-off period at all, and the length, start date and withdrawal cost vary significantly among the rest. Assuming another state works like Victoria is a genuine, costly mistake.
The starkest difference isn't the number of days — it's that Western Australia and Tasmania have no automatic cooling-off right at all. A WA or Tasmanian buyer's only protection is whatever conditions they negotiate directly into their contract before signing; there's no statutory fallback if they forget one. NSW's and Queensland's five-day periods are materially longer than Victoria's three, and South Australia's two-day period is the shortest of the states that have one at all. The rest of this guide covers Victoria's rules in full detail; see each state's official resource above for its own detailed rules.
Victoria in detail: the real length and start date
A cooling-off period of three clear business days applies to private sales of residential and small rural property in Victoria. It begins from the date the buyer signs the contract, not the date the seller signs it (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026) — so it can already be running before the sale is even fully agreed. "Clear business days" excludes weekends and public holidays, and counting starts the day after signing.
The refund isn't 100%
If a buyer exercises their cooling-off right, they're entitled to a refund of any money paid, less $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price, whichever is greater (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). On a $700,000 property, 0.2% is $1,400 — more than the flat $100 — so the buyer would forfeit $1,400, not $100.
The full exclusion list
Victoria's private-sale cooling-off period does not apply if: the property was bought at public auction, or within three clear business days before or after one (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026); the property is used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes; the property is rural land over 20 hectares used mainly for farming; the buyer previously signed a contract for the same property on substantially the same terms; or the buyer is an estate agent or a corporate body (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). The auction-proximity exclusion catches the most buyers by surprise — it applies to a private-sale contract too, not just an actual auction purchase.
Worked example
A buyer signs a private-sale contract on a $700,000 townhouse on a Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are clear business days, so the cooling-off period runs until close of business Thursday. If they withdraw on Wednesday, they forfeit $1,400 (0.2% of $700,000, which is greater than $100) and get the rest of their deposit back.
Practical checklist
If you're relying on cooling-off
- Confirm the property wasn't advertised for auction within the last/next 3 clear business days
- Calculate the exact end date, excluding weekends and public holidays
- Know the forfeit amount (greater of $100 or 0.2% of price) before you sign
- Don't treat cooling-off as a substitute for finance or inspection conditions
Relevant Delora tool
Questions for a professional
- Does cooling-off actually apply to this specific contract?
- What is the exact cooling-off end date for this contract?
Official resources
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying property by private sale
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying property at auction
- NSW Government: Contracts and deposits when buying property
- Queensland Government: Cooling-off period for residential property contracts
- Consumer Protection WA: Sale by Offer and Acceptance
- SA.GOV.AU: Offers, auctions and buying off the plan
- CBOS Tasmania: Advice when buying or selling property
- ACT Legislation Register: Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003
- NT.GOV.AU: Contract of sale
Sources and methodology
- Buying property by private sale — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
- Buying property at auction — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 2026)
- Contracts and deposits when buying property in NSW — NSW Department of Customer Service (in collaboration with NSW Fair Trading) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
- Cooling-off period for residential property contracts (for buyers only) — Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
- Sale by Offer and Acceptance — Consumer Protection WA (Government of Western Australia) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
- Offers, auctions and buying off the plan — Government of South Australia (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
- Advice when buying or selling property — Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) Tasmania (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
- Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003 (A2003-40) — ACT Government (Justice and Community Safety Directorate) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
- Contract of sale — Northern Territory Government (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.