Making an offer
Buying at auction
Auction rules, vendor and dummy bids, bidding advances, being 'on the market', and what to do if a property is passed in.
- The auction rules and information statement must be displayed for at least 30 minutes before bidding starts.
- Vendor bids must be made and announced by the auctioneer; dummy bidding is illegal.
- The auctioneer has wide discretion to refuse, restart or refer a bid, or withdraw the property.
- A successful bid becomes binding once the contract is signed and the deposit paid — no cooling-off, no added conditions without the seller's agreement.
- A passed-in price is not a confirmed market value.
The rules must be on display before bidding starts
The auction rules and the official auction information statement must be displayed at the auction location for at least 30 minutes before bidding starts (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Before bidding begins, the auctioneer must tell bidders that bids won't be accepted after the fall of the hammer, that bidders can be asked to identify themselves, that false bidding or disrupting the auction is illegal, and whether vendor or co-owner bids will be used (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Read the displayed rules and contract terms in the half-hour before bidding — you're bound by the contract on display, not by anything negotiated verbally.
Bidding advances and auctioneer discretion
The auctioneer sets the amount by which bids increase — "rises" or "bidding advances" — and while you can offer a different amount, it's up to the auctioneer whether to accept it (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). An auctioneer may refuse a bid at any point, including during the fall of the hammer, restart bidding after a disputed bid, refer a bid to the seller before the auction concludes, or withdraw the property from sale entirely (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). This discretion is wide — plan your bidding pattern knowing the auctioneer, not you, controls the pace.
Vendor bids, co-owner bids and dummy bidding
A vendor bid, made on the seller's behalf when they're not satisfied with the last genuine bid, can only be made by the auctioneer and must be announced when made; the arrangements for it must be set out in the displayed rules and announced at the start of the auction (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). A co-owner of a jointly owned property may genuinely bid themselves or through a representative from the crowd, but not through the auctioneer (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Dummy bidding — a false bid invented by the auctioneer, or a bid knowingly accepted from a non-genuine bidder to influence the price — is illegal and carries significant penalties (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). If you're unsure whether vendor bids are in use, that's exactly what the auctioneer's opening disclosure is required to tell you.
"On the market"
When bidding reaches or is close to the reserve, the auctioneer may pause to seek the seller's instructions, then announce the property is "on the market" once the seller confirms they'll sell at the current highest bid (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). From that point the property will sell to the highest bidder, at the seller's discretion.
If the property is passed in
If bidding doesn't reach the reserve, the property is passed in. The highest bidder gets the first right to negotiate a price with the seller; if they can't agree, the agent may approach another bidder, and if the seller still can't agree a price with any buyer they may take the property to private sale. If the agent later advertises at the passed-in figure, they must disclose whether it included a vendor bid (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). Treat the passed-in amount as an unverified anchor, not a confirmed value — go back to your own evidence before negotiating further.
Winning: conditions, the deposit and when it's binding
If you're the successful bidder, you're offered a contract in the same terms displayed before the auction and cannot add further conditions — such as finance or a longer settlement — unless the seller agrees (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). There is no cooling-off period once you've bought at auction (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). You'll need to pay a deposit, commonly 10% of the price though there's no legal minimum or maximum, held in trust by the agent, conveyancer or legal practitioner until settlement (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026) (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026). The sale becomes binding once both parties have signed the contract in the displayed terms and the deposit is paid (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026).
Worked example
An auction opens at $650,000 with $10,000 rises. The auctioneer announces vendor bids are permitted and in use. Bidding stalls at $690,000; the auctioneer pauses, confers with the seller, and returns to announce the property is "on the market" at $690,000. Two genuine bidders continue in $2,000 rises to $706,000, where it sells. Because the buyer had already fixed a $715,000 walk-away limit before the auction, the outcome required no in-the-moment decision about whether to keep bidding.
Practical checklist
On auction day
- Arrive early enough to read the displayed auction rules and contract
- Confirm whether vendor or co-owner bids are in use, from the auctioneer's opening disclosure
- Know your fixed walk-away limit before bidding starts, and don't revise it during the auction
- Have your deposit method ready and confirmed with the agent in advance
- If passed in, re-check your evidence before negotiating further rather than anchoring to the passed-in figure
Relevant Delora tool
Questions for a professional
- Is my finance genuinely unconditional and ready to settle on this exact timeline?
- Have you reviewed the contract terms that will be on display at the auction?
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- Buying property at auction — Consumer Affairs Victoria (retrieved 30 Jul 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.