Making an offer

Buying at auction

Victoria, NSW, WA, QLD, SA, TAS, ACT and NT auction rules compared, then Victoria's full detail — vendor and dummy bids, bidding advances, being 'on the market', and what to do if a property is passed in.

The core rules are similar nationally — the detail and penalties aren't

All eight states and territories give no cooling-off period once the hammer falls, but the specific rules, disclosures and penalties differ enough that assuming another state matches Victoria is a real risk — WA and the NT are genuine outliers, discussed below.

This table now covers all eight states and territories for auction-specific conduct rules (cooling-off is covered separately in the cooling-off guide) — confirm any unusual local variation with that jurisdiction's fair trading or consumer affairs regulator before relying on it for a specific auction.

South Australia's own quirk: a pre-auction offer that's accepted still carries a cooling-off right by default — unlike the auction itself, which has none — and the buyer can only waive it if an independent legal practitioner signs a prescribed form confirming they were advised of that right first (Government of South Australia (Attorney-General's Department), verified 12 Aug 2026).

Western Australia is the clearest outlier: unlike Victoria, NSW and Queensland, its own Auction Sales Act doesn't explicitly criminalise dummy bidding in its text, and it permits far more vendor bids (up to 10 under industry conditions, versus one in Victoria/NSW or an unlimited-but-reserve-capped approach in Queensland) — a genuine difference worth knowing if you're bidding at a WA auction expecting Victorian-style rules. Queensland is notable for its strict reserve-price confidentiality rule, backed by a specific $34,540 penalty — stricter in this one respect than Victoria's own disclosure regime. NSW's dummy-bidding penalty is a specific, quantified court penalty; Victoria's equivalent offence exists but this guide hasn't sourced a directly comparable penalty figure for it. The Northern Territory is a second, different kind of outlier: uniquely among the eight, its own government guidance lets the seller bid at their own auction in person, or have any person bid for them, not just the auctioneer — the safeguard is disclosure (the bid must be announced as a seller bid), not a restriction on who can make it. The ACT, by contrast, is one of the strictest on this point: a single seller bid, made only by the auctioneer, pre-declared and announced every time. The rest of this guide covers Victoria's rules in full detail; see the other states' and territories' own auction guides (cited above) for the equivalent detail.

Victoria in detail: rules 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. A Bill currently before Victorian Parliament — the Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, which has passed the Legislative Assembly but not yet the Legislative Council or received Royal Assent — would require the seller's actual reserve price to be disclosed at least 7 days before the auction, proposed from 1 October 2026 if passed; that change is not in force yet.

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).

Bidding through someone else, or as joint buyers

If you can't attend, some agents allow telephone or proxy bidding on your behalf — confirm this directly with the agent well before auction day, put your bidding limit and instructions to your proxy in writing, and confirm exactly whose name(s) the contract should be drawn up in if you win. For joint buyers or a company or trust purchase, confirm the precise purchaser details with your conveyancer beforehand — a last-minute correction to the purchaser name on a signed contract is far harder to arrange than getting it right before you bid.

Immediately after you win

Sign the contract, verify the deposit payment instructions independently rather than trusting whatever's handed to you on the day, and get your own copy of the signed contract before you leave. Then notify your lender or broker that the purchase is unconditional and finance now needs to proceed to settlement, and arrange building insurance from the date recommended for your contract — don't leave either until the following week.

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
• Confirm exact purchaser names, and any proxy-bidding arrangement, with your conveyancer before the auction
• If passed in, re-check your evidence before negotiating further rather than anchoring to the passed-in figure
• If you win, verify deposit instructions independently and notify your lender and insurer that day

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

• Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying property at auction
• NSW Government: Buying property at an auction
• Queensland Government: Auctioning a property
• Government of South Australia: Offers, auctions and buying off the plan
• Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tasmania: Property auctions
• Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003 (ACT) — ss.29, 30, 32
• Northern Territory Government: Real estate auctions

Sources and methodology

• Buying property at auction — 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)
• Restricted Auctioneer's Licence - Western Australia — Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) / WA Dept of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
• Decision Regulatory Impact Statement: Regulation of the auction sales industry in Western Australia — WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety -- Consumer Protection (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
• Auctioning a property — Queensland Government (Office of 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)
• Offers, auctions and buying off the plan — Government of South Australia (Attorney-General's Department) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
• Property auctions — Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (Tasmania) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
• Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003 (ACT) -- ss.29, 30, 32 — ACT Legislative Assembly (via AustLII consolidated text) (retrieved 12 Aug 2026)
• Real estate auctions — 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.