What is a contract of sale (and what is a section 32)?

A contract of sale is the legally binding agreement between the seller and the buyer of a property. Once it is signed and exchanged (or formed, in Victoria and Queensland) it sets everything that follows: the price, the deposit, what is included, when settlement happens and what each side must do before then. Signing one without a review is the single most expensive shortcut a buyer can take.

What every contract of sale contains

• the names of the vendor and the purchaser, and the property's address and title details
• the price and the deposit, and who holds the deposit
• the settlement date, or the period after exchange
• inclusions and exclusions: fixtures stay, chattels go unless the contract says otherwise, so dishwashers, blinds and sheds should be listed
• whether the property is sold with vacant possession or subject to a tenancy
• the standard conditions set by the state's law society or real estate institute
• special conditions added by the vendor's lawyer, which override the standard ones

How it works in each state

New South Wales. The seller's contract exists before the property is advertised and includes prescribed documents: the title search, plan, section 10.7 planning certificate and sewerage diagram, plus strata documents for a unit. There is no separate vendor statement; the contract is the disclosure. Exchange makes it binding and a five-business-day cooling-off period follows a private treaty sale.

Victoria. The contract is accompanied by a section 32 vendor statement, named after the Sale of Land Act 1962, which must disclose the title, mortgages and covenants, planning controls, outgoings, building permits in the last seven years, services and the owners corporation certificate. The buyer signs first as an offer; the contract forms when the vendor accepts, and a three-business-day cooling-off period applies to private sales.

Queensland. Most sales use the REIQ contract, which is commonly conditional on finance and a building and pest inspection. Since 1 August 2025 the seller must give a disclosure statement (Form 2) with the prescribed certificates before the buyer signs; if it is not given or is materially wrong, the buyer can terminate before settlement. A five-business-day cooling-off period applies after the buyer receives the signed contract.

What a conveyancer checks before you sign

• that the title plan matches the fences, the land and the parking you inspected
• easements, covenants and caveats on the title, and what they stop you doing
• zoning and overlays: heritage, bushfire, flooding, and any proposals affecting the land
• the owners corporation or body corporate's finances, levies, by-laws and any dispute or defect history
• the settlement date and whether it suits your finance and your sale, if you have one
• every special condition, in particular clauses that limit your remedies, shift outgoings or let the vendor delay
• that the inclusions you were promised are written down
• in Queensland, that the finance and inspection dates are achievable and the insurance obligation is understood

Who signs first, and when is it binding?

In Victoria and Queensland the buyer usually signs first, as an offer, and the contract is formed when the vendor accepts and the buyer receives the signed copy. In NSW both parties sign separate copies and the contract becomes binding on exchange. In all three states, an agent's verbal acceptance of your offer means nothing until the contract is formed, and a vendor can accept a higher offer in the meantime. The faster your contract is reviewed, the sooner you can commit.

Getting your contract reviewed

Settle Easy reviews a standard residential contract within 48 hours for $330, or within 24 hours for $440 (urgent reviews are for standard contracts only). If you then instruct us for the conveyancing on that property, $150 is credited back at settlement; under the current offer one standard review is included at no charge when you accept a conveyancing quote. Send us the contract, and the section 32 or disclosure statement if there is one, and we tell you in plain English what you are signing.