Conveyancing checklist for buyers and sellers: NSW, VIC and QLD

This checklist puts the conveyancing process in order. Use it to see what needs attention next, then read the buying or selling guide for the state where the property sits. The state guides explain each step, the documents and the rules behind it.

It is a checklist for discussion with your conveyancer, not a substitute for the contract. Buying and selling together means following both lists: your sale's lender arrangements and your purchase's finance and funds need attention on their own.

Buyer stage 1: before you make an offer

• Have finance pre-approval and identity documents ready for verification.
• Obtain the contract and vendor disclosure from the agent, rather than waiting until you are asked to sign.
• Have your conveyancer review the contract and disclosure before committing.
• Arrange a building and pest inspection. For a unit, arrange a strata or body corporate records inspection as well.
• Get questions about zoning, easements, flood and bushfire overlays answered from the certificates in the disclosure.
• Decide how you will hold the property if buying with someone else.

State note: NSW uses a contract of sale with prescribed documents. Victoria requires a section 32 vendor statement with the contract. Queensland requires the seller disclosure statement and prescribed certificates before signing, mandatory from 1 August 2025. The documents differ, but obtaining and reviewing them belongs at the start in every state.

Read the contract review information alongside the building and pest inspection guide. The legal documents and the physical inspection are separate items to have ready.

Buyer stage 2: signing and cooling-off

• Confirm special conditions, including finance and building and pest, and record their dates.
• Pay the deposit. In Queensland, check whether the contract uses an initial deposit and a balance deposit, with separate payment arrangements.
• Put the cooling-off period in your diary, using the correct start for the state and transaction.
• Arrange insurance rather than leaving it until the keys are available.

State note: NSW has five business days from exchange, or ten off the plan, with 0.25 per cent forfeited on rescission. Victoria has three clear business days from signing for private sales, with the greater of $100 or 0.2 per cent forfeited. Queensland has five business days from receiving the signed contract, with 0.25 per cent forfeited; the day of receipt is day one. There is no cooling-off at auction in any state. Read the cooling-off guide for the exceptions.

NSW buyers should insure from exchange and Queensland buyers from signing. In Victoria the vendor carries the risk until settlement under the standard contract, but the lender will require cover from settlement and many buyers insure earlier. Our Victorian buying guide recommends insuring from signing. Do not confuse who carries the risk with whether your own cover should already be arranged.

Buyer stage 3: between contract and settlement

• Confirm finance is unconditional and sign the loan documents.
• Have transfer duty paid or arranged with your conveyancer.
• Complete identity verification and sign the transfer.
• Have searches and certificates updated and the settlement figures and adjustments agreed.
• Arrange the funds for settlement with the bank, checking them against the settlement statement.
• Book the pre-settlement inspection for the days before settlement.
• Set up utilities and insurance from settlement, keeping any earlier cover in place.

State note: Queensland duty must be paid and the transfer stamped before settlement. NSW duty is due within three months of exchange or at settlement, whichever is first. Victoria pays duty at settlement through the duties online system. The state duty pages explain the detail; do not assume every state uses the same payment point.

Buyer stage 4: settlement and afterwards

• Settlement completes on PEXA and the agent releases the keys.
• Confirm that the title has registered in your name.
• Have land tax and rates records updated.
• Keep the contract, searches and settlement statement for your tax records.

State note: all three states use electronic settlement. The state guides explain the local title and authority notifications. Keep the records after the move rather than treating the release of the keys as the last administrative task.

Seller stage 1: before listing

• Have identity documents and mortgage details ready.
• Tell the lender early that you intend to sell.
• Instruct your conveyancer to prepare the disclosure, with certificates and searches ordered at the start.
• Decide the special conditions: deposit size, settlement period, inclusions, exclusions and any tenancy.

State note: in NSW, the contract with prescribed documents must exist before the property is offered for sale. In Victoria, the buyer must receive the section 32 before signing. In Queensland, the seller disclosure statement and certificates must be given before the buyer signs. Prepare the disclosure before marketing rather than trying to assemble it around an offer.

The selling conveyancing service and the state selling guides explain what your conveyancer prepares. Give them the property and mortgage information needed to begin.

Seller stage 2: offer and exchange

• Receive the agent's sales advice.
• Have the buyer's requested changes reviewed before accepting them.
• Sign and exchange or countersign the contract, following the state's process.
• Confirm the deposit is held by the agent or conveyancer in trust.
• Note the buyer's cooling-off period and the relevant dates.

State note: NSW uses exchange; Victorian and Queensland contracts follow signing and acceptance. The cooling-off rules differ as set out above. The seller guides recommend starting the mortgage discharge at exchange in NSW and at signing in Victoria and Queensland, not waiting until settlement is approaching.

Seller stage 3: between contract and settlement

• Confirm the lender's discharge request is underway; once the contract is unconditional, check its progress rather than waiting to start it.
• Complete identity verification and sign the transfer.
• Check the settlement adjustments and figures.
• Keep the property in its contract condition, with the inclusions in place.
• Arrange vacant possession or the agreed tenancy at settlement.
• Obtain the foreign resident capital gains withholding clearance certificate or variation.

State note: Australian-resident sellers obtain a clearance certificate from the ATO. Without one, the buyer must withhold 15 per cent of the price. Check the clearance or variation with your conveyancer alongside the lender and transfer documents. The state guides explain those items in the sale process.

Seller stage 4: settlement and afterwards

• Settlement completes on PEXA; leave the keys with the agent for release on completion.
• Confirm the proceeds are paid to the nominated account.
• Arrange final meter readings.
• Cancel insurance after settlement, not before.
• Keep the settlement statement for tax.

State note: in all three states, keep insurance through settlement and retain the records afterwards. If something is missing or delayed, tell your conveyancer rather than assuming the electronic booking will resolve it. The settlement day article explains what happens on the day.

Read the buying guides for NSW, Victoria and Queensland, or the selling guides for NSW, Victoria and Queensland for the full state-by-state process.