The line, state by state
Each line below is the period as the state’s own page describes it, with the moment it starts.
- Victoria
Three clear business days for private sales of residential property and rural property under 20 hectares, counted from the day the buyer signs the contract, not the day the seller signs.
- Queensland
Five business days under the standard contract, starting the day the buyer receives a copy of the contract signed by both parties, and ending at 5pm on the fifth day.
- South Australia
In many cases, two clear business days, starting when the buyer receives the vendor’s statement (Form 1) or signs the contract, whichever happens last.
- Western Australia
No mandatory cooling-off period for real estate contracts made in WA.
- Tasmania
Cooling-off periods for residential sales are not a requirement under the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016. The standard form contract offers vendor disclosure and cooling-off as options the parties can use.
- Australian Capital Territory
Five clear working days for residential sales, not counting weekends or public holidays, beginning on the first valid weekday after contracts are exchanged.
- Northern Territory
Contracts for property not sold by auction must give the buyer four business days, starting on the day the contract is last signed and exchanged.
Notice how the starting gun moves. In Victoria it fires when the buyer signs; in Queensland, when the buyer holds a copy signed by both sides; in South Australia, when both the contract and the vendor’s statement are in hand; in the ACT and the Northern Territory, at exchange.
Where the right switches off
The states that set a cooling-off period also name sales it doesn’t reach. Auctions are the common thread.
- VIC No cooling-off for a purchase at a public auction, nor for one made in the three clear business days either side of an auction. It also doesn’t apply to property used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes, farms over 20 hectares, a buyer who previously signed a contract for the same property on the same terms, or a buyer who is an estate agent or a corporate body.
- QLD Auctions have no cooling-off period. Nor does a private treaty contract signed within two business days of an unsuccessful auction of that property, where the buyer was a registered bidder at it.
- SA There is no cooling-off period after an auction; the successful bidder is expected to sign and pay the deposit straight away.
- ACT It doesn’t apply to property sold at auction or by tender, to a purchase made on the day of an auction where the property was passed in and the buyer was a registered bidder, to a buyer that is a corporation, or where the buyer has waived it after advice from a solicitor.
- NT The four-day period is written for contracts of property not sold by auction.
What stepping back costs
Where the right exists, leaving inside the period is rarely free. The price is set differently in each place.
- VIC The buyer is refunded everything paid except a deduction of $100 or 0.2 per cent of the purchase price, if that is greater. Notice goes in writing to the seller or the seller’s agent.
- QLD The seller must refund the deposit within 14 days and may deduct a penalty of up to 0.25 per cent of the purchase price. Notice must be written, signed and delivered before 5pm on the final day, in person, by email or by fax.
- SA If a buyer signs a contract and then cools off, the vendor can keep the holding deposit (a maximum of $100 when the offer was made).
- ACT A fee of 0.25 per cent of the purchase price, which Access Canberra’s guide puts as $250 per $100,000. It can come out of the deposit, with the rest returned.
- NT The buyer can cancel without penalty or explanation.
Queensland writes its price into the contract itself: every contract of sale must carry a warning statement directly above the buyer’s signature naming the five-business-day period and the 0.25 per cent termination penalty.
Waiving, shortening, extending
- QLD A buyer can waive or shorten the period by written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent.
- ACT Waiving or shortening needs legal advice from a solicitor who is not the seller’s solicitor, and a signed certificate from that solicitor handed to the seller.
- NT The period may be waived, reduced or extended by negotiation and agreement with the seller.
The papers that arrive before the signature
Cooling-off is one half of the line. The other half is what the seller must hand over first, and that differs just as much.
- VIC The seller’s section 32 statement, which the seller must give before the property is sold. From 1 June 2027, agents must make it available within 14 days of a private sale being advertised, or before the buyer signs if the property isn’t advertised.
- QLD Since 1 August 2025, a seller disclosure statement before the contract is signed. If the seller doesn’t comply, the buyer may be able to terminate, up to settlement.
- SA The vendor’s statement (Form 1), which also sets out the buyer’s cooling-off rights and how to give notice.
- WA No mandatory seller disclosure statement. The agent must disclose relevant facts about the property, especially when asked directly.
- TAS No requirement under the Act to disclose defects in the quality of the property. CBOS describes the position as “buyer beware”.
- ACT Certain documents and reports before the property is first offered to buyers, including a draft contract.
For a buyer used to one state’s rhythm, these are the places where a contract elsewhere behaves differently. Each state’s regulator publishes the current version, and a solicitor or conveyancer in that state can explain how it applies to a particular contract.