Property Law in Victoria: A Complete Guide

Property is the largest transaction most Victorians ever undertake, and the law governing ownership, transfer, use and disputes is dense, statute-heavy and unforgiving of mistakes made before signing. This guide maps that landscape and links to the specialised companion articles that cover each topic in depth. It states the law as at the review date shown above; rates, thresholds and commencement dates move, and nothing here substitutes for advice on a specific transaction. For the firm's practice, see our Conveyancing & Property and Litigation & Dispute Resolution pages.

Torrens title and indefeasibility

Land in Victoria is held under the Torrens system, administered under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic). Legal title is established by registration in the Register maintained by the Registrar of Titles, operating through Land Services Victoria (formerly Land Use Victoria). Each parcel has a folio recording the registered proprietor and the registered interests affecting it — mortgages, easements, covenants, caveats. The folio, not a paper certificate or a historical deed, is the record of ownership.

Registration confers indefeasibility: a registered proprietor generally takes title free of unregistered interests. The doctrine is qualified rather than absolute. Section 42 preserves specified exceptions, including fraud by or with the knowledge of the registered proprietor, prior folio errors, and defined overriding interests such as short tenancies in occupation and adverse possession rights. Other statutes carve out further exceptions. The case law also recognises an in personam exception: indefeasibility does not defeat a personal equity arising from the registered proprietor’s own conduct, such as an obligation to hold on trust or to transfer under an unperformed contract. A title search is essential but is not conclusive — physical inspection, planning enquiries and occupation checks remain part of proper due diligence.

Certificates of Title. From 3 August 2024, newly issued Victorian Certificates of Title are electronic and held within the land registry system; new paper certificates are no longer issued. An existing paper certificate remains valid until it is next required for a dealing, when it is dealt with under the Registrar’s Requirements and control passes to a Subscriber for that dealing. Holding an old paper certificate is not itself proof of ownership; the Register is.

The principal statutes

• Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) — the Register, indefeasibility, caveats (ss 89–91), priority notices (ss 91C–91J), mortgages and power of sale (s 77), and applications based on possession (s 60).
• Property Law Act 1958 (Vic) — sale and division of co-owned land and goods (Part IV, ss 224–234G), removal or variation of restrictive covenants (s 84), leases, mortgages and formality rules.
• Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) — vendor statements (ss 32–32P), cooling off (s 31), terms contracts, and off-the-plan deposits, plan amendments and sunset clauses (ss 9AA, 9AC, 10A–10E).
• Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic) — plans of subdivision, common property and the creation of owners corporations.
• Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) — constitution, powers, tiered obligations, rules, records, insurance and disputes.
• Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) and Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) — the two mandatory leasing regimes.
• Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) — planning schemes, permits and VCAT review.
• Building Act 1993 (Vic) — building and occupancy permits, owner-builder obligations on sale (ss 137B–137C) and the statutory insurance scheme.
• Duties Act 2000 (Vic), Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic), Windfall Gains Tax Act 2021 (Vic) and Commercial and Industrial Property Tax Reform Act 2024 (Vic) — State property taxes.
• Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) — including the fifteen-year period for actions to recover land (s 8).
• Fences Act 1968 (Vic) — dividing fences and cost apportionment.

Contracts of sale and Section 32 disclosure

A vendor must give the purchaser a signed vendor statement complying with ss 32 to 32P of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) before the purchaser signs the contract. The prescribed content includes:

• title — a register search statement, the plan and the instruments referred to;
• registered encumbrances — mortgages, caveats, easements and covenants;
• planning information — the responsible authority, scheme name, zone and overlays;
• outgoings — rates, land tax on a single-holding basis, water and owners corporation charges;
• building permits issued in the preceding seven years, and owner-builder matters;
• whether the land is in a designated bushfire-prone area;
• growth areas infrastructure contribution status;
• notices, orders, declarations and recommendations affecting the land;
• an owners corporation certificate and disclosures for a lot affected by one; and
• a services statement covering sewerage, water, gas, electricity and telephone.

Section 32K is the purchaser’s rescission right, and it is narrower than it is often described. It applies where the vendor supplies false information in the statement or its attachments, fails to supply information the Division requires, or fails to give a signed statement before the purchaser signs. Rescission is available “at any time before the purchaser accepts title and becomes entitled to possession or to the receipt of rents and profits”. Section 32K(4) then defeats rescission where the court is satisfied both that the vendor acted honestly and reasonably and ought fairly to be excused for the contravention, and that the purchaser is substantially in as good a position as if the Division had been complied with. Knowingly or recklessly supplying false or incomplete information is separately an offence under s 32L. The statement is a disclosure document; it does not warrant condition or fitness, and building, pest and structural advice remain separate exercises.

The contract of sale is the binding agreement, commonly on the Law Institute of Victoria and REIV standard form for residential sales and bespoke for commercial transactions, setting price, deposit, settlement date, inclusions, GST treatment, conditions and the default regime. Electronic signing under the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 is now the norm. See our companion guides on Section 32 vendor statements, buying property in Victoria and selling property in Victoria.

Cooling off under section 31

Section 31 of the Sale of Land Act gives a purchaser the right, at any time before the expiration of three clear business days after signing, to give the vendor written notice terminating the contract. On termination the purchaser is entitled to the return of all moneys paid except the greater of $100 or 0.2 per cent of the purchase price, which the vendor may retain. Notice must be given to the vendor, the vendor’s agent or the engaged estate agent, or left at the relevant address, within the three clear business days.

The section applies to contracts for the sale of land other than land used primarily for industrial or commercial purposes, and farming land of more than 20 hectares. The exclusions in s 31(5) are:

• the sale is by publicly advertised auction;
• the land is sold within three clear business days before the day of a publicly advertised auction, on the day of that auction, or within three clear business days after it;
• the vendor and purchaser have previously entered into a contract for the sale of the same land in substantially the same terms; or
• the purchaser is an estate agent or a corporate body.

There is no cooling-off waiver in Victoria. A purchaser cannot sign away the right by obtaining a certificate of independent legal advice; that is a New South Wales mechanism with no Victorian equivalent. Section 31(8) provides that any provision in the contract or in any other document by which a right conferred by s 31 is excluded, modified or restricted is void and of no effect, and s 14 of the Act voids any agreement purporting to waive a right under the Act to avoid a contract. A contract to which s 31 applies must carry a conspicuous notice of the right (s 31(6)); if it does not, s 31(7) allows the purchaser to rescind at any time before becoming entitled to possession or to the receipt of rents and profits. Cooling off is a purchaser-only right. See cooling-off rights when buying property in Victoria and, for the auction exclusion in practice, buying at auction.

Settlement, lodgement and registration

Electronic settlement is the standard for Victorian dealings. PEXA is an Electronic Lodgment Network Operator approved under the Electronic Conveyancing (Adoption of National Law) Act 2013 (Vic) — a platform used by accredited Subscribers. It is not the registry, the State Revenue Office or a bank. Consumers do not operate a workspace; their practitioner does so on their authority under a Client Authorisation. Verification of identity and right-to-deal checks are the Subscriber’s obligation and are a reasonable-steps standard, not proof of ownership.

At the agreed settlement time funds move through Reserve Bank Exchange Settlement Accounts, and the transfer and any incoming mortgage are lodged with the land registry. Registration follows lodgement and is not instantaneous; a lodged dealing may be requisitioned or, in narrow cases, rejected. Land transfer duty is assessed by the State Revenue Office through Duties Online and paid at settlement; the platform facilitates payment but does not determine liability. Adjustments of rates, land tax, owners corporation fees and the fire services property levy successor are calculated on the statement of adjustments. See PEXA and electronic conveyancing and the statement of adjustments.

Duty and State property taxes

Land transfer duty, still commonly called stamp duty, is imposed under the Duties Act 2000 (Vic) and administered by the State Revenue Office. Rates, thresholds and concessions change with each Victorian Budget; current figures must be confirmed on the State Revenue Office website rather than taken from any article. The following are separate regimes that do not apply to every property, and applicability should be checked before signing:

• Land tax — annual, on the total taxable value of Victorian land held by an owner, with a principal-place-of-residence exemption.
• Absentee owner surcharge — added to land tax for absentee owners under the Land Tax Act.
• Foreign purchaser additional duty — additional duty on acquisitions of residential property by foreign purchasers under the Duties Act.
• Vacant residential land tax — extended state-wide from 1 January 2025, assessed on residential land vacant for more than six months in the preceding calendar year, with defined exemptions.
• Windfall gains tax — on rezoning uplift above statutory thresholds, under the Windfall Gains Tax Act 2021 (Vic).
• Commercial and Industrial Property Tax — commercial and industrial land that enters the reform regime on a qualifying transaction from 1 July 2024 pays duty a final time, and annual property tax applies after the ten-year transition.
• Concessions and exemptions — principal place of residence, first home buyer, pensioner, off-the-plan, family farm, corporate reconstruction, relationship breakdown transfers and deceased estate transfers, each with strict eligibility and evidence requirements.

Commonwealth overlays are transaction-specific: GST on new residential premises and on commercial sales (including going-concern treatment), GST withholding at settlement on certain new residential sales, foreign resident capital gains withholding, and capital gains tax with its main residence and small business concessions. Do not assume a blanket outcome. See land transfer duty, the absentee owner surcharge and the first home buyer guide.

Co-ownership and Part IV of the Property Law Act

Two or more people may hold land as joint tenants, where the survivor or survivors take the whole on death, or as tenants in common, where each owns a defined share that passes under the will or on intestacy. A joint tenancy can be severed. On death, a surviving joint tenant obtains registration by lodging evidence of death, while a tenants-in-common interest requires a transmission application to the executor or administrator.

Where co-owners cannot agree, Part IV of the Property Law Act 1958 (Vic) applies. Under s 225 a co-owner may apply to VCAT. Section 228 empowers VCAT to make any order it thinks fit to ensure that a just and fair sale or division of the land or goods occurs, including an order for sale and division of proceeds, an order for physical division, or a combination.

The statute is not a neutral balancing exercise. Section 229(1) provides that where VCAT determines that an order for sale or division should be made, it must order sale and division of the proceeds unless it considers that physical division, or a combination, would be more just and fair. Sale is the default; physical division is the exception that must be justified.

Section 233 allows VCAT to order compensation or reimbursement between co-owners, an accounting, or an adjustment to a co-owner’s interest. In deciding, VCAT must take into account amounts reasonably spent improving the land, costs reasonably incurred in maintenance or insurance, payment by a co-owner of more than a proportionate share of rates, mortgage repayments, purchase money or other outgoings, damage caused by unreasonable use, and whether an occupying co-owner should pay an amount equivalent to rent — the last subject to the constraints in s 233(3). Section 234B deals separately with accounting for rent and other payments received from third parties.

Jurisdiction is confined. Under s 234C the Supreme Court and County Court do not have jurisdiction to hear a Part IV application, except where the matter relates to a proceeding under Part IX of the Property Law Act, Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) or the Partnership Act 1958 (Vic); where the co-ownership issue arises in the course of a proceeding already commenced in those courts; or where the court considers that special circumstances exist, meaning the matter is complex or a substantial part of it falls outside VCAT’s jurisdiction. VCAT may also refer a matter to those courts under s 234E. It is therefore wrong to assume that a high-value co-ownership dispute simply starts in the Supreme Court.

Caveats and priority notices

An unregistered interest — a purchaser under contract, an unregistered mortgagee, a beneficiary of a constructive trust, a party with an equitable interest pending transfer — may be protected by lodging a caveat under the Transfer of Land Act. A caveat notifies the claimed interest and, while in force, prevents the Registrar registering or giving effect to a transfer or dealing affected by it, subject to the exceptions in s 90(1) and to lapsing (s 91). A caveat does not create the interest it claims, does not improve a weak claim, and does not preserve it indefinitely. Section 118 makes a person who lodges a caveat without reasonable cause liable to compensate anyone who sustains damage. Under s 91(4) a caveat that has lapsed or been removed by court order cannot be renewed by or on behalf of the same person for the same interest.

There are three routes off the title:

• Withdrawal — the caveator lodges a withdrawal of caveat.
• The section 89A lapsing procedure — a person interested in the land applies to the Registrar in the approved form, supported by a certificate from an Australian legal practitioner in Victoria stating the opinion that the caveator does not have the estate or interest claimed. If satisfied the applicant has an interest in the land, the Registrar gives the caveator notice that the caveat will lapse on a specified day, which cannot be less than 30 days after service. The caveat lapses on that day unless the application is abandoned or the caveator gives the Registrar written notice that proceedings in a court or VCAT to substantiate the claim are on foot. Commencing proceedings without giving the Registrar notice in time does not stop the lapse.
• Section 90 — where a transfer or dealing has been lodged, the Registrar may notify the caveator, and the caveat lapses against that dealing after 30 days unless the caveator appears before a court and gives the undertaking, security or material the court directs, or the court or VCAT otherwise orders. A caveator can also be ordered to remove a caveat by the Supreme Court.

A priority notice is a different instrument, found in Division 1B of Part V, ss 91C to 91J. A recorded priority notice gives the instrument specified in it priority for registration for 60 days from lodgement (s 91C). It may be lodged only electronically and only by an entitled applicant (s 91D). Under s 91FA the applicant may apply once, before expiry or withdrawal, for an extension, which takes the priority period to 90 days from lodgement. Under s 91G the notice expires on the earlier of registration or recording of the specified instrument, 60 days from lodgement, or 90 days if extended, and may be withdrawn earlier. Instruments capable of being recorded, including caveats, are not affected by a priority notice and may be lodged at any time (s 91F), and s 91J provides for compensation where a priority notice is lodged without reasonable cause. See caveat removal in Victoria and caveats over property after separation.

Easements, covenants, leases and licences

Easements confer a right held by one parcel, the dominant tenement, over another, the servient tenement — carriageway, drainage, sewerage and utility rights. They bind successive owners and are usually recorded on title, though implied and prescriptive easements can exist off the folio. Disputes turn on scope, substantial interference and, rarely, abandonment; remedies include declaration, injunction and damages. See easements in Victorian property.

Restrictive covenants are private restrictions on use registered on title for the benefit of other land — single dwelling covenants, materials, setbacks, use restrictions. They are enforced by the benefited owners, not by the council. A planning permit cannot authorise a breach of a covenant, and the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) constrains the grant of a permit that would allow one. Removal or variation is by application under s 84 of the Property Law Act, by planning scheme amendment, or by agreement of all beneficiaries. See restrictive covenants.

Leases grant a right of exclusive possession for a term; licences confer only a personal permission to occupy and are revocable according to their terms. The distinction is substantive rather than terminological — labelling an arrangement a licence will not defeat a lease where exclusive possession has in fact been granted.

Mortgages and mortgagee sale

A registered mortgage secures a debt over land, and priority between competing mortgages is determined by registration, subject to tacking and postponement. Enforcement is not immediate on a missed payment. Under s 77(1) of the Transfer of Land Act, if the mortgagor does not comply with the notice or demand within one month of service, or within such other period as the mortgage fixes, the mortgagee may sell the land in good faith and having regard to the interests of the mortgagor, by auction or private contract and on such terms as the mortgagee thinks fit. That statutory formulation is supplemented by duties recognised in equity and by the mortgage itself; it is not accurate to describe the Act as imposing a duty to obtain market value.

Section 77(3) fixes the order in which proceeds are applied: costs, charges and expenses properly incurred incidental to the sale; the moneys due on the mortgage; subsequent mortgages and charges in order of priority; and the residue to the mortgagor. Where the loan is regulated consumer credit, the National Credit Code imposes its own default notice and enforcement requirements before the mortgagee may act, and hardship provisions may be engaged. A borrower facing enforcement should take advice immediately rather than after a sale has been contracted.

Adverse possession

Section 8 of the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) provides that no action may be brought to recover land after the expiration of fifteen years from the date on which the right of action accrued. A person who has had actual, open, exclusive and continuous adverse possession for that period may apply to the Registrar under s 60 of the Transfer of Land Act for an order vesting the land, supported by a plan of survey certified by a licensed surveyor or another description that satisfies the Registrar. The Registrar advertises the application and gives notice to those appearing to have an interest; the applicant must post a copy of the notice on the land and keep it posted for at least 30 days; and the Registrar appoints a period of not less than 30 days after which the application may be granted unless a caveat is lodged. Any person claiming an estate or interest may lodge a caveat under s 61 forbidding the grant.

The statutory exclusions are specific:

• Crown land — s 7 of the Limitation of Actions Act.
• Victorian Rail Track land — s 7A.
• Water-authority land within the meaning of the Water Act 1989 (Vic) — s 7AB.
• Council land of which a council is the registered proprietor — s 7B, subject to the narrow saving in s 7B(2).
• Section 7C prevents a lot owner acquiring an owners corporation’s common property by adverse possession.

Possession alone transfers nothing. Applications are evidence-heavy, frequently opposed, and often resolved by negotiated boundary adjustment instead. See adverse possession in Victoria and boundary and fencing disputes.

Owners corporations

An owners corporation is created on registration of a plan of subdivision with two or more lots and common property. Under the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic), owners corporations are classified into tiers with calibrated obligations for meetings, financial management, maintenance planning and insurance. Repair responsibility follows the plan of subdivision — lot versus common property — and the Act deals separately with entry for repairs and with apportionment of consequential works.

Dispute resolution runs in a defined sequence. Section 152 allows a lot owner, occupier or manager to make a written complaint in the approved form about an alleged breach of the Act, the regulations or the rules; complaints about personal injury or the recovery of fees, charges or contributions are excluded. Section 153(3) then prevents the owners corporation from taking action under Part 10 or applying to VCAT unless the dispute resolution process required by the rules has first been followed and the matter remains unresolved. Sections 154 to 157 govern notice of a decision not to act, a notice to rectify with 28 days to comply, further time, and a final notice.

The grievance procedure itself is a rule, not a schedule to the Act. Schedule 1 of the Act is a rule-making power that includes dispute resolution as a permitted topic; where an owners corporation has not made its own rule, the model rules made under the Owners Corporations Regulations 2018 supply the default procedure.

Consumer Affairs Victoria has a role but is not a gateway. Under ss 160 and 161 any person may complain to the Director, who may refer a dispute reasonably likely to be settled to conciliation or mediation between lot owners, former lot owners, mortgagees, insurers, occupiers, purchasers, agent providers and managers. That referral is discretionary and is not expressed in the Act as a precondition to a VCAT application.

Section 162 gives VCAT jurisdiction to hear and determine an “owners corporation dispute”, being a dispute or other matter arising under the Act, the regulations or the rules that affects an owners corporation, including matters about the operation of the owners corporation, alleged breaches by a lot owner or occupier, the exercise of a manager’s functions, terms of a manager’s contract of appointment, and disposal of abandoned goods. Section 163 sets out who may apply, including a lot owner applying on behalf of the owners corporation. Section 164 lets VCAT dismiss an owners corporation’s rectification application where s 153 was not complied with. Sections 165 to 167 set out the orders VCAT may make, a civil penalty for breach of rules, and the matters VCAT must consider, including the conduct of the parties and whether a resolution is oppressive to, unfairly prejudicial to, or unfairly discriminates against a lot owner. See owners corporation disputes in Victoria.

Residential, retail and commercial leasing

Residential tenancies are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), substantially rewritten from 29 March 2021 and amended repeatedly since. The Act covers rental minimum standards, bond lodgement with the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, entry, rent-increase frequency and notice, notices to vacate on prescribed grounds, repairs, and VCAT jurisdiction. Contracting out is not available.

Retail premises leases are separately regulated by the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) where the premises fall within the retail definition, broadly premises used wholly or predominantly for the sale or hire of goods by retail or the retail provision of services, subject to statutory carve-outs and Ministerial determinations. The Act requires a landlord disclosure statement, provides a five-year minimum term unless the Victorian Small Business Commission certifies a shorter term, restricts rent-review mechanisms and prohibits ratchet clauses, makes land tax irrecoverable from the tenant, and regulates outgoings disclosure. Retail tenancy disputes are generally referred to the Victorian Small Business Commission, and a certificate is ordinarily required before VCAT proceedings, subject to statutory exceptions and to urgent interlocutory relief.

Non-retail commercial leases are governed principally by the lease, the general law of landlord and tenant, residual provisions of the Property Law Act 1958 (Vic) and, where applicable, the Australian Consumer Law on pre-contractual conduct and unfair contract terms. They are not purely contractual, and retail protections do not apply merely because a lease is called commercial — or fail to apply merely because it is. See when the Retail Leases Act applies and tenant rights in Victoria.

Off-the-plan purchases

An off-the-plan contract is a contract to buy a lot that does not yet exist as a separate title. Under s 9AA of the Sale of Land Act the deposit must not exceed 10 per cent of the purchase price, must be paid to the vendor’s legal practitioner, conveyancer or licensed estate agent, and the contract must contain a conspicuous notice telling the purchaser that the deposit amount is negotiable within that limit, that a substantial period may elapse before registration, and that the value of the lot may change in the meantime.

Under s 9AC, if an amendment to the plan is required by the Registrar or requested by the vendor after the contract is entered into and before registration, the vendor must advise the purchaser in writing within 14 days, and the purchaser may rescind within 14 days of being advised of an amendment that will materially affect the lot. Section 9AD prevents the purchaser taking, or being required to take, possession before registration of the plan.

Sunset clauses are controlled by ss 10A to 10E. A vendor may only rescind a residential off-the-plan contract under a sunset clause where the plan has not been registered or an occupancy permit has not issued by the sunset date, and must first give each purchaser at least 28 days’ written notice setting out the reason for the proposed rescission, the reason for the delay, and that the purchaser is not obliged to consent — and then obtain each purchaser’s written consent. Failing that, the vendor must apply to the Supreme Court under s 10E for an order permitting rescission, which the Court may make if satisfied it is just and equitable in all the circumstances, having regard to matters including whether the vendor has acted unreasonably or in bad faith and the reason for the delay. A purported rescission in breach of the Division is a breach of contract (s 10D), and inconsistent contractual provisions have no effect (s 10C). See off-the-plan property purchases in Victoria.

Planning, building and environmental due diligence

A vendor statement is a disclosure document, not a substitute for inspection and specialist reports. Due diligence for a substantial residential purchase typically includes a title search and review of every registered instrument, a planning property report covering zone, overlays, heritage, vegetation and growth areas infrastructure contribution, building permit history, a building and pest inspection, flood and bushfire mapping, and, for a lot in an owners corporation, the owners corporation certificate, records and insurance. Commercial due diligence adds environmental site assessment, lease and tenancy review, structural and services reports, valuation, GST and duty modelling and, for development sites, planning and feasibility advice.

Owner-builder sales. Section 137B of the Building Act 1993 (Vic) makes it an offence for a person who constructed a building to enter a contract to sell it within the prescribed period unless, where the seller is not a registered building practitioner, the seller has obtained a report on the building from a prescribed building practitioner no more than six months before entering the contract and has given a copy to the intending purchaser; has complied with the requirements of the statutory insurance scheme; has given the purchaser a notice of cover; and, for the sale of a home, the contract sets out the warranties implied by s 137C. For a building on which domestic building work has been carried out, the prescribed period is 6 years and 6 months after the completion date — the date of the occupancy permit or, if none issues, the certificate of final inspection — with alternative periods where no permit issues. A contract entered into in contravention is not void but is voidable by the purchaser at any time before completion.

The s 137C warranties are that the domestic building work was carried out in a proper and workmanlike manner, that the materials were good, suitable and, unless the contract says otherwise, new, and that the work complied with all laws and legal requirements. A successor in title may sue on those warranties as if a party, and a provision purporting to remove that right is void except as to a breach known, or that ought reasonably to have been known, at the time.

Building insurance terminology. Consumer Affairs Victoria records that domestic building work under contracts entered into before 1 July 2026 was covered by domestic building insurance, a last resort scheme, and that from 1 July 2026 the Building and Plumbing Commission covers domestic building work through a first resort scheme called Home Warranty insurance, applying to work worth more than the prescribed threshold on homes of three storeys or less. There is no scheme called “Building Practitioner Cover”. See building and pest inspections.

Foreign purchasers and eligibility

Acquisitions of Australian land by foreign persons are regulated by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth), with residential land, commercial land and business acquisitions governed by separate rules and thresholds rather than one uniform test. Treasury’s guidance is that foreign persons generally require foreign investment approval before acquiring an interest in residential land, regardless of value, and that investors will generally need to notify the Australian Taxation Office before acquiring residential land. Approval is therefore a pre-acquisition requirement, not something to be left until shortly before settlement; in Victorian practice a contract is made conditional on approval so that no unconditional acquisition occurs before it is given.

The Australian Taxation Office has published that from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 foreign persons are banned from purchasing established dwellings in Australia, with limited exceptions. Fees, thresholds, exceptions and conditions change regularly, and the current Treasury and Australian Taxation Office material should be checked before signing. Proceeding without required approval can attract civil penalties, criminal liability and forced divestment. Victorian foreign purchaser additional duty and the absentee owner surcharge are separate State imposts assessed by the State Revenue Office and are not affected by Commonwealth approval.

Reform in progress

Victorian property law is mid-reform, and the commencement dates matter more than the headlines. The Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (Vic), Act No. 36/2026, received Royal Assent on 8 September 2026. Under section 2(1), the provisions listed there — including Division 2 of Part 9, which inserts section 9AEA(3) into the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) for off-the-plan residential apartment contracts — came into operation on 9 September 2026, the day after assent. That is why the authorised in-force Sale of Land Act is version 174, effective 9 September 2026.

Division 1 of Part 9, which contains the substantial conveyancing changes, has not commenced. Under section 2(3) it commences on a day or days to be proclaimed, with two different statutory backstops:

• 1 July 2027 — sections 106, 107 and 108, under section 2(5A). Section 107 inserts new sections 26A and 26B: a stakeholder holding deposit moneys under section 24 must not release them to the vendor, or as the vendor directs, before settlement unless the contract contains a condition agreed by the purchaser and vendor providing for that release; and an estate agent so authorised must not retain commission, auction expenses or other entitlements out of the deposit before settlement or rescission, although the vendor may pay those amounts separately. Section 108 repeals section 27, the present early deposit release mechanism, and section 106 updates the cross-reference in section 25(1) from section 27 to section 26A.
• 1 June 2027 — sections 105 and 109 to 113, under section 2(5). These move vendor statement timing from “before the purchaser signs the contract” to “from the sale availability time”, a new defined term. For land publicly advertised for sale other than by auction or a fixed-date sale, the sale availability time is the day 14 days after the land is first publicly advertised. For land advertised for auction or a fixed-date sale, it is the day 14 days before the first auction date or first fixed date. Where the land is not publicly advertised, or is to be sold within 14 days after first advertisement, or is to be sold more than 14 days before a first auction or fixed date, the statement must still be made available before the purchaser signs the contract. “Make available” means in electronic or hard copy format on the request of any prospective purchaser. A new section 32(3) will require the vendor to give the purchaser written notice of any changes to the statement before the purchaser signs, and the rescission and offence provisions in sections 32K(3) and 32L(c) are recast in the same make-available terms.

Section 113 inserts a transitional provision, new section 59 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. Sections 30, 32, 32K and 32L as amended will not apply to a contract for the sale of land entered into within 28 days after the day Division 1 of Part 9 commences; those sections as in force immediately before that day continue to apply to such a contract.

As at 14 September 2026 none of the Division 1 of Part 9 provisions governs a present transaction. Section 27 early deposit release remains available, and a section 32 statement must still be given to the purchaser before the purchaser signs the contract. Because consolidated authorised versions are republished only after commencement, a reprint of an Act is not always a complete statement of the law on a given day. Check the commencement position for anything time-critical rather than relying on a reprint or an article, including this one.

Disputes and choosing a forum

Property litigation spans caveat disputes, specific performance and termination of contracts of sale, Australian Consumer Law claims for misleading conduct in marketing, easement and covenant enforcement, boundary and possession disputes, owners corporation disputes, tenancy disputes and building disputes. Forum depends on the claim rather than the amount alone:

• Supreme Court of Victoria — caveat removal, injunctions, specific performance, complex title and trust questions.
• County Court — general civil claims, and Part IV co-ownership matters only within the narrow s 234C exceptions.
• VCAT — co-ownership under Part IV, owners corporation disputes, residential tenancies, retail leases, domestic building disputes and planning review.
• Magistrates’ Court — dividing fences under the Fences Act and smaller monetary claims.
• Victorian Small Business Commission and Consumer Affairs Victoria — pre-tribunal referral and conciliation in retail lease and owners corporation matters respectively.

Property disputes are fact-intensive and expert-dependent, drawing on surveyors, valuers, planners and building consultants, and costs escalate quickly. Early advice, narrow framing and disciplined evidence gathering usually determine the outcome long before a hearing.

Practical checklists

Before signing — purchaser. Read the vendor statement and the contract in full. Obtain a title search and identify every registered instrument. Check zone, overlays and heritage. Obtain a building and pest inspection for an established dwelling, or review plans and specifications off the plan. For a lot in an owners corporation, review the certificate, records, budget and insurance. Confirm finance and, where relevant, the foreign investment position before entering an unconditional contract. Model duty, land tax and, where applicable, GST and capital gains tax. Do not bid at auction or sign without pre-signing advice — the auction exclusion means there is no cooling off.

Before signing — vendor. Instruct a practitioner to prepare a complete and accurate vendor statement; the disclosure obligations and the s 32L offence sit with the vendor. Confirm rates, land tax, water and owners corporation information are current. Disclose known notices and orders. Confirm duty and capital gains treatment for the owning entity. If the property was owner-built, confirm the s 137B position before contracting.

Before signing — landlord or tenant. Determine first whether the lease is residential, retail or non-retail commercial; the answer changes almost every other question. For retail, give or obtain the disclosure statement in time and check the term against the five-year minimum. For residential, comply with rental minimum standards, bond lodgement and notice requirements. For all leases, negotiate rent review, options, outgoings, make-good and default carefully — the standard form is rarely optimal unamended.

How Parke Lawyers helps

Parke Lawyers acts across the range of Victorian property matters — residential and commercial conveyancing, off-the-plan purchases, family and estate-related transfers, retail and commercial leasing, owners corporation advice, caveat and covenant work, easement and boundary disputes, planning questions and property litigation. The firm’s property practice is led by Julian McIntyre, working with the Commercial & Business Law and Litigation & Dispute Resolution teams. We do not promise outcomes, we do not claim special relationships with the registry, councils or agents, and we do not provide out-of-hours urgent telephone advice. To arrange a consultation, call 134 134 or submit an online enquiry.

Official sources

• Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) — authorised version; caveats, priority notices, mortgagee power of sale and possessory applications.
• Property Law Act 1958 (Vic) — Part IV co-owned land and goods, and s 84 covenant applications.
• Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) — cooling off, vendor statements and off-the-plan provisions.
• Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) — the fifteen-year period and the adverse possession exclusions.
• Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) — complaints, rectification notices and VCAT jurisdiction.
• Owners Corporations Regulations 2018 (Vic) — the model rules, including the default grievance procedure.
• Building Act 1993 (Vic) — owner-builder sale obligations and implied warranties (ss 137B–137C).
• Consumer Affairs Victoria — insurance and insolvency — domestic building insurance and Home Warranty insurance from 1 July 2026.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria — owners corporation complaints and disputes.
• VCAT — owners corporations — application process and orders.
• State Revenue Office Victoria — current duty, land tax, windfall gains tax and commercial and industrial property tax rates.
• Treasury — foreign investment in residential land — approval required before acquiring an interest.
• Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (Vic), Act No. 36/2026 — authorised as-made version — section 2 commencement rules and the Part 9 Sale of Land Act amendments.

Frequently asked questions