Section 32 Vendor Statements in Victoria Explained

What a Section 32 vendor statement is

A Section 32 statement — formally a vendor's statement under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) — is a statutory disclosure statement. Section 32 requires the vendor of land to give the purchaser a statement signed by the vendor, containing the matters and attaching the documents required by Division 2 of Part II of the Act, before the purchaser signs the contract of sale.

Two points about its legal character matter. First, it is a disclosure statement rather than a warranty of the matters disclosed; the consequences of getting it wrong are found in sections 32K and 32L and in the general law, not in a statutory warranty of each disclosed item. Second, it is not a warranty or report about the physical condition of the property, and it does not replace building, pest, survey, planning, engineering or other due diligence. A statement can be fully compliant and the building can still be defective. See our guide on building and pest inspections in Victoria for that separate exercise.

Section 32N makes any contractual provision that purports to exclude, modify or restrict the operation of the Division void, so the obligations cannot be contracted out of. The separate purchaser due diligence checklist regime sits in sections 33–33C and is not part of the Section 32 statement itself.

Who prepares the statement, and who is responsible

A Section 32 is usually prepared by the vendor's legal practitioner or licensed conveyancer, who takes instructions from the vendor and orders the searches and certificates on which the statement is built — register search statement and plan, planning and rates certificates, water information, building surveyor searches, owners corporation certificates and land tax information.

The vendor signs the statement and remains responsible for compliance with the Act. Much of the content depends on matters within the vendor's own knowledge — unregistered easements, works carried out on the land, notices received — so the quality of the statement depends heavily on the candour of the vendor's instructions. The selling agent commonly distributes the statement and contract to prospective purchasers. Legal advice about the statement, for either side, should come from an appropriately qualified practitioner.

Timing: before the purchaser signs

The statutory requirement is that the signed statement be given before the purchaser signs the contract of sale. Electronic delivery is standard. Where terms are renegotiated before signing, the statement and contract are usually reissued so that the documents the purchaser signs match the disclosure they were given.

For auctions, the prescribed auction rules and the prescribed auction information statement under the Sale of Land (Public Auctions) Regulations 2024 carry the requirement that specified information be available for public inspection not less than 30 minutes before the auction starts. That 30-minute rule attaches to the auction rules and information statement, not to the Section 32 or the contract of sale. In practice the selling agent will ordinarily make the contract and Section 32 available before the auction so that bidders can obtain advice. Auction buyers should review both before bidding, because statutory cooling-off ordinarily does not apply to an auction purchase. For the detail see our guides on buying property at auction in Victoria and cooling-off rights.

The disclosure architecture: sections 32A–32I

Division 2 of Part II sets out the required content by subject matter. The summary below follows the statutory structure.

Financial matters (s 32A)

• particulars of any mortgage, registered or unregistered, that is not to be discharged before the purchaser becomes entitled to possession or to the receipt of rents and profits, including the particulars in Schedule 1;
• particulars of any charge over the land imposed by or under an Act to secure an amount due under that Act, including the amount owing;
• either the amount of any rates, taxes, charges or other similar outgoings affecting the land (with unpaid interest, including outgoings for which the purchaser may become liable in consequence of the sale and which the vendor might reasonably be expected to know of), or a statement that the total does not exceed a specified amount;
• whether the land is tax reform scheme land under the Commercial and Industrial Property Tax Reform Act 2024, the most recently allocated AVPCC and, if applicable, the entry date; and
• for a terms contract of the kind described in s 32A(d), the information in Schedule 2.

Note the statutory formulation: it is not simply "all rates and outgoings", but the particular test in s 32A(c). Statutory disclosure is also a different thing from settlement adjustment, which is governed by the contract; see our guide on property settlement adjustments. Where levies are disclosed, use current descriptions — the fire services property levy was replaced by the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund levy from 1 July 2025.

Separately, sections 10G and 10H of the Act restrict passing land tax or commercial and industrial property tax, and existing windfall gains tax liabilities, to a purchaser under a contract, with the land tax restriction applying where the sale price is less than a threshold amount that is adjusted for CPI under section 10I. Confirm the current threshold before relying on it. Our land transfer duty guide covers the broader Victorian property tax landscape.

Insurance (s 32B)

Where the contract does not provide for the land to remain at the vendor's risk until the purchaser becomes entitled to possession or receipt of rents and profits, particulars of the vendor's damage or destruction policy must be given. Where there is a residence on the land and section 137B of the Building Act 1993 applies to it, particulars of any cover under the statutory insurance scheme applying to the residence must be given.

Land use (s 32C)

• a description of any easement, covenant or other similar restriction affecting the land, whether registered or unregistered, and particulars of any existing failure to comply with its terms;
• a statement that the land is in a designated bushfire prone area, where it is designated under section 192A of the Building Act 1993;
• a statement if there is no access to the property by road; and
• where a planning scheme applies, the name of the planning scheme, the name of the responsible authority, the zoning of the land and the name of any planning overlay affecting the land.

Two cautions. Planning disclosure under s 32C(d) is confined to the prescribed scheme, authority, zoning and overlay information; the Division does not require particulars of planning permits granted over the preceding seven years, which is a separate and often-confused point from the building permit requirement in s 32E. And the bushfire prone area statement is a distinct designation under the Building Act, which drives construction requirements under the National Construction Code and AS 3959; it is not the same thing as, and is not interchangeable with, a Bushfire Management Overlay under the planning scheme.

Easements and covenants deserve close attention on the purchaser side, because they can defeat intended works. Our guides on easements and restrictive covenants explain how those interests run with the land.

Flood risk is not the subject of its own disclosure category. Flood-related planning controls — such as a Land Subject to Inundation Overlay, Floodway Overlay or Special Building Overlay — may appear in the prescribed planning information, but a Section 32 is not a comprehensive flood-risk assessment. Purchasers concerned about inundation should obtain a flood enquiry from the relevant water or catchment management authority.

Notices, orders and acquisition (s 32D)

The statement must disclose notices, orders, declarations, reports and recommendations of a public authority or government department or approved proposals directly and currently affecting the land of which the vendor might reasonably be expected to have knowledge, agricultural-purposes matters, and particulars of any notice of intention to acquire served under section 6 of the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986. Section 32M provides a separate rescission right where a notice of intention to acquire is served in the circumstances it describes.

Building permits in the preceding seven years (s 32E)

If there is a residence on the land, the statement must contain particulars of any building permit issued under the Building Act 1993 in the preceding seven years in relation to a building on the land. Three qualifications are commonly missed: the obligation is triggered by the presence of a residence; it is about building permits, not planning permits; and it is confined to the preceding seven years, so older unpermitted works will not surface through this route and need to be picked up by inspection and enquiry.

Owner-builder work and section 137B

Where the vendor built or altered a building themselves, section 137B of the Building Act 1993 may restrict the sale. It provides that a person who constructs a building must not enter into a contract to sell it under which the purchaser will become entitled to possess the building, or to receive the rent and profits from it, within the prescribed period unless the statutory conditions are met.

Where it applies, those conditions can include:

• for a person other than a registered building practitioner, a report on the building obtained from a prescribed building practitioner containing the matters required by the Minister by notice in the Government Gazette, obtained not more than six months before the person enters into the contract, and given to the intending purchaser;
• compliance with the requirements of the statutory insurance scheme, if any, and giving the purchaser a notice of cover; and
• for a contract for the sale of a home, setting out in the contract the warranties implied by section 137C.

The prescribed period is defined and must be worked out, not assumed. For a contract for the sale of a building on which domestic building work has been carried out it is generally six years and six months (or a longer prescribed period not exceeding ten years) after the completion date — the date of issue of the occupancy permit or, if none is issued, the certificate of final inspection. Where neither is issued or required, the period runs seven years from the issue of the building permit, or six years and six months from the certified date of commencement where no building permit is issued or required. The Four concepts must each be checked separately: the prescribed period that restricts the sale; the maximum six-month currency of the defects inspection report; the applicable insurance or Home Warranty threshold and transitional regime; and the separate statutory warranties implied by section 137C.

Insurance and Home Warranty cover. Current Building and Plumbing Commission guidance on selling an owner-built home states that, under its current scheme, an owner-builder selling within six years and six months must purchase the applicable cover where the value of the building project exceeded $20,000, and must include the applicable notice of cover and the defects inspection report with the sale documents. That threshold governs the current scheme only. Which insurance or Home Warranty regime applies — and which monetary threshold — depends on when the work was carried out and on the statutory transitional arrangements; older Consumer Affairs Victoria material refers to the former $16,000 threshold. The Building Act and the transitional provisions govern, so the position for older work must be confirmed rather than read off the current guidance.

Section 137B(1) excludes defined cases from the section, and section 137B(6) applies it whether or not construction is complete at the date of the contract. A contract entered into in contravention of section 137B(2) is not void for that reason alone but is voidable at the purchaser's option at any time before completion of the contract. Insurance and scheme requirements have changed with the transition to the Building and Plumbing Commission and the statutory insurance scheme, and transitional arrangements mean work of different vintages is not treated identically. Not every owner-builder renovation requires every document on the list. Where owner-builder work is detected or suspected, obtain advice on the current position before contracting.

Owners corporation information (s 32F)

If the land is affected by an owners corporation within the meaning of the Owners Corporations Act 2006, the vendor must either:

• specify in the statement the information prescribed for the purposes of section 151(4)(a) of that Act, or attach a copy of a current owners corporation certificate issued under section 151, and in either case attach copies of the documents specified in section 151(4)(b)(i) and (iii) that must accompany a certificate; or
• if the owners corporation is inactive, state in the statement that it is inactive. An owners corporation is inactive for this purpose where, in the previous 15 months, it has not held an annual general meeting, fixed any fees or held any insurance.

So a section 151 certificate is one permitted route, not the only one. Beyond the mandatory content, prudent purchaser due diligence in a strata or common-property building goes considerably further: recent committee and general meeting minutes, budgets and financial statements, maintenance plans and funds, insurance adequacy, building defect history and any current or threatened proceedings. Those materials are valuable additional due diligence rather than universally mandatory Section 32 attachments.

On money: unit entitlement is a measure of a lot's share, not an arrear, so there is no such thing as "arrears of unit entitlements" transferring to a purchaser. What does require care is unpaid owners corporation fees and charges in respect of the lot. Section 28 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 expresses liability for outstanding fees, charges, contributions or amounts owing in respect of a lot by reference to the owners for the time being and certain other persons connected with the lot, subject to the qualifications in that Act. The practical allocation between vendor and purchaser is then handled through disclosure, adjustment and the contract, so a purchaser should quantify any outstanding amounts and special levies before signing and take advice where they are material. Where there is a live dispute, see our guide on owners corporation disputes in Victoria.

Growth areas contribution and services (ss 32G, 32H)

Section 32G requires disclosure of growth areas infrastructure contribution matters where the land is affected. Section 32H is narrower than it is often described: the statement must specify if any of electricity supply, gas supply, water supply, sewerage or telephone services are not connected to the land. It is a statement about non-connection of prescribed services, not a universal list of every connected service or utility.

Legal connection status also says nothing about condition, capacity, location or suitability. A property may be connected to sewerage through an easement in an inconvenient position, or to a water supply with pressure or capacity limits, or to power with a supply that will not carry proposed works. Those are matters for inspection and technical enquiry.

Evidence of title (s 32I)

Section 32I lists the documents that must be attached. For land under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 it requires a copy of the register search statement and the document, or part of the document, referred to as the diagram location in the register search statement that identifies the land and its location. In other cases it requires the last conveyance in the chain of title or another document evidencing the vendor's title. Where the vendor is not the registered proprietor or owner of the fee simple, evidence of the vendor's right or power to sell is required. Further requirements apply to subdivisions, staged subdivisions under section 37 of the Subdivision Act 1988 and proposed further plans.

Two clarifications follow. There is no requirement that a paper certificate of title always be attached, and the Division does not require every instrument merely referred to on the register to be attached. A prudent purchaser nonetheless obtains and reads the registered instruments creating easements, covenants and other restrictions, the plan in full, and a fresh title search close to signing, because the legal effect of those interests is not apparent from a description alone. Where a caveat appears on title, see our note on caveat removal in Victoria.

Section 32J allows information required by the Division to be supplied by attaching a certificate, notice or other document issued by a relevant authority, and allows section 32B insurance information to be supplied by attaching the policy or an extract.

Focused vendor checklist

1. Instruct a legal practitioner or licensed conveyancer before listing, so certificates that take time — owners corporation certificates, building surveyor searches, owner-builder reports — do not hold up the campaign.
2. Disclose works honestly, including works you carried out yourself, works done without permits and works by previous owners that you know about.
3. Identify unregistered easements, covenants and similar restrictions you are aware of, and any existing failure to comply with their terms.
4. Obtain current certificates rather than reusing last year's, and refresh the statement if circumstances change before signing.
5. Where a residence is involved, check for building permits in the preceding seven years and whether section 137B applies to any work.
6. For an owners corporation lot, choose the correct section 32F route and attach the accompanying documents that route requires.
7. Check that every attachment referred to in the statement is actually attached, and that the statement is signed before it is given.

Our broader guide on selling property in Victoria places these steps in the wider sale process.

Focused purchaser review checklist

1. Confirm the statement is signed by the vendor and was given to you before you signed anything.
2. Read the register search statement, diagram location and plan against the property as marketed — dimensions, boundaries, access and any structures over boundaries.
3. Obtain and read the registered instruments for easements and covenants, and test them against your intended use and any proposed works.
4. Check the zoning and named overlays against your intended use, and obtain planning advice where development is contemplated.
5. Check building permits in the preceding seven years against the works actually on the property, and ask specifically about owner-builder work and occupancy permits or certificates of final inspection.
6. For an owners corporation lot, quantify fees, special levies and outstanding amounts, and review minutes, financials, insurance and defect history.
7. Check which prescribed services are disclosed as not connected, and make separate enquiries about condition, capacity and location.
8. Check outgoings and notices, and any bushfire prone area statement, against your budget and building plans.
9. Confirm every referenced attachment is present, and cross-check the disclosures against independent searches.
10. Arrange building, pest and any survey or engineering inspections separately — the Section 32 does not do that work.

Our guide on buying property in Victoria covers the surrounding process, and buying commercial property in Victoria deals with tenancy schedules, leases, outgoings reconciliations and GST issues that sit alongside the statutory disclosure. For an off-the-plan lot, see off-the-plan purchases in Victoria.

Common defects in Section 32 statements

• Given late or unsigned. The statement is provided after the purchaser signs, or is unsigned when given.
• Missing attachments. Documents referred to in the body of the statement are not in fact attached.
• Unregistered easements and restrictions omitted. A drainage line used by a neighbour, a practical right of way, or a known failure to comply with a covenant.
• Building permits missed. A deck, garage or extension permitted within the preceding seven years that the vendor overlooked.
• Owner-builder issues unaddressed. Section 137B engaged but the report, insurance scheme requirements, notice of cover or section 137C warranties not dealt with.
• Stale owners corporation material. An old certificate that does not capture a recently struck special levy, or the wrong section 32F route chosen.
• Planning information wrong or incomplete. Zoning disclosed but an overlay omitted, or planning and building permit requirements confused.
• Outgoings figures out of date. Last year's rates or water information used instead of the current position.
• Not refreshed before signing. A statement prepared months earlier is signed against without being reviewed for changes.

A statement may also be misleading despite being literally accurate — for example, a carefully framed answer about notices that leaves a material matter unstated. Whether a particular defect has legal consequences depends on the provision engaged, the materiality of the defect and the facts.

Rescission under section 32K: timing and test

Section 32K applies where the vendor supplies false information in the statement or in the documents attached to it, fails to supply all the information required by the Division, or fails to give the purchaser a statement signed by the vendor before the purchaser signs the contract.

Timing. The purchaser may rescind at any time before the purchaser accepts title and becomes entitled to possession or to the receipt of rents and profits. That is ordinarily settlement, but it can fall at a different point depending on the contract and what has happened between the parties — so "before settlement" is a shorthand rather than the statutory endpoint.

Test. The purchaser does not have to prove that they would not have entered the contract had the disclosure been complete. Instead, section 32K(4) provides that despite the rescission rights, the purchaser may not rescind if the court is satisfied that:

• the vendor has acted honestly and reasonably and ought fairly to be excused for the contravention; and
• the purchaser is substantially in as good a position as if all the relevant provisions of the Division had been complied with.

Section 32K(4) is a vendor-side statutory saving provision, and both limbs must be established by the vendor who seeks to rely on it to resist rescission.

Consequences are real. Rescission ends the contract prospectively and its financial consequences — including any return of the deposit and dealing with costs already incurred — depend on the contract, the general law and the circumstances, rather than following an automatic universal sequence. A purported rescission that is not justified is itself capable of putting the purchaser in breach and exposing them to contractual consequences, including a claim for loss on resale. Anyone considering rescission, and any vendor served with a notice of rescission, needs urgent legal advice.

Section 32L and other consequences

Section 32L makes it an offence for a vendor knowingly or recklessly to supply false information in the statement or attached documents, to fail to supply all the information required by the Division, or to fail to give a purchaser a statement signed by the vendor before the purchaser signs the contract. The penalty is 300 penalty units for a body corporate and 60 penalty units in any other case. Penalty unit values are set annually, so calculate the dollar amount by reference to the current value.

Related provisions include section 32M (rescission where a notice of intention to acquire is served in the described circumstances), section 32N (contracting out void), section 32O (where a statement need not be given for a substantially similar subsequent contract) and section 32P (forest carbon right agreements outside the Division).

Compliance is tested as at the time the statement is given. A statement supplied or corrected after the purchaser has signed does not retrospectively satisfy the obligation to give a compliant statement beforehand. That does not mean later events are irrelevant: the statutory saving provision looks at the purchaser's position, and questions of waiver, affirmation, election and the terms of any correspondence between the parties can all matter. These issues are fact-sensitive.

Beyond the Act, remedies are best described at a high level and conditionally. Depending on the facts there may be contractual, equitable, statutory or tortious claims. Australian Consumer Law misleading or deceptive conduct provisions require conduct in trade or commerce, which cannot be assumed for every private vendor of a home. Where a dispute is developing, see the firm's litigation and dispute resolution service.

Immediate practical steps

If you are a purchaser who has found a problem. Do not act unilaterally. Preserve the statement, the contract, all attachments and the correspondence and marketing material in the form you received them; note the dates on which each document was given and signed; identify precisely what is said to be missing or false; and obtain advice promptly, because the rescission window closes on acceptance of title and entitlement to possession or rents and profits.

If you are a vendor facing a claim. Assemble the file — instructions, searches, certificates and the sequence of delivery and signing — and take advice before responding. Whether the saving provision in section 32K(4) is available depends on evidence about your conduct and the purchaser's position, and how the correspondence is handled can matter.

If you are preparing to sell. Start early, disclose fully, and resolve permit and owner-builder issues before contracts are issued rather than after a purchaser's practitioner finds them. The firm's conveyancing and property team prepares and reviews Section 32 statements for Victorian vendors and purchasers, and reviews of this article are managed by Julian McIntyre.

Frequently Asked Questions

Authoritative sources

• Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) — current authorised version
• Sale of Land (Public Auctions) Regulations 2024 (Vic)
• Building Act 1993 (Vic) — current authorised version
• Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) — current authorised version
• Consumer Affairs Victoria — conveyancing and contracts for sellers
• Consumer Affairs Victoria — buying property at auction
• Building and Plumbing Commission — selling an owner-built home