What the Form 1 sets out
The form itself says why it exists: a statement under section 7 of the Act puts the buyer on notice of certain particulars about the land. SA.GOV.AU names the headline facts as title details, mortgages, easements, zoning and outgoings such as water rates.
The detail is in the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Regulations 2025. Under them, the particulars the statement must set out are the ones the Schedule of Form 1 requires; the encumbrances in Division 1 of that Schedule are prescribed encumbrances; and the matters in Division 2 are prescribed to the extent they affect, now or later, the title to the land or its possession or enjoyment.
Regulation 8 says a statement is in the required form if it comprises the parts listed there, among them these headings and items from Division 1 of the Schedule:
- Heading 1, GeneralItems 1.1 to 1.4
Mortgage of land; easement, whether over the land or annexed to it, which the form says includes rights of way and party wall rights; restrictive covenant; and lease, agreement for lease, tenancy agreement or licence, though not information about any sublease or subtenancy, which the buyer may ask the tenant or subtenant for.
- Heading 5Development Act 1993 (repealed), item 5.1
A condition of a development authorisation that still applies.
- Heading 6Repealed Act conditions, item 6.1
A condition that still applies from an approval under one of several repealed building and planning Acts.
- Heading 29Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016
Items 29.1 and 29.2.
The form says these headings and items must be retained as part of the statement whether applicable or not. Where one applies, its particulars are set out in the item, or in an attachment identified in column 2. A mortgage of land (item 1.1), or a lease, agreement for lease, tenancy agreement or licence (item 1.4), that is registered on the certificate of title and is to be discharged or satisfied at or before settlement need not have its particulars set out.
Other Division 1 items are ticked and completed only where they apply. Regulation 8 brings them into the statement where they contain prescribed encumbrances or charges that affect, presently or prospectively, title to, or the possession or enjoyment of, the land. They range from a lien to the registration of an Aboriginal site or object in the central archives and Aboriginal heritage agreements under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988, human remains interred on the land (Burial and Cremation Act 2013, section 8), and orders and notices under the repealed Development Act 1993, such as an enforcement notice or a fire safety notice. Where one of these items applies, its particulars go in the item, or in an attachment identified in column 2, except that some need not be set out where they are registered on the certificate of title and to be discharged or satisfied at or before settlement, a lien among them. Under section 7(3) of the Act, the statement need not mention charges from rates or taxes imposed less than 12 months before it is served.
Part C of the form is the seller’s own word: the vendor, or a person authorised to act for them, states that the Schedule contains every particular section 7(1) requires. SA.GOV.AU adds that the information must be factually correct and signed by the vendor, and the Act ties its accuracy to the date it is served on the buyer.
Two clocks a Form 1 starts
When it must be ready
Private treaty. Given to the buyer at least 10 clear days before settlement.
Auction. Available at the auctioneer’s or agent’s place of business for 3 business days before the auction, and at the auction site for 30 minutes before it.
Where an agent sells, the agent must take reasonable steps to tell potential buyers where and when the Form 1 will be available.
The buyer’s cooling-off
2 clear business days, counted from the later of two moments: signing the contract, or receiving the Form 1.
There is no cooling-off period at auctions.
The Act fixes when the buyer’s right to cool off on a sale of land ends, and the answer depends on when the Form 1 was served:
| The Form 1 was served | The buyer’s time to cool off ends |
|---|---|
| Before the contract was made | At the end of the second clear business day after the day the contract was made |
| After the contract was made | At the end of the second clear business day from the day the Form 1 was served |
The cooling-off part of the Form 1 itself tells the buyer when the right does not apply, including where they bought at auction, bought on the same day they bid at the auction, or had independent advice from a legal practitioner before signing and the practitioner signed a certificate in the prescribed form.
A change after the Form 1 is served must go to the buyer as a notice of amendment, which gives the buyer a further 2 clear business days from service of the amended notice.
What a private seller still hands to a professional
SA.GOV.AU lists filling out the Form 1 among the legal requirements a qualified conveyancer or solicitor is employed to meet, and says a seller selling without an agent will also need to make the buyer’s information notice (form R3) available. The transfer documents cannot be lodged by the seller: only a conveyancer or solicitor with access to an electronic lodgement system can do it.
When the information is incorrect
SA.GOV.AU warns sellers that wrong or insufficient information may let a buyer pull out of the sale or bring legal action.