What the statement holds
The statement’s name is its index: section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 sets out what it must contain. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s page for sellers gives the plain-words version. In its words, the statement “contains information about the property’s title, including”:
- TitleMortgages
- TitleCovenants
- TitleEasements
- Land useZoning
- MoneyOutgoings, for example rates
- HazardA declaration if the property is in a bushfire-prone area
That word “including” matters: the list is the page’s summary, and section 32 of the Act is where the full list lives. One more item is named for a particular kind of home. If the property is in an owners corporation, Consumer Affairs Victoria says the seller must include an owners corporation certificate and the documents that go with it in the statement.
The contract that travels beside it
The Section 32 statement describes the property; the contract of sale records the deal. The same Consumer Affairs Victoria page says the contract of sale contains:
- details of the property;
- the seller’s name and the buyer’s name or names;
- the name of the seller’s estate agent, if there is one;
- details of the legal practitioners or conveyancers the seller and buyer have engaged;
- the purchase price, the deposit paid and the balance owing at settlement;
- any special conditions, such as a “subject to finance” clause.
The contract must also say clearly whether the price includes or excludes GST and, if it includes it, how that amount is worked out.
Where the pieces come from
Consumer Affairs Victoria says a seller without an agent will need to engage a conveyancer or legal practitioner to prepare the Section 32 statement and the contract of sale. The official pages describe two of the records in their own terms.
| Record | Issued by | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Owners corporation certificate | The owners corporation | Must be issued within 10 business days of a written request and the fee being paid. Because a Section 32 statement is sometimes prepared up to 12 months before the sale, Consumer Affairs Victoria tells buyers to ask for a new certificate before settlement or to inspect the owners corporation’s register and records. |
| Property clearance certificate | The Commissioner of State Revenue | Confirms how much tax is owing on a property. The fee is $20 a certificate; most are processed in one business day, some take up to 10. A buyer is protected from paying tax beyond what a certificate shows only by obtaining their own, and a certificate does not stop the State Revenue Office recovering outstanding tax from the seller. |
When it is handed over
The seller’s duty is to give the buyer the statement before the property is sold. Usually the selling agent makes it available to prospective buyers before the sale or auction, and a buyer may have their own legal practitioner or conveyancer check it before buying.
Where an agent is selling, Victoria’s new property sales laws add deadlines, but this one is still to come: from 1 June 2027, agents must make the Section 32 statement available:
- for a private sale, within 14 days after the property is advertised;
- for an auction or a fixed-date sale, at least 14 days before that day;
- before the buyer signs the contract, where the property is not advertised, or will be sold within 14 days of being advertised.
A second paper sits beside the statement. Under Consumer Affairs Victoria’s due diligence checklist rules, sellers or estate agents must have copies of the checklist available to potential buyers at any open for inspection, and must link to it or include a copy on any website the agent keeps, or the seller keeps where no agent acts for the seller.
When it is wrong or missing
A statement with incorrect or insufficient information can unpick a sale: Consumer Affairs Victoria says the buyer may be able to withdraw or take legal action against the seller.
Material facts
Since 1 March 2020, a seller who knowingly conceals a material fact about the property from a potential buyer breaks Victorian law. A material fact is one that would matter to a potential purchaser deciding whether to buy, or that may influence the price they pay. Since 25 November 2025, section 12 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 has set the maximum penalty at 240 penalty units or 12 months’ imprisonment. At Victoria’s penalty unit of $209.10, in force from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, 240 units is $50,184. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Material Fact Guidelines give examples for vendors and estate agents.
Presenting a home in a good light is acceptable; covering up, misrepresenting or in any way misleading a buyer about its true condition is illegal.