Vendor Disclosure Statement Requirements by State

A vendor disclosure statement is the general term for a document, or set of attached certificates, that a seller must provide to a buyer before or at the point of contract, setting out matters the buyer needs to know about the property. Every Australian state and territory regulates this differently, from Victoria's long-standing Section 32 statement to Queensland's newer seller disclosure scheme, through to jurisdictions that rely more heavily on the buyer's own inspections and searches. Knowing which regime applies to your purchase or sale shapes both the paperwork you should expect and the timing of when it needs to be ready.

Victoria: The Section 32 Vendor Statement

Victoria has one of the most established disclosure regimes in the country. Before a property can be offered for sale, the vendor must prepare a statement, commonly known as a Section 32, covering matters such as registered mortgages and other encumbrances, planning zone details, outgoings, and any notices affecting the land. If required information is missing or incorrect, a buyer may be able to rescind the contract within a set period after signing, which is why vendors selling in Victoria typically have this document prepared well before the property is listed rather than scrambling once an offer arrives.

Queensland: The Seller Disclosure Statement Scheme

Queensland introduced a mandatory seller disclosure scheme under the Property Law Act 2023, requiring sellers to give buyers a disclosure statement and a set of prescribed certificates before a contract is signed, covering title details, encumbrances, tenancies, and planning and environmental matters affecting the property. The Queensland Government's seller disclosure scheme guidance sets out what must be included and confirms that a buyer can, in some circumstances, terminate the contract if the seller fails to comply. This brought Queensland much closer to the Victorian model than it had been previously.

New South Wales and the ACT: Attached Documents Rather Than a Single Statement

New South Wales does not use a single vendor statement document in the same way as Victoria or Queensland. Instead, the contract for sale must have a set of prescribed documents attached, such as a copy of the title, a drainage diagram, and a planning certificate from the local council, alongside the vendor's general law duty to disclose latent defects the buyer would not reasonably discover themselves. A conveyancer preparing a contract in New South Wales checks this attachment list carefully, since a missing document can give a buyer grounds to raise a requisition or, in some cases, rescind. The Australian Capital Territory follows a broadly similar attached-documents approach, with the additional requirement of an energy efficiency rating statement for the dwelling, reflecting the territory's separate crown lease system for land.

South Australia: The Form 1 Vendor's Statement

South Australia requires a vendor's statement, commonly called a Form 1, to be given to the buyer before a contract becomes binding under the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act. It covers encumbrances, easements, rates and charges, and any notices affecting the property, and if it is not provided correctly the buyer may have a short cooling-off style right to withdraw. This makes preparation timing just as important in South Australia as it is in Victoria.

Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory: A Lighter Statutory Framework

Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory place comparatively less weight on a formal, prescribed disclosure document, relying instead on standard contract conditions, general law obligations not to misrepresent the property, and the buyer's own due diligence through searches and inspections. That does not mean sellers in these jurisdictions have no disclosure obligations at all. Settlement agents and conveyancers in Western Australia still advise vendors to disclose known defects and registered interests to avoid disputes after settlement, and our guide to the WA Settlement Agents Act consumer protections covers how that framework operates in practice.

Why This Matters for Buyers, Not Just Sellers

For a buyer, understanding your state's disclosure regime tells you how much you can rely on the paperwork you are given, and how much extra due diligence you need to organise yourself. In a jurisdiction with a strong statutory disclosure regime, a missing or incorrect statement can be a genuine ground for rescission. In a jurisdiction with lighter disclosure requirements, the responsibility shifts more towards commissioning your own searches, a building and pest inspection, and checking for risks such as those covered by bushfire prone land certificates in states where they apply. Either way, this is general information rather than legal advice, and a conveyancer or solicitor in your specific state should confirm exactly what disclosure applies to your contract before you sign.

Getting the Timing Right

Whether you are buying or selling, the common thread across every state is that disclosure obligations exist to be dealt with early, not fixed after a dispute arises. A seller who prepares the correct statement or attachments before listing avoids delay once a buyer is found, and a buyer who understands what they are entitled to receive knows what to chase up if something is missing.

Because these regimes are not static, and Queensland's own reform in 2025 shows how quickly a state can move from a light-touch approach to a formal statutory scheme, it is worth checking the current requirements with a conveyancer rather than relying on what applied when you last bought or sold property, even if that was only a few years ago. This is particularly relevant if you are buying or selling near a state border, or moving between states, since assuming the same disclosure rules apply everywhere is one of the more common misunderstandings buyers bring to their first conversation with a conveyancer.