Module 06Laws & Your Protection

The rules change by state. The criminals don't.

Property law in Australia is state-based, so the rules of your purchase shift depending on where you buy. But three things matter everywhere: the protections built for buyers, the obligations that bind both sides, and the criminals whose entire business is intercepting the biggest payment you'll ever make.

Knowing all three before you're in a transaction beats learning them after something goes wrong.

New here? Ava can guide you through each scene aloud — press Listen, or just read.

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§ 02 Cooling-off

A window to walk away — except where there isn't one.

Fig. 01 Private sale cooling-off by state · indicative

NSW

5 business days

0.25%

QLD

5 business days

0.25%

ACT

5 business days

—

NT

4 business days

—

VIC

3 business days

0.2%

SA

2 business days

—

WA

None

no statutory right

Two things to remember

Cooling-off never applies at auction — the hammer falls and you're committed. And WA has no statutory cooling-off for private residential sales. Periods and penalties are set by state law and can change — verify the current position before you sign.

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§ 03 Vendor disclosure

What they must tell you — and what they don't have to.

Fig. 02 Mandatory vs not required

Must disclose

Encumbrances & easements
Zoning & planning overlays
Heritage listings, statutory notices
Compulsory acquisition orders

Often NOT required

Stigma (e.g. a death, in some states)
Neighbours' development plans
Noise / anti-social behaviour
General market conditions

In VIC it's the Section 32; in NSW it's attached to the contract. A solicitor's review isn't a formality — non-disclosure can, in some states, let you rescind and recover your deposit.

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§ 04 Your conveyancer's duty

What they owe you — and what they can't do.

Fig. 03 Duty of care to the buyer

They must

Flag unusual / disadvantageous clauses
Run title searches & check caveats
Manage settlement funds
Register the title transfer

They can't

Tell you if it's a good investment
— that's simply not their brief

Expect clear contact at four points: contract review · exchange · pre-settlement check · completion. Don't choose on price alone — communication matters as much as the fee.

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§ 05 Auction rules

Unconditional means unconditional.

No cooling-off, no finance condition, no exit. Before you raise your hand, three things must already be done:

Fig. 04 Before you bid

✓

Unconditional finance approval — pre-approval is not enough.

✓

Building & pest inspections completed and reviewed.

✓

Contract reviewed by your solicitor.

Vendor bids (up to the reserve) are legal and common. Dummy bidding — bids in concert to inflate price — is illegal. A property passed in can be negotiated right after — and finance-ready you're in a strong spot.

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§ 06 The scam landscape

Why buyers are a target.

Large sums, time pressure, multiple parties on email, and first-timers who don't know what "normal" looks like. Three categories:

Fig. 05 Property fraud types

Identity fraud

false documents to sell a property they don't own

rare · severe

Deposit theft

you're directed to a fake trust account

common

Rental fraud

bond collected for a property they don't control

common

But the most financially destructive — by a wide margin — is Business Email Compromise.

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§ 07 The biggest threat

How Business Email Compromise works.

The single largest source of property-transaction fraud losses in Australia

Millions are lost this way every year. It is not hypothetical.

Fig. 06 The attack, step by step

1

A criminal compromises a solicitor's, conveyancer's or agent's email — or spoofs a look-alike domain.

2

They quietly monitor the live transaction thread, waiting.

3

At the moment bank details are shared, they substitute their own account.

4

You transfer the deposit — often $50k–$150k+ — to the criminal.

5

Funds move in minutes. By discovery, recovery is typically impossible.

⚠ Verify current annual loss figures at scamwatch.gov.au before publishing — Scamwatch / ACCC update these periodically.

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§ 08 The one rule that stops it

Verify every account by phone. Every time.

The rule

Never action a bank account received by email without first verifying it by phone — on a number you sourced yourself.

1

Call the firm on a number you found independently — not from the email.

2

Confirm the BSB and account number digit by digit on the call.

3

If details change at any point — even at the last moment — stop and re-verify.

4

Do it even with firms you trust — email accounts get compromised, not people.

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§ 09 FIRB · for context

Foreign-buyer rules — mostly not you.

If you're an Australian citizen or permanent resident, FIRB — the Foreign Investment Review Board — doesn't apply to your residential purchase. For completeness:

Citizens / PRs

no FIRB requirement

free

Temporary residents

generally one established home; sell on leaving

conditional

Non-residents

new dwellings only, with approval & fees

restricted

Verify current rules

FIRB thresholds and fees change with federal policy. Module 10 covers international investors in full — verify the current position at firb.gov.au.

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§ 10 Your legal checklist

Ten moves that prevent the costly mistakes.

01

Never sign at the inspection — take the contract away for review.

02

Get independent legal review before exchange.

03

Verify all bank details by phone before any transfer — every time.

04

Read the vendor disclosure thoroughly — don't just sign receipt.

05

Confirm cooling-off applies — it doesn't at auction, or in WA private sales.

06

Complete building & pest before cooling-off expires.

07

Have finance unconditionally approved before bidding.

08

Know what's included — fixtures stay, chattels can go.

09

Keep a paper trail of every instruction, confirmation and payment.

10

Know which body handles which dispute — Module 7 covers it.

Keep this one

Of all ten, number 3 — verify by phone — prevents the single most expensive mistake in property. Bookmark this checklist.

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Module 06 complete

Protected, and harder to fool.

Cooling-off, disclosure, your conveyancer's duty, auction rules, and the scam that costs Australians the most. Next: when things go wrong.

Continue to Module 07 All modules

Laws, Regulations & Protecting Your Investment