THE BUYERS GRAILBuying a home, state by state
The rules that change at the border, for every state and territory: duty and first-home relief, cooling-off, grants, price guides and the buying process.
Australia has one property market in the headlines and eight sets of rules on the ground. Duty, the first-home concessions, the cooling-off period, what the seller must disclose, what a price guide may say and who is allowed to do the conveyancing all change at the border. Each hub below collects those rules for one state or territory, with the agency each fact came from and the date it was checked.
New South Wales
Contracts exchange with a five-business-day cooling-off that costs 0.25% of the price to use, the seller attaches prescribed documents to the contract, and the 2026 underquoting reforms are arriving in two tranches.
Victoria
Land transfer duty with a first-home exemption and a home-buyer concession, a three-business-day cooling-off on private sales, a Section 32 vendor statement, and tight price-guide rules with reserve disclosure on the way.
Queensland
A home concession for any owner-occupier sits beside the first-home relief, sellers must disclose before contract (from 1 August 2025), cooling-off is five business days and auction listings carry no price guide.
South Australia
The cooling-off clock starts when the Form 1 vendor's statement is served, the deposit at signing is capped by law, and first-home duty relief covers new homes and land with no value cap.
Western Australia
Western Australia sells by offer and acceptance with no statutory cooling-off, so the conditions written into the offer do the protecting. Duty has a first home owner rate, and Keystart is the state's low-deposit lender.
Tasmania
No statutory cooling-off period, no duty on the seller to disclose defects, and the first-home duty exemption on established homes ended for settlements after 30 June 2026 with no replacement confirmed.
Australian Capital Territory
Land is held on 99-year crown leases and the seller attaches the lease, title and building reports to the contract. From 1 July 2026 eligible buyers who have not owned property in five years pay no conveyance duty, with no price cap.
Northern Territory
Duty follows a formula below one threshold and a flat rate above it, new house-and-land packages are exempt until mid-2027, private-treaty contracts carry a four-business-day cooling-off, and every agent is on a public register.
Four things that change at the border
The table is the short version; every entry links to the state page it comes from. A dagger (†) marks a fact taken from an official search result that has not yet been opened on the agency's own page from this build environment.
| State | Cooling-off | First home, established home | First Home Owner Grant | Price guides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 5 business days after exchange, ending 5pm on the fifth business day; 10 business days for an off-the-plan contract | Eligible first home buyers pay no duty to $800,000; concession from $800,000 to under $1,000,000 (First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, contracts from 1 July 2023) | $10,000 First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant for eligible buyers: a new or substantially renovated home to $600,000, or a home and land package to $750,000 | No price below the agent's estimated selling price in the agency agreement; a range may not exceed 10% top to bottom; 'offers over' and '+' are not permitted |
| VIC | Three business days on a private sale of residential property, with exceptions; it begins when the buyer signs the contract, and to end the contract the buyer gives written notice to the seller or the seller's agent | Eligible first home buyers pay no duty to $600,000, a sliding-scale concession from $600,001 to $750,000 and full duty above $750,000 | $10,000 for eligible first home buyers of a new or never-occupied home valued up to $750,000; live in it 12 months, starting within 12 months of settlement or completion | Since 1 May 2017 an agent may not quote below the seller's asking price, the reserve if known, or the agent's estimate; a Statement of Information lists comparable sales |
| QLD | 5 business days from the day the buyer receives a copy of the contract signed by both parties; written notice by 5pm on the fifth day | No duty to $700,000; concession phasing out to $800,000 (contracts from 9 June 2024) | $30,000 on a new home under $750,000 for eligible contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023; the government has said it continues for contracts from 1 July 2026 | Illegal for a seller or agent to give a price guide for an auction property; the listing carries a prescribed no-guide statement instead |
| SA | 2 clear business days from service of the Form 1 or signing, whichever is later; weekends, public holidays and the day of service do not count | None: RevenueSA states that relief is not available on the purchase of an established home, one already built and previously occupied or sold as a residence; from 6 June 2024 relief covers new homes, off-the-plan apartments, vacant land and house-and-land only | Up to $15,000 for eligible applicants building or buying a new home; no property value cap for contracts on or after 6 June 2024; not payable on vacant land | Not below the prescribed minimum advertising price (the higher of the agent's estimate and the vendor's acceptable price); a range's top at most 110% of its bottom |
| WA | None. Western Australia has no statutory cooling-off period; the offer and acceptance binds once every term is agreed | No duty to $600,000; concessional rate to $800,000 (transactions from 7 May 2026) | Up to $10,000 on a first new home; cap $800,000 south of the 26th parallel (all of Perth) or $1,000,000 north of it, transactions from 7 May 2026; no income or assets test | No statutory price-guide rule. An agent may only advertise a price the seller has authorised, and the advertising must not mislead under the Australian Consumer Law |
| TAS | None. The Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016 does not require a cooling-off period for residential sales. | Not available for transfers settling after 30 June 2026. The 100% exemption to $750,000 applied to transfers completing 18 February 2024 to 30 June 2026. | $20,000 for eligible transactions from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 inclusive, for first-home buyers building or buying a new residence (earlier windows paid $30,000 or $10,000 depending on the transaction date). Six months' residence, starting within 12 months. | No format rule for a price guide. Section 55 of the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016 sets requirements for an agent's advertisements, and a property agent who states anything the agent knows to be false or misleading about a sale faces a fine of up to 500 penalty units |
| ACT | Five working days: it begins when the contract is made and ends at 5 pm on the fifth working day after that day | No duty for eligible buyers under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme from 1 July 2026; no price cap and no income threshold | Ceased on 1 July 2019; replaced by the Home Buyer Concession Scheme | Agents Act 2003 s 88 (false representations to sellers or buyers) and s 89 (requirement to substantiate selling price estimates); the agency agreement must state the agent's estimate of the selling price or range (Agents Regulation 2003). No range-width rule and no Statement of Information equivalent; the penalties are still to be read |
| NT | Four business days on a contract not sold by auction, starting the day the contract is last signed by either party and exchanged | No first-home duty relief on established homes found from this environment; open the Territory Revenue Office stamp duty page to confirm † | HomeGrown Territory Grant: $50,000 for eligible first home buyers who contract to buy or build a new home between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2027; no price cap | None specific found: the dealing-with-an-agent page sets professional-competence standards and points misleading or deceptive conduct to NT Consumer Affairs on 1800 019 319; the Australian Consumer Law ban on false or misleading price representations is the rule. An absence, so still to be opened † |
How these pages are kept right
Every state fact carries the agency it came from and the date it was checked. Pages stay out of search results until each figure has been opened on the agency's own page and signed off; a monthly review then re-checks the schedules, the scheme caps and anything a state budget has moved. The data sources page lists every agency the library relies on. Where a page is marked draft, read it as a sourced summary that is still being confirmed, and treat the agency link as the authority.
The calculators use the same rules: the stamp duty calculator applies each state's bands and first-home concessions, and the ownership costs calculator stacks duty with the other purchase costs for the state you pick.
Where the report fits
A Property Decision Report does this work for one property you're weighing up: the fair-value range built from recorded comparable sales, where the asking price sits against it, the vendor and agent read, the risks that matter, and your opening, target and walk-away numbers, in writing, within 24 hours.
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