Cooling-off rights when you buy property in Victoria

Written and reviewed by Brandon Owens, Licensed Conveyancer (licence no. 001729L). Last reviewed 10 September 2026.

Victoria gives most private-sale buyers a short window to change their mind after signing. It is genuinely short, it is not free, and several common situations remove it entirely. This guide explains exactly how it works.

How long is the cooling-off period in Victoria?

The cooling-off period in Victoria is three clear business days, and it runs from the day the purchaser signs the contract of sale. It does not run from the day the vendor signs.

“Clear” business days is the part that trips people up. The day you sign does not count. Weekends and public holidays do not count. So a contract signed on a Thursday afternoon typically leaves you until the end of the following Tuesday, and a public holiday in that window pushes it out further again.

If you are thinking about using the cooling-off period, work out the exact expiry date on day one rather than day three. The margin for error is very small.

What does it cost to cool off?

If you exercise your cooling-off rights, the vendor is entitled to keep $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. Every other amount you have paid must be returned to you.

Worked through on real numbers:

Strictly, this is a retention out of the money you have already paid, not a separate fee you have to find. If you have paid a deposit, the vendor keeps that slice of it and refunds the balance.

When is there no cooling-off period in Victoria?

There are six situations where section 31 gives you no cooling-off period at all. This is the part of the law most worth knowing before you go to an auction or sign anything.

There is no cooling-off period where:

1. The sale is by publicly advertised auction.
2. The land is sold within three clear business days before a publicly advertised auction, on the day of that auction, or within three clear business days after it.
3. The land is used primarily for industrial or commercial purposes.
4. The land is more than 20 hectares and used primarily for farming. Both conditions have to be met.
5. The vendor and purchaser have previously entered into a contract for the same land in substantially the same terms.
6. The purchaser is an estate agent within the meaning of the Estate Agents Act 1980, or a corporate body.

The second one deserves emphasis, because it is the one that surprises people. Buying “before auction” does not give you cooling-off rights. Neither does buying the following morning after the property passed in. The three-day exclusion sits on both sides of the auction date as well as the auction day itself.

The sixth one matters if you are buying in a company name or through a corporate trustee. Doing so removes your cooling-off rights entirely, which is a real cost to weigh against whatever structuring benefit you were chasing.

How do you actually exercise cooling-off rights?

The process is specific, and getting it wrong means it does not work.

You must sign a written notice stating that you are ending the contract. Within the three clear business days, that notice must either:

• be given to the vendor, an agent of the vendor, or the estate agent engaged or appointed by the vendor to sell the land; or
• be left at the vendor’s address for service shown in the contract, the vendor’s agent’s address, or the estate agent’s address.

A phone call does not do it. Telling the agent at an inspection does not do it. Get it in writing, sign it, deliver it, and keep proof of when and how you delivered it.

If you are anywhere near the deadline, tell your conveyancer immediately rather than at the end of the day. There is no discretion to extend it.

What if the contract does not mention cooling off?

Every contract that is subject to section 31 has to carry a conspicuous notice telling you about your cooling-off rights.

If that notice is missing, your position is considerably stronger: you may rescind the contract at any time before you become entitled to possession or to the receipt of rents and profits. That is a much longer window than three days.

A contract also cannot sign your rights away. Section 31 makes any attempt to contract out of the cooling-off provisions void.

Cooling off is not the same as a finance condition

People often treat the cooling-off period as their protection against finance falling through. It is not, and relying on it that way is risky.

Cooling off gives you three clear business days. Finance approval rarely arrives that fast. If your purchase depends on getting a loan, the protection you want is a properly drafted finance condition in the contract, not the cooling-off period.

The same goes for building and pest inspections, and for anything you have not yet checked in the Section 32 vendor statement. Three clear business days is not long enough to do that work properly from a standing start, which is why the contract and the Section 32 are best reviewed before you sign.

Where Lodgedwell fits

We review contracts and vendor statements for buyers across Victoria before they sign, so the cooling-off period is a safety net rather than the plan. If you have already signed and you are inside the period, tell us straight away and we will work to your actual deadline rather than an approximate one.

This guide is general information about Victorian property law, current at 10 September 2026. It is not legal advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Conveyancing law differs between Australian states, and this page describes Victoria only.