Business days, not calendar days
NSW gives its own example. If contracts are exchanged at 10am on a Tuesday, the buyer’s five-business-day period ends at 5pm on the Tuesday of the following week, and the buyer can get out of the contract in that time by giving written notice.
- TueExchange, 10am
- Wed1
- Thu2
- Fri3
- Satnot counted
- Sunnot counted
- Mon4
- TueDay 5 ends, 5pm
NSW’s worked example, drawn as a week with no public holiday in it.
The starting point is not the same everywhere. In Victoria the period runs from the date the buyer signs, not the date the seller signs. In Queensland it starts the day the seller hands the buyer a copy of the contract signed by both, moving to the next business day if that falls on a weekend or public holiday.
State by state
| State | Length | Starts | If the buyer withdraws | Exceptions and changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 5 business days, ending 5pm on the fifth; 10 business days for an off-the-plan contract | On exchange | The buyer pays the seller 0.25% of the price, which is $250 for every $100,000 | None at auction, or on exchange the same day after a property is passed in. The buyer can waive it with a 66W certificate, or the period can be shortened or extended by written agreement |
| VIC | 3 clear business days, whatever the price | The date the buyer signs | Written notice to the seller or their agent; the buyer gets back the money paid, less $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is greater | None if the buyer had signed a contract for the property on the same terms before, is an estate agent or a corporate body, buys within three clear business days before or after a public auction, or if the property is mainly industrial or commercial, or over 20 hectares and mainly farmed |
| QLD | 5 business days, ending 5pm on the fifth day | When the seller hands the buyer the contract signed by both | The seller may deduct up to 0.25% of the price from the deposit and must refund the rest within 14 days | None at auction |
| SA | 2 clear business days | Once the contract is signed and the Form 1 has been given, counting from whichever happens later | Without penalty; the buyer completes a cooling-off notice | None at auction. An amended Form 1 gives the buyer a further 2 clear business days |
| NT | 4 business days | The day the contract is last signed and exchanged | The buyer can cancel without penalty or explanation | Applies to sales not by auction; can be waived, reduced or extended by agreement |
| WA | No mandatory period | Only if the parties agree to insert one in the contract | As the contract says | Not applicable |
| TAS | Not a requirement under the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016 | Cooling-off was added to the standard form contract as an option | As the contract says | Not applicable |
What withdrawing would cost, on one illustrative price
The price below is an illustration chosen to make the arithmetic easy to follow, not a market figure. Each line applies that state’s own rule from the register above.
| State | The rule | On $800,000 |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 0.25% of the price | $2,000 |
| VIC | $100 or 0.2%, whichever is greater | $1,600 |
| QLD | Up to 0.25%, deducted from the deposit | up to $2,000 |
| SA, NT | Without penalty | $0 |
Where the states say the seller is bound
The states that address it say plainly that the seller has no cooling-off period. In NSW, once contracts are exchanged the seller is legally bound to complete; in South Australia, once you and the buyer sign, you are legally bound.
That shapes how offers arrive. NSW notes that a seller may decide to accept an offer only if the buyer waives the cooling-off period. A buyer waives it with a certificate signed by their lawyer or conveyancer, who has explained what waiving means.
A buyer gets no cooling-off period if their offer before the auction is accepted with fewer than three clear business days to go until the auction date.
In Queensland, a private seller carries one more duty: the contract must hold a warning statement about the cooling-off period directly above the place where the buyer signs, and if you sell without an agent, including it is your responsibility. Paper 04 gathers the other duties of a private sale.