Settlement day: the money moves, the title passes, the keys go

From the weeks before to the morning after

The settlement date itself is set in the contract of sale. What follows is the order the state pages describe, with the state named beside each rule.

1. Weeks beforePapers in place

   The certificate, the authority and the title

   • Each seller gives the buyer their ATO clearance certificate before the settlement date; without it, the buyer must withhold an amount and pay it to the ATO.
   • NSWYour solicitor or conveyancer needs a signed client authorisation, photo identification and evidence of your ownership, so your identity and your right as the seller to deal in the land can be established.
   • VICEvery party to a conveyancing transaction must have their identity verified, and a client authorisation lets your conveyancer or lawyer sign electronic documents for you.
   • VICSince 3 August 2024 all new Victorian certificates of title are electronic. An existing paper certificate stays valid until it is next needed for a transaction, but a lost one can cause significant difficulties and delay settlement.

2. The week beforeThe buyer’s last look

   The final inspection

   • VICBuyers may inspect at any reasonable time in the week before settlement, and the contract requires you to hand the property over in the condition it was in when sold.
   • QLDYou must leave the home vacant and clean. The buyer inspects no more than a few days before settlement, and if the home is not in good condition they can ask their lawyer to delay settlement until it is fixed.
   • NSWThe buyer is advised to inspect on the morning of settlement day.
   • SAWhether the buyer has a right to a pre-settlement inspection depends on the contract’s wording.

3. On the dayUsually without you

   The settlement itself

   • NSWThe representatives prepare the documents and payment details in an electronic workspace. At the scheduled time, if everything is ready, settlement happens automatically: the money is paid out as directed and the documents are lodged with NSW Land Registry Services. Cheques and paper documents are no longer required.
   • QLDOn the day you usually receive the rest of the price, transfer the title, hand over the keys and give the buyer possession.
   • VICOnce settlement is complete, the buyer can collect the keys from your estate agent.

4. AfterwardsClosing the file

   Registration, statements and records

   • VICMany electronic documents, including transfers, are registered very soon after lodgment.
   • SARegistration of the transfer can take up to 2 weeks after settlement.
   • QLDAn agent must give you a written statement of the money received for the sale within 42 days of settlement, or within 14 days if you ask.
   • ATOKeep the sale contract and the sale settlement statement for at least 5 years after the sale.

Electronic settlement, and the networks behind it

Electronic conveyancing lets lawyers, conveyancers and banks prepare, sign and lodge documents online. In NSW, every land transaction that has to be lodged with NSW Land Registry Services has been done electronically since 11 October 2021.

The platforms are called Electronic Lodgment Network Operators, approved by the land registrar in each state and territory. The list kept by ARNECC names two: Property Exchange Australia (PEXA), approved in the ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, and Sympli, approved in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Victoria’s land registry adds that most land transactions are now electronic, and registration takes minutes for most of them.

Who pays the rates for settlement day

Council rates and other outgoings are adjusted between seller and buyer at settlement. The states split the day itself differently.

WAIf the buyer, their settlement agent or their lender cannot meet the agreed date, the buyer may have to pay penalty fees to the seller.