Zettle Conveyancing is a solicitor-led online conveyancing practice for QLD, NSW and VIC, with offices in Maroochydore, Sydney and Melbourne.
What makes buying off the plan different?
One fact drives everything else: there's a long gap between signing and settlement.
- You can't inspect what you're buying. You rely on plans, specifications, a schedule of finishes and maybe a display suite. Treat them as a guide to what's planned.
- Settlement can be a year or more away. On a big development it can be longer, and the date usually depends on when the plan is registered.
- The lot may not legally exist yet. Until the plan of subdivision is registered there's no separate title to transfer. That's what the sunset date is about.
At a glance: QLD, NSW and VIC
Queensland
- Cooling off: 5 business days (same as any contract).
- Sunset clause protection: restricted since 22 Nov 2023 for off-the-plan land, such as a block in a new estate. Not for community titles scheme lots (most apartments and townhouses) or linked/single house-and-land contracts. Justice QLD
- Duty help: home and first home concessions; see QRO. Liability usually arises on the contract date. QRO
New South Wales
- Cooling off: 10 business days (5 for an established home).
- Sunset clause protection: the seller needs your consent or a Supreme Court order to end the contract under a sunset clause. NSW Government
- Duty help: eligible owner-occupiers can defer duty up to 12 months (to 15 months after signing). The amount doesn't change. Revenue NSW
Victoria
- Cooling off: 3 clear business days (same as any contract).
- Sunset clause protection: the seller needs your written consent or a Supreme Court order. Vic Government · Act 14/2019
- Duty help: duty reduced by the construction still to come. Temporary concession for contracts on or before 20 Apr 2027. SRO
What can go wrong between signing and settlement?
Most of the risk here is financial.
Your finance isn't locked in. Lenders don't hold an approval open for a year or two. You'll usually apply again closer to settlement, on your circumstances at that point.
The valuation happens at the end. Your lender values the property near settlement. If it comes in under the price you agreed, the lender lends on the lower figure and you make up the difference in cash. The contract price is the contract price, so if the market falls, you carry the shortfall.
Your life can change. A new job, a new baby, a rate rise or another loan can all move what you can borrow. The contract doesn't adjust for any of it.
Ask your broker what happens if the valuation comes in short, and get a real answer before you sign.
What is a sunset date, and does it protect you?
A sunset clause sets a final date by which the plan must be registered, the lot created or an occupancy permit issued, depending on the contract. If that date passes, the contract can be ended.
Developers used to be able to use that to end a contract and resell the same lot for more. New South Wales and Victoria now restrict it: the seller generally can't end the contract under a sunset clause without your consent (in writing, in Victoria) or a Supreme Court order. Those rules sit in the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) and the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic).
Queensland's protection is narrower. Its restrictions, which started on 22 November 2023 under the Land Sales Act 1984, apply to off-the-plan contracts for land, such as a block in a new estate. They don't apply to lots in community titles schemes, which covers most apartments and townhouses, or to linked or single house-and-land contracts. If you're buying a Queensland apartment off the plan, read the sunset clause as if there's no special protection, because there may not be. Where the Queensland rules do apply, the routes are similar: your written consent, a Supreme Court order, or a reason prescribed by regulation. The government reviewed the 2023 reforms in 2025; consultation closed on 10 October 2025 and the responses are still being considered.
Even where the seller can't misuse it, the sunset date tells you how long you could be locked in. Ask your conveyancer which rules apply to your contract and what the date actually is.
How long is the cooling-off period?
- New South Wales: 10 business days for an off-the-plan contract, instead of the 5 for an established home.
- Queensland: 5 business days, the same as any contract.
- Victoria: 3 clear business days, the same as any contract.
Cooling off doesn't apply if you buy at public auction, in any of the three states (QLD, NSW, VIC).
What happens to your deposit?
It works the way a deposit normally does, but it's held for much longer. If that money has another job in your plans, factor that in. Some buyers use a deposit bond instead of cash for this reason. The seller doesn't have to accept one, so treat it as a point to negotiate. More in deposits in property transactions.
What if the finished property isn't what you expected?
Off-the-plan contracts usually let the developer vary what's built, within limits the contract sets. Finishes get swapped, dimensions shift a little, and the display suite shows the developer's intent; the contract sets what you get.
What matters is how far that latitude goes and what you can do when it's exceeded. Before you sign, have someone read the variation clause and tell you in plain terms what can change without your say-so, and when a change becomes big enough for you to act.
Allow more time than usual for the pre-settlement inspection. It's your first look at the finished property.
What if the developer doesn't finish?
It's not common, but it happens. Ask where your deposit is held and on what terms, because that decides whether you can get it back. It's one of the better reasons to have the contract reviewed by someone acting for you, rather than relying on the selling agent's summary.
What duty help is there?
This is where the states really differ, and the help isn't the same kind of help. Victoria reduces the duty. New South Wales delays it. Queensland's concessions don't depend on the contract being off the plan at all. The detail, including Victoria's construction percentages, is in stamp duty on house-and-land and off-the-plan purchases.
Victoria. The concession takes the construction still to come after you sign out of the price duty is worked out on, so the earlier you sign, the bigger the reduction. The temporary concession covers contracts entered into on or after 21 October 2024 and on or before 20 April 2027, for apartments, units and townhouses in a strata subdivision with common property. Any buyer can use it, including investors, companies and trusts, and there's no price cap. It doesn't reduce the additional duty for foreign buyers. Outside that window the standard concession is narrower: first home buyers (dutiable value up to $750,000) and eligible pensioners and owner-occupiers (up to $550,000).
New South Wales. If you'll live in the property and you're eligible, you can defer transfer duty for up to 12 months beyond the usual deadline, so it can fall due up to 15 months after signing. The amount doesn't change. Investors, companies and trusts can't use it. If you take the deferral and don't end up living there as required, you must tell Revenue NSW. Interest runs from the date of that default until the duty is paid, and penalty tax may apply.
Queensland. Concessions turn on whether the home is new and whether it's your first, and on a new build the first home (new home) concession is the one most likely to matter. Liability for duty usually arises on the contract date, well before settlement. For contracts signed on or after 1 August 2026, home concessions are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and specified foreign retirees.
Caps, dates and rules change. These positions are current as at 27 October 2026. Confirm your own position with the relevant revenue office before you sign.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What's the sunset date, and what happens if it passes?
- How much can the developer change without my agreement?
- Where is my deposit held, and on what terms?
- What happens if the lender's valuation at settlement is below the price?
- How long do I get for the pre-settlement inspection, and what can I do if something's wrong?
- What duty will I actually pay, and does a concession apply to me?
Frequently asked questions
What is a sunset clause?
A date in an off-the-plan contract by which the plan must be registered or the lot created. If it passes, the contract can be ended, but NSW and VIC limit when the seller can do that, and Queensland does for some contracts.
Do Queensland's sunset protections cover apartments?
Generally no. The 2023 reforms don't apply to lots in community titles schemes, which is how most Queensland apartments and townhouses are set up, or to linked or single house-and-land contracts.
Is Victoria's off-the-plan duty concession still available?
Yes, for eligible contracts entered into on or before 20 April 2027. It was previously due to end on 20 October 2026; the extension to 20 April 2027 is now law (Royal Assent 23 June 2026).
Can I pull out if the property isn't what I expected?
It depends on the contract's variation clause and how far the difference goes. Minor substitutions are usually allowed; a material departure may give you rights. Ask your conveyancer with the contract in front of them.
Is buying off the plan cheaper?
Not by itself. Victoria's concession is a real saving while it runs, but the price is fixed at signing and the value is tested at settlement, a year or more out. That can go either way.
What happens if my finance falls through at settlement?
You're still bound by the contract, with the same consequences as failing to settle any purchase. That's why the valuation question is worth answering before you sign.
Before you sign off the plan, get the contract read by someone who acts only for you. Zettle Conveyancing reviews off-the-plan contracts free within 4 business hours, then acts for you in QLD, NSW or VIC on fixed professional fees (government charges excluded). Get a fixed-fee quote
