A condition — most often a finance condition or a building and pest condition, and sometimes a cooling-off right — is a defined way out of the contract before it becomes fully binding. Complying with one means doing what it requires and telling the other side, before its deadline. Miss that and you usually lose the protection: the condition is treated as satisfied and you can no longer terminate on that ground.
The compliance sequence, step by step
- Mark and diarise the deadlines. As soon as you sign, record the finance date, the building and pest date, and any cooling-off window.
- Act immediately. Submit your loan application and supporting documents, and book your inspector, straight away — conditions fail more often from lost time than from a real problem.
- Review the results early. Assess what comes back while there is still time to act, distinguishing major defects or a finance shortfall from minor maintenance.
- Serve written notice before the deadline. If you need to rely on a condition, make sure formal written notice actually reaches the seller (or their solicitor) before 5pm on the deadline date — not just your own conveyancer.
The principles that apply everywhere
- Know your conditions and their dates. The moment the contract is signed, diarise every deadline — finance, building and pest, and any cooling-off — because they drive everything that follows.
- Act early, not on the deadline. Apply for your loan and book your inspections straight away. Conditions fail far more often from running out of time than from a genuine problem with the property or the finance.
- Give notice in writing, to the other side, before the deadline. Telling your own conveyancer you want to pull out is not the same as the seller being notified in time — the notice has to actually reach them.
- Treat the deadlines as strict. In many standard contracts time is "of the essence," so a day late can be a breach rather than a rounding error.
- If something turns up, you have choices. Where an inspection or your finance raises an issue, you can satisfy the condition anyway, negotiate a repair or price adjustment, or exercise your right to terminate — but only within the window.
What's at stake if you don't comply
Let a condition lapse and, at best, you lose your defined way out; at worst — if you then can't complete the purchase — you can be in breach, which can cost you your deposit and expose you to the seller's further remedies.
How much of this applies depends on your state
Whether these conditions even appear in your contract, and exactly how notice must be given, varies. Read the version for where you're buying: NSW, QLD, or VIC. Whatever the state, your conveyancer should be tracking the dates and preparing the notices with you.