How to read a Section 32 (Vendor's Statement)
A Section 32 — the Vendor's Statement — is the document a seller must give you before you sign a contract in Victoria, disclosing the legal facts about a property: who owns it, what it owes, what's registered against it, how it's zoned, and any notices affecting it. Read it for what the property is encumbered by or owes — easements, covenants, owners-corporation finances, planning overlays and outstanding notices are where the expensive surprises live, not in how well the home is described.
What a Section 32 actually is
Required under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic), the Vendor's Statement is the seller's legal disclosure about a property, with the specific contents set out across sections 32A to 32I. The vendor must give it to you before you sign the contract of sale. It tells you what the property is legally and financially encumbered by — and it says almost nothing about the physical condition of the building itself.
Two things signal how seriously the law treats it. A vendor cannot contract out of these obligations: a clause that tries to exclude or water down the disclosure is void. And while the seller carries legal responsibility for the statement's accuracy, in practice it is prepared by a conveyancer or solicitor — not the agent, and not the seller unaided.
What it must disclose
The statement is really a bundle of documents and certificates. Across sections 32A to 32I it must set out the following — and the right-hand column is where to spend your attention:
| What it covers | What to scrutinise |
|---|---|
| Title & plan — Register Search Statement, plan of subdivision or title diagram, registered dealings | The seller's name matches the title; any registered mortgage is set to be discharged at settlement |
| Encumbrances — mortgages, caveats, covenants, easements, charges (registered or not) | A covenant capping what you can build; an easement crossing exactly where you would extend |
| Financial matters — rates, land tax, water, owners-corporation fees, any GAIC | Unexpectedly high outgoings, arrears you may inherit, or a growth-area infrastructure liability |
| Planning — zone, responsible authority, overlays, road access, bushfire-prone designation | An overlay (heritage, vegetation, flood, bushfire) that constrains what you can do |
| Notices & orders — authority notices, orders or proposals currently affecting the land; any notice of intention to acquire | An outstanding building or council order — it becomes your problem at settlement |
| Building permits — permits issued under the Building Act 1993 in the last 7 years | Recent work: was it permitted, and was it signed off? |
| Owner-builder — where a residence was owner-built in the last 6½ years: defects insurance and inspection report | Owner-built work with no warranty insurance behind it |
| Owners corporation — OC certificate and prescribed information, where the land is in a scheme | A thin maintenance fund, looming special levies, active disputes |
| Services — whether electricity, gas, water, sewerage and telephone are connected | Not connected to sewerage or gas — a real cost to rectify |
The encumbrances that quietly change what you can do
This is where buyers — and even some buyers' agents — get caught, because the document reads as dry boilerplate right up until a single line of it kills a plan. Three to read closely.
Easements
An easement is a right someone else holds over the land, most often for drainage or sewerage. The classic trap is a sewer easement running under the exact strip where the extension was going to go: you generally cannot build over it without the relevant authority's consent, which may not come, and may require the asset to be relocated at your cost. An easement does not show up when you walk the property — it shows up here, in the title and plan.
Restrictive covenants
A restrictive covenant is a limit written into the title: a single-dwelling covenant, a materials or height restriction, a defined building envelope. Covenants bind you regardless of what the planning scheme would otherwise permit, and removing or varying one is difficult and far from guaranteed. If your plans depend on doing something a covenant forbids, the plan is the thing that has to change.
Planning overlays
Overlays — heritage, vegetation, flood or bushfire — sit on top of the zone and add conditions. An overlay can mean extra permits, design constraints, or simply that the renovation you pictured needs an approval you might not get. The zone tells you the broad permitted use; the overlays tell you the conditions attached to it. For older and leafier areas especially, the overlays are often where the real constraints live.
None of these is necessarily a dealbreaker. The point is to find them before you have fallen for the house, not after.
Owner-builder work — the modern high-risk line
Disclosure around owner-builder work has tightened, and it is where avoidable money gets lost. If a residence had building work done by an owner-builder within the last six and a half years, the statement should disclose defects insurance and an inspection report for that work. Its absence is the flag: owner-built work without the required warranty insurance means no protection if it fails — and you would be inheriting that exposure. A renovated-looking home deserves a closer read here, not a more relaxed one.
If it's an apartment, read the owners corporation
Where the property sits in an owners corporation, the OC certificate and records are disclosed with the statement — and for a unit or apartment they often matter more than anything else in the document. A thin maintenance fund against an ageing building is a special levy waiting to land on you after settlement. The fuller checklist is in what to check before buying an apartment.
What a Section 32 won't tell you
It is a legal disclosure, not a physical one. Beyond formal notices and orders, it says nothing about the condition of the roof, the stumps, the wiring, or whether there is damp. A clean Section 32 and a structurally tired house are entirely compatible. For the building itself you need a building and pest inspection — see is a building inspection worth it before auction? and what it costs — or, for an independent read of its likely repair exposure without a site visit, a desktop report. The statement is the legal picture; the inspection is the physical one. Use both.
When a Section 32 can actually let you out
People often assume any error in a Section 32 means they can walk away. It is more nuanced. Where the statement is not provided, or contains a serious omission or misstatement, a purchaser may have grounds to rescind the contract before settlement — but it is not automatic, the rules are specific, and not every error qualifies. This is exactly the territory where a conveyancer or solicitor earns their fee; it is not a call to make yourself off a guide.
One timing point that catches auction buyers: where a property is sold at auction, the Section 32 must be available for inspection at least three business days before the auction — and an auction purchase is unconditional, with no cooling-off period. So at auction the review has to happen before you bid, not after.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Section 32 statement?
A Section 32, or Vendor's Statement, is a legal disclosure a seller must give a buyer before signing a contract of sale in Victoria, under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. It sets out the property's title, encumbrances, rates and outgoings, zoning and overlays, building permits, owners-corporation details and any notices affecting the land.
What must a Section 32 include?
Across sections 32A to 32I it must disclose title and plan; encumbrances such as mortgages, covenants and easements; financial matters including rates, land tax and owners-corporation fees; planning information such as zone, overlays and bushfire designation; notices and orders; building permits from the last seven years; owner-builder insurance where applicable; owners-corporation details; and which services are connected.
Can I get out of a contract if the Section 32 is wrong?
Possibly, but not automatically. Where the statement is missing or contains a serious omission or misstatement, a buyer may have grounds to rescind before settlement — but the rules are specific and not every error qualifies. Have a conveyancer or solicitor advise on your situation.
Who prepares the Section 32?
The vendor is legally responsible for it, but in practice it is prepared by a conveyancer or solicitor — not the real estate agent, and not the seller unaided. The vendor signs it, and an electronic signature is allowed.
Is a Section 32 the same as a building inspection?
No. A Section 32 is a legal disclosure of facts about the property. It does not assess physical condition or defects beyond formal notices, so it does not replace a building and pest inspection.
Do I need a lawyer to review a Section 32?
It is strongly recommended. A conveyancer or solicitor will catch encumbrances, overlays and disclosure gaps a buyer can easily miss, and the cost is small relative to the purchase.
Want this read for a specific property?
Start a Homechecker report →