In short. New South Wales gives buyers 5 business days1 after exchange, ending at 5pm on the fifth day, and withdrawing costs 0.25% of the price2. Victorian private sales give 3 clear business days5 from the day you sign, and cooling off costs $100 or 0.2%, whichever is greater6.
How long is the cooling-off period?
Short enough that it disappears if you wait for the weekend. Both states count business days, so a Thursday signature in Victoria leaves you until the following Tuesday, and a public holiday stretches it further.
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Day 0
You sign the contract in Victoria, or contracts are exchanged in NSW. The period starts.
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Day 3: Victoria
Private sales: 3 clear business days5. Cooling off costs $100 or 0.2%, whichever is greater6, which is $1,500 on a $750,000 home.
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Day 5, 5pm: NSW
Residential property: 5 business days1. Withdrawing costs 0.25% of the price2, which is $1,875 on a $750,000 home.
Bought at auction? NSW has no cooling-off period at auction3, and Victoria has none at a public auction or within three clear business days either side of one7.
What does it cost to pull out?
Both states let the vendor keep a set amount, and the formula differs. NSW takes a straight percentage. Victoria takes the greater of a flat $100 or a smaller percentage, which works out cheaper on any normal home price.
Chart data
| Item | New South Wales | Victoria |
|---|---|---|
| $600,000 | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| $750,000 | $1,875 | $1,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $2,500 | $2,000 |
Both amounts are small next to the deposit, and tiny next to the duty. Treat them as the price of an option, not as a penalty to be avoided at all costs. Losing $1,875 to escape a house with a structural problem is a good trade.
Why is there no cooling-off period at auction?
Because the bidding is the negotiation, and the contract is meant to be final when the hammer falls. In NSW there is no cooling-off at auction3, including when you exchange on auction day after the property is passed in. Victoria goes further and removes it for a sale at a public auction or none at or near auction7.
This is the single most expensive thing first home buyers learn late. If you are bidding on Saturday, your building inspection, your strata report, your contract review and your finance need to be done by Friday. There is no afterwards.
How does the deposit work during those days?
In NSW the deposit can be staged around the cooling-off period: NSW Fair Trading describes a buyer paying 0.25% on exchange, usually 9.75% after4. That is deliberate. The small amount at exchange matches what you forfeit if you cool off, so the money at risk and the cost of leaving line up.
In Victoria, the deposit may be held in trust by the seller's legal practitioner or conveyancer8, and what you get back if you cool off is everything you paid less the amount above.
What should you do with the days?
- Send the contract to your conveyancer or solicitor the same day you sign, not the next week.
- Book the building and pest inspection immediately; good inspectors are booked out.
- Confirm with your lender that the valuation supports the price you agreed.
- Read the strata or body corporate records if it is a unit, looking for special levies and disputes.
- Decide by the morning of the last day, not at 4:55pm on it.
What about the other states?
They each set their own rule, and we have not yet verified them against the relevant consumer regulator's own page. Rather than repeat what other sites say, this guide currently covers NSW and Victoria, and will grow as each is confirmed at the source.
If you are buying elsewhere, ask your conveyancer for the cooling-off position in writing before you sign, and check your state's consumer affairs or fair trading website. Meanwhile, the state duty comparison covers what the same purchase costs in each jurisdiction.