Property Settlement: What Happens and What You Pay

In short. Settlement is when the money is exchanged for the title and the transfer is lodged. The Queensland Government describes conveyancing as the process after the contract is signed that ensures The Queensland Government describes conveyancing as the process after the contract is signed that ensures the land is registered in the buyer's name at the government's land title office⁸. Most settlements now happen in an online workspace rather than in a room.

Both sides' representatives and both banks meet in an electronic workspace, the funds move, and the transfer is lodged for registration.

What actually happens at settlement?

Your lender releases the loan funds, the seller's lender discharges their mortgage, the balance of the price is paid, and the transfer documents are lodged so the land titles office can record you as the owner. The keys are released when that is done, which is why agents say "on settlement" rather than a time.

What happens between signing and the day?

You sign, and where a cooling-off period applies the clock starts: 5 business days² in NSW, 3 clear business days⁵ for a Victorian private sale.
The deposit is paid and held. In Victoria it may sit in trust with the seller's legal practitioner or conveyancer⁶; in NSW it can be staged, 0.25% on exchange, usually 9.75% after³.
Your conveyancer orders searches and reviews the title, the plan and any certificates.
Your lender values the property and issues loan documents. This is the step that most often runs late.
Figures are agreed with the other side, including adjustments for rates and other periodic charges.
Settlement happens, the transfer is lodged, and duty is dealt with as part of the transaction.

The gap between signing and settlement is usually a matter of weeks and is set by your contract, not by law. Ask what yours says before you plan a removalist.

How does electronic settlement work?

Everyone joins a shared online workspace instead of meeting with cheques. Access Canberra explains that electronic conveyancing lets Access Canberra explains that electronic conveyancing lets legal practitioners and financial institutions create, sign and lodge documents online, and that the ACT uses PEXA¹¹, and names the platform used there.

For you it means three things: the settlement time is a slot rather than a meeting, the platform fee appears in your disbursements, and funds usually clear faster than the old cheque exchange allowed.

What falls due on the day?

The balance of the purchase price, less the deposit already paid.
Transfer duty, unless it has already been paid, worked out from your state's schedule. The calculator gives the figure.
Your conveyancer's professional fee and the disbursements they have paid on your behalf.
Adjustments so that rates and similar charges are split between you and the seller at the settlement date.
Your lender's own fees, where your loan carries them.

Ask for the settlement statement in advance and read it. It is one page, it lists every number, and it is the last point at which a mistake is cheap to fix.

Which clocks start on settlement day?

If you claimed first home relief, the residence conditions run from settlement, and they are conditions rather than suggestions. Miss one and the revenue office can reassess the duty you did not pay.

Residence conditions that start at settlement. Queensland also bars selling, leasing or giving exclusive possession of the whole property during that first year. Source: Revenue NSW¹; State Revenue Office Victoria⁴; Queensland Revenue Office⁷; RevenueSA⁹; ACT Revenue Office¹⁰.

Chart data

Jurisdiction	Move in within	Then live there for
New South Wales	12 months of settlement	At least 12 months
Victoria	12 months of settlement	At least 12 months
Queensland	12 months of settlement	No minimum stated on the source page
South Australia	12 months of settlement	At least 6 months
ACT	12 months of settlement	At least 12 months

Planning to rent the place out for six months first, then move in? That decision belongs in a conversation with your conveyancer before settlement, not after the tenant moves in.

What if settlement runs late?

It happens, usually because loan funds are not ready. Contracts normally provide for interest or other consequences when a party is not ready on the due date, and the amounts are set by your contract rather than by a general rule. Read that clause when you sign, not on the morning it bites.

Then keep the costs checklist beside you, so nothing on the day is the first time you have seen the number.

Notes and sources

Revenue NSW: NSW first home buyers must move into the home within 12 months after settlement and live in it as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
NSW Fair Trading: Buying a residential property in NSW comes with a 5 business day cooling-off period that starts on exchange and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
NSW Fair Trading: In NSW a buyer can pay 0.25% of the price to exchange contracts, with the balance of the deposit (usually 9.75%) payable before the cooling-off period ends. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
State Revenue Office Victoria: For the Victorian first home buyer exemption or concession, at least one buyer must live in the home as their principal place of residence for 12 continuous months within 12 months of settlement. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
Consumer Affairs Victoria: Private sales of residential property in Victoria have a cooling-off period of three clear business days, starting from the date the buyer signs the contract. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
Consumer Affairs Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria says the seller's legal practitioner or conveyancer may hold the buyer's deposit in trust. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
Queensland Revenue Office: To keep the Queensland first home concession you must move in and live there within 1 year of settlement, and not sell, transfer, lease or give exclusive possession of the whole property in that first year. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
Queensland Government: The Queensland Government describes conveyancing as the process after the contract is signed that ensures the land is registered in the buyer's name at the government's land title office. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
RevenueSA: South Australian first home buyers claiming relief must live in the property for a continuous period of at least 6 months, starting within 12 months after settlement for a new home. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
ACT Revenue Office: Under the ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme, buyers and their partners must not have owned property in the last five years, and at least one buyer must live in the home for at least 12 months starting within one year of settlement. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.
Access Canberra: Access Canberra explains that electronic conveyancing lets legal practitioners and financial institutions create, sign and lodge documents online, and that the ACT uses PEXA. Official source. Checked 2026-09-12.