How to Make an Offer on Property in Australia
A contract-first guide to property offers, covering preparation, written terms, conditions, counter-offers, acceptance and jurisdiction-specific cooling-off.
“Making an offer” can mean anything from a non-binding conversation to signing the document that becomes the sale contract when the seller accepts it. Before filling in a form or clicking an online offer button, find out which one you are being asked to do.
A written offer may be the contract
Offer practices and the point of legal commitment differ across Australia. Give the document and disclosure material to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer in the property's jurisdiction before you sign. Do not rely on an agent's description of whether an offer is “just paperwork”.
Identify the form of offer
The process is state- and document-specific. Queensland Government guidance says a buyer may make a verbal offer, complete a written offer form or insert the offer into a contract supplied by the agent. It also states that the Queensland contract becomes binding when both parties sign. Consumer Affairs Victoria describes the usual private-sale offer as a signed contract of sale. WA commonly uses an Offer and Acceptance form, which becomes binding after both sides agree to all terms and sign.
Those examples show why “a verbal offer is never binding anywhere in Australia” is too broad. Ask your legal adviser what legal effect the specific communication and document have before sending either.
Prepare before naming a price
Evidence to have ready
- A comfortable total budget, including duty, legal work, inspections and settlement costs.
- Recent settled sales of genuinely comparable properties, with source and sale date recorded.
- The contract and disclosure documents required in the property's jurisdiction.
- The title, planning, strata and physical checks appropriate to the property.
- Current lender information, including what remains conditional and what cash is available.
- A written list of deal-breakers and the maximum price you will not exceed.
Moneysmart's home-buying guidance explains that pre-approval only indicates eligibility to apply and does not commit the lender. Treat it as a budgeting input, not as final approval for this property.
Put the whole offer in writing
The offer is more than its price. Depending on the local form, it may need to record the buyer's correct legal name, property, price, deposit, settlement date, inclusions and exclusions, and every agreed condition. Victoria's private-sale guidance lists these as core contract details and notes that a seller may prefer one offer because its settlement or conditions suit them, even if another price is similar.
An offer expiry can prevent an unsigned proposal remaining open indefinitely, but its drafting and withdrawal effect are legal questions. Have your adviser add it to the correct document. Keep a complete copy of every version and make sure handwritten or electronic changes are accepted in the way the document requires.
Draft conditions for the actual risk
Do not paste a generic phrase such as “subject to finance” into a high-value contract. The clause may need a finance amount, named lender, approval date, notice method, evidence requirement and a definition of satisfactory approval. Inspection clauses also need to say which inspection, what result matters, when notice is due and what remedy follows.
Queensland's contract-of-sale guidance warns buyers that conditions must be in the contract when it is signed to be legally binding. WA Consumer Protection similarly lists finance, sale of another property and inspection as negotiable conditions, while warning that WA has no mandatory cooling-off period.
Read how a subject-to-finance clause works, then ask your solicitor or conveyancer to draft for your transaction.
Acceptance, rejection and counter-offers
- 1
Submit through the requested channel
Send the approved document through the agent or seller and retain proof of what was sent and when.
- 2
Treat changes as a new legal decision
Price, settlement, deposit or condition changes can alter the offer. Send every counter-offer back to your adviser.
- 3
Confirm acceptance from the documents
Do not infer a binding sale from congratulations, a portal status or an agent saying the offer looks accepted.
- 4
Stop at your limit
A competing-offer process does not change what the property is worth to you or what you can safely fund.
In NSW, the government warns that a seller is generally free to choose a buyer or change course before exchange; an accepted price alone does not prevent gazumping. In WA, the seller may accept, reject or counter a written offer and is not required to choose the first one received. Use the transaction rule for your jurisdiction rather than assuming the same acceptance mechanism nationwide.
What to do after acceptance
Send the complete signed document to your legal adviser and lender. Record every contract deadline, including deposit, finance, inspection, cooling-off and settlement events, using the date and time your adviser confirms. Follow only verified trust-account instructions before transferring money.
Cooling-off is not a universal backup plan. NSW and Queensland generally provide eligible residential buyers five business days, with statutory exclusions and a cost for termination. Victoria uses a different trigger, period, cost and set of exclusions. WA has no mandatory cooling-off period. Your adviser should tell you which rule applies and whether it has been waived or excluded.
A strong offer is one you can fund, understand and honour. Use evidence for the price and legal drafting for the terms. Removing a protection merely to look competitive transfers risk to the buyer; it does not make the property or finance safer.
For the price-decision side of the process, see how to negotiate a property price.
General information only. Reviewed 24 August 2026. Offer, contract, cooling-off and disclosure rules depend on the jurisdiction and document; obtain legal advice before signing or submitting a binding form.