Buying a House Checklist for Australia: Deposit to Moving Day

How buying a house works in Australia

Australia has a fairly standard buying sequence, and it is the backbone of this checklist. The government's Moneysmart guide describes it like this:

1. Set a budget you can genuinely afford.
2. Save a deposit, ideally 20% plus buying costs.
3. Get loan pre-approval so you know your ceiling.
4. Compare lenders and rates before you commit.
5. Search within your pre-approved range, not above it.
6. Arrange building and pest inspections on serious contenders.
7. Make an offer (conditional or unconditional) or bid at auction.
8. Exchange contracts and pay your deposit.
9. Complete your finance, then settle and collect the keys.

Each phase below turns those steps into concrete tick-off items. Two habits will save you the most stress. First, finish each phase before you lean on the next: an offer made before your finance is solid is a gamble with your deposit. Second, remember that property law changes when you cross a border. Cooling-off periods, disclosure documents, stamp duty concessions and insurance timing all differ by state, so check the state-specific notes as you go.

Phase 1: Get your finances ready

Everything starts with an honest budget. Add up your income, then track what you actually spend for a few months. Lenders will read your statements later, so it pays to know what they will see. The gap between income and spending is what you can put towards saving now and repayments later.

Moneysmart suggests a simple stress test: work out what your repayments would be if interest rates rose by 2%, and make sure you could still cover them comfortably. If a 2% rise would break your budget, borrow less than your maximum, not up to it.

While you save, tidy up your borrowing profile:

• Get a copy of your credit report and fix any errors before a lender finds them.
• Pay down or close credit cards and personal loans. Lenders assess your card limits, not just your balances.
• Set up an automatic transfer into a dedicated savings account every payday. Regular deposits show lenders a genuine savings habit.
• Avoid new debts, buy now pay later balances and big life changes (like switching jobs) in the months before you apply.

None of this is glamorous, but it is the phase that decides how smooth every later phase feels. A buyer with clean statements, low debts and a steady savings record usually finds pre-approval far smoother. A buyer without them gets questions.

Phase 2: Sort your deposit, grants and pre-approval

Moneysmart recommends saving 20% of the purchase price plus buying costs. Below 20%, lenders usually charge lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), which protects the lender, not you.

First home buyers have two big levers before reaching 20%:

• The First Home Buyers 5% Deposit Scheme (the expanded First Home Guarantee). From 1 October 2025 it has no income caps and no annual place limits. Eligible first home buyers can purchase with a 5% deposit (2% for eligible single parents) without paying LMI, as long as the property sits under the price cap for its area.
• The First Home Super Saver Scheme. You can withdraw voluntary super contributions of up to $15,000 per financial year (maximum $50,000 per person, plus associated earnings) to put towards a deposit. You must request an FHSS determination from the ATO before you sign a contract.

The scheme's property price caps vary by state and area. As at 2026 they are:

Regional centres include Newcastle, the Illawarra, Lake Macquarie, Geelong, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. Caps are revised from time to time, so confirm current figures at firsthomebuyers.gov.au before relying on them.

With your deposit path clear, apply for pre-approval. It typically lasts 3 to 6 months and shows sellers and agents you can fund a specific amount, without committing you to the loan.

Phase 3: Build your team and start searching

Two professionals matter most: someone to arrange your loan and someone to check your contracts.

A mortgage broker or a lender. Since 1 January 2021, mortgage brokers have been legally bound by a best interests duty when recommending loans. Bank staff selling only their employer's products are not. Brokers are typically paid commission by lenders, so you usually do not pay them directly. Whichever route you choose, compare more than one loan before committing.

A conveyancer or solicitor. Engage one early, before you find a home you love. Their first job is reviewing the contract of sale and your state's disclosure document before you sign anything. Later they handle title searches, transfer documents and settlement itself.

Then start searching, and stay inside your pre-approved range. Research recent sold prices in your target suburbs (asking prices are marketing, sold prices are data), set alerts, and inspect more homes than you think you need to. Take notes at every open home; after five of them the kitchens blur together.

If you are still working out what you can borrow, Byrz's free tools let you build a loan profile, see a borrowing estimate and connect with a broker when you are ready, so this phase starts with real numbers rather than guesswork.

Phase 4: Inspect, make an offer and sign

Found a serious contender? Slow down for a week and do three things before any money moves.

1. Order building and pest inspections. These must happen before you go unconditional: before auction day, as a written condition of a private treaty offer, or at the very latest during your cooling-off period. The ACT is the exception, where the seller must attach building, compliance and pest reports to the contract (buyers usually reimburse the cost at exchange).

2. Have the contract reviewed before you sign. Your conveyancer should read the contract of sale and the state disclosure document: the Section 32 vendor statement in Victoria, the Form 1 in South Australia, and in Queensland the Form 2 seller disclosure statement that became mandatory on 1 August 2025. If a Queensland seller fails to provide it, or it is materially inaccurate, the buyer can terminate any time up to settlement.

3. Choose your offer type deliberately. Private treaty offers can be conditional (subject to finance, valuation, or building and pest) or unconditional, but conditions only protect you if they are written into the contract before signing. Auctions are different: an auction purchase is unconditional in every state, there is no cooling-off period, and the deposit (usually 10% of the price) is payable on the day. Everything, finance included, must be finished before you raise your hand.

When your offer is accepted and contracts are exchanged, you pay the deposit and the countdown to settlement begins.

Cooling-off periods by state

A cooling-off period is a short window after signing (or exchange) when a buyer can withdraw from a private sale, usually for a small penalty. It exists so you are not permanently bound by a signature made in a hurry. The rules are state law and they vary a lot:

Three things apply everywhere. No state gives a cooling-off period at auction. In WA and Tasmania a contract is binding the moment you sign unless conditions were negotiated in, so pre-signing review is everything there. And cooling-off can often be waived or shortened (NSW uses a section 66W certificate), so never sign a waiver you do not fully understand.

The fine print matters too: SA's clock runs from the later of receiving the Form 1 or signing, and Victoria's cooling-off does not apply within 3 clear business days either side of a public auction. When the timing is tight, your conveyancer counts the days for you.

Phase 5: Between exchange and settlement

Settlement periods are written into the contract and typically run 30 to 90 days; in NSW around 6 weeks is customary. This stretch feels quiet, but it has real deadlines:

• Get finance to unconditional. Pre-approval is not a loan. Your lender will value the property and issue formal approval; chase this early, because a finance condition has an expiry date.
• Insure the building straight away. Lenders require building insurance before settlement. In Queensland the property is at your risk from 5pm on the first business day after signing under the standard contract, so insure the day you sign. In NSW risk generally stays with the vendor until completion, but insuring early is still cheap peace of mind.
• Sign loan and transfer documents promptly. Your conveyancer prepares the transfer and runs title and government searches while you do.
• Budget for stamp duty. In electronic conveyancing it is normally paid through the settlement workspace on the day; exact deadlines vary by state.
• Book your pre-settlement inspection. You are entitled to a final walk-through, typically in the last few days before settlement, to confirm the property is in the condition you bought it in and included items are still there.

First home buyers should also confirm duty concessions are applied before settlement. As at 2026, NSW exempts homes up to $800,000, with concessions to under $1,000,000. Victoria exempts up to $600,000, with a sliding concession to $750,000. Queensland charges no duty on new homes for eligible first home buyers (contracts from 1 May 2025) and offers a concession on established homes under $800,000. Elsewhere, and for current grant amounts, check your state revenue office.

Phase 6: Settlement day and moving in

In most states settlement happens electronically through PEXA. Your conveyancer and lender meet the seller's side in an online workspace; your loan funds are drawn down, stamp duty is paid, and the title transfers into your name. You do not normally attend anything. You wait for the call.

Once your conveyancer confirms settlement is complete, the agent releases the keys. Then the last items on the checklist come due:

• Connect electricity, gas and internet so they work from day one.
• Make sure home and contents insurance is active before you move in. Building cover alone does not protect your belongings.
• Update your address with your bank, employer, Medicare, the electoral roll and your driver licence.
• Set up your loan repayments, and your offset account if you have one, so the first repayment does not catch you out.

One deadline outlasts moving day. Many first home buyer concessions carry residence requirements: in NSW you must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for 12 continuous months, and Queensland's new home duty concession requires you to move in within 1 year and not sell or transfer before you do. Breaching these can mean repaying the concession, so diarise the dates the way you would a loan repayment.

That is the whole journey. Save the checklist, tick items off as you go, and check official sources (Moneysmart, firsthomebuyers.gov.au and your state revenue office) whenever a figure matters, because caps and concessions change.

Frequently asked questions