While not an exhaustive list of information that must be contained in the section 32 statement, the following information is commonly required to be disclosed or provided:

• Evidence of title by way of a Register Search Statement together with a copy of the registered plan of subdivision that identifies the land being sold. If the vendor is not the registered proprietor, such as in the case of a deceased estate, you must also include evidence of the vendor’s right to sell the land such as a copy of the grant of probate or letters of administration.
• Details of any rates and taxes such as council and water rates, owners corporation fees and land tax (if applicable). Any amounts for which a purchaser may become liable in consequence of purchasing the property must also be disclosed, such as special land tax and back rates.
• Where the property is subject to owner-builder works, particulars of the builder’s warranty insurance.
• A description of any easement, covenant or other similar restriction affecting the land and particulars of any existing failure to comply.
• Details of the planning scheme, zoning and overlays that affect the land, and a statement if the land is within a designated bushfire prone area.
• Particulars of any notice, order, declaration, report or recommendation of a public authority or government department or an approved proposal that directly and currently affects the land, such as a notice of rejection to a planning permit, notice of public acquisition, or a show cause notice for an illegal structure.
• Particulars of any building permit issued in relation to a building on the land.
• Information relating to any owners corporation the affects the land.
• If the property is subject to a growth area infrastructure contribution, details of work in kind agreement.
• A statement as to whether electricity, gas, water, sewerage or telephone services are not connected to the land.

You can purchase a property off-the-plan using a self-managed super fund if the property meets the requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, and in particular, where the SMSF is borrowing funds, that they meet the single acquirable asset rule of the limited recourse borrowing arrangement.

The ATO has clarified that a single limited recourse borrowing arrangement may be entered into to fund both the deposit and the balance of the contract price. However, where the property has multiple titles, for example, where the contract allows you to purchase additional parking spaces, these may not necessarily meet the single acquirable asset requirement, and you may be required to establish more than one bare trust and enter into an additional limited recourse borrowing arrangement.

Due to the additional risks that may apply to a SMSF purchase of property off the plan, a contract should not be entered into before seeking the appropriate legal advice from an experienced conveyancer, and financial advice from an accountant.

Both conveyancers and solicitors have formal qualifications to give legal advice and prepare legal documents in respect of property matters. While a solicitor has a broader knowledge of legal matters, having spent a long time studying other areas of law such as criminal law, tax law and copyright law, a conveyancer specifically studies property law and generally has a more in-depth knowledge on conveyancing matters given that they’ve studied that area of law for longer.

The licensing requirement for conveyancers however, is very minimal, requiring them to only undertake one (1) year of supervised training in addition to their formal qualification before being able to apply for their own conveyancing licence. Accordingly, there are a lot of licenced conveyancers who have perhaps opened their own practices while inexperienced and tend to give incorrect advice to their clients.

Similarly, when purchasers and sellers engage a solicitor, the file is commonly handled by a legal executive, paralegal or an employee with no formal qualification, who also tend to give incorrect advice to their clients.

When selecting a conveyancer or solicitor to represent you in your property dealings, the most important factor is the amount of experience and knowledge the individual file manager has.

The commonly used form of contract for the sale of real estate in Victoria provides that the purchaser buys the property in its current condition, and any omission or mistake in the description of the property or any deficiency in the area of the land does not invalidate the sale. Accordingly, a purchaser should test and document what appliances are in working order on the day of sale, including hot water service and any heating/cooling, as well as measuring the land to the nearest intersection to ensure the property fences are on the correct boundary.

Purchasers should also take note of any improvements or structures that appear to have been built within the preceding 7 years, or that are placed close to property boundaries where easements are commonly located.

In addition to the requirements set for vendors under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962, there may also be additional requirements pursuant to section 135 and 137B of the Building Act 1993 which need to be met before a vendor can enter into a contract to sell a property, and failing same, the contract will be voidable at the option of the purchaser at any time before settlement.

If you are purchasing into an owners corporation, it is important to review the owners corporation certificate, minutes of the last annual general meeting, and owners corporation rules to ensure you are satisfied with the current position of the owners corporation. You should take note of any large item works that may need to be completed in the future such as replacement of windows, resurfacing the driveway, or any structural issues, and where present, ensure that that the maintenance fund of the owners corporation is sufficient to cover any costs associated with the works.

The difficulty in reading a section 32 is that you must have regard to what documents it should contain, as much as what documents is does contain, something that generally only experience will allow you to do. For example, there is no requirement for a section 32 to contain information about illegal building works, only to disclose information about permits granted in the last 7 years. Accordingly, if you suspect renovations have been undertaken to a property in the proceeding 7 years that would have required a permit, you need to look for the planning permit (if required), building permit, occupancy certificate, or in other cases the owner-builder inspection report and builder warranty insurance.

The other issue with reading a section 32 is that information is often omitted or incorrect statements are given by the vendor’s solicitor or conveyancer. Many inexperienced solicitors and conveyancers have broad statements in their section 32 stating that there has been no failure to comply with the terms of any covenant, easement or similar restriction, when a simple examination of the property online clearly shows a garage which has been built over an easement without consent, or a front fence which breaches zoning requirements.