How to get a Section 32 reviewed in Victoria: every option, compared

You have found a place you like, the agent has handed you a Section 32, and you have a few days before an auction or a signing date. Now what? A Section 32 can run past forty pages of legal and technical language, and the parts that matter sit buried in clauses and certificates. Here are the four ways Victorian buyers get one reviewed, and what each is good and not so good at.

Option 1: Read it yourself

The free option, and a genuinely useful first step. Reading the document yourself means you understand your own purchase rather than outsourcing that understanding entirely.

The catch is that a Section 32 is written for legal review, not for a first-time reader. The title restrictions, planning overlays and owners corporation records are described in their own language, and it is easy to read a page and still not know whether it matters. Our complete Section 32 guide walks through each part, a Section 32 checklist turns it into a list, and our interactive checklist tool saves your progress as you work through the document.

Good for: understanding your own purchase, and knowing which questions to raise. Less good for: knowing what the technical parts actually mean, and what is normal versus worth a closer look.

Option 2: A conveyancer or solicitor review

The professional option, and the one you will eventually need regardless. A licensed conveyancer or property solicitor reviews the contract of sale and Section 32, orders the searches, and handles settlement. Many will look over a Section 32 before you sign, sometimes at no charge as part of taking you on, sometimes as a paid pre-purchase review.

The trade-offs are timing and plain English. A conveyancer is often reviewing several matters at once, so turnaround varies, and the summary you get back can still be written in the language of the profession. It is also usually one property at a time, which is awkward when you are weighing up a few.

Good for: professional judgement, the searches, and settlement. This is the advice step, and nothing replaces it. Less good for: speed, plain-English explanation, and comparing several places at once.

Option 3: A plain-English summary tool like Unstated

This is the newer option, and where Unstated sits. You upload the contract and Section 32, and you get a plain-English report of what each part means, plus the questions to take to your conveyancer, usually within about ten minutes. It is built specifically for Victorian Section 32 disclosure, and it can compare several properties side by side when you are choosing between them. For more on how a summary tool and a professional review differ, see Unstated vs a conveyancer's Section 32 review.

The important thing to be clear about: this is general information, not legal advice, and it does not replace your conveyancer. It is the step that helps you walk into that conversation already knowing what the document says. For a sense of what you get, you can view a sample report.

Good for: understanding the document quickly, in plain English, and comparing options before you sign. Less good for: the advice itself, the searches, and settlement. Those still belong with your conveyancer.

Option 4: Ask the agent or the vendor

You can always put a question to the selling agent. It costs nothing and sometimes gets you a quick answer on something specific.

Remember, though, that the agent acts for the seller. Anything important should be confirmed in writing and checked against the documents and your conveyancer, rather than relied on from a verbal answer at an open home. This matters most at an auction, where there is no cooling-off period, and differs from a private-treaty sale where you may have a little more room.

Good for: quick, specific questions. Less good for: anything you need to rely on. Confirm it in writing.

How the options fit together

These are not really four competing choices. Most prepared buyers use three of them together: read it yourself to understand your purchase, use a plain-English summary to make the document make sense quickly, and engage a conveyancer for the professional review and settlement. The agent is there for the odd specific question.

The one thing worth avoiding is the fourth path a lot of buyers take without meaning to: glancing at the Section 32, feeling none the wiser, and signing anyway. Whichever combination you choose, the goal is the same, to know what you are buying before you sign, and to ask your conveyancer the right questions while there is still time.

If you want the document in plain English in about ten minutes, that is exactly what Unstated does. If you would rather work through it yourself first, start with the free checklist tool, and read up on what a Section 32 contains and how it differs from the contract.

Sources

• Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic), section 32: the law requiring the Vendor's Statement that these review options all relate to.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria: Buying and selling property: the regulator's guidance on due diligence and using a conveyancer.

Sources verified 25 July 2026.

General information about buying property in Victoria, not legal or financial advice. Always confirm your own situation with a licensed conveyancer or other professional.