Material facts: what a seller must tell you in Victoria

The Section 32 vendor statement tells you the legal facts about a property: its title, what is registered against it, its zoning and rates. What it does not tell you is whether the building has a serious defect, whether a fire tore through it a decade ago, or whether the previous occupants ran a drug lab in the garage. For that, Victoria relies on a separate and less well-known duty: the obligation on a seller to disclose "material facts". Since 2020 that duty has had real teeth, and understanding it changes what you can reasonably expect a seller to have told you.

What is a material fact?

Consumer Affairs Victoria defines a material fact as a fact that would be important to a potential purchaser in deciding whether or not to buy any land. Put simply, it is something that would influence a reasonable buyer's decision to buy the property at all, or to buy it only at a certain price. If knowing it might change your mind or your offer, it is likely material.

The legal basis sits in the Sale of Land Act 1962. Amendments made by the Sale of Land Amendment Act 2019 took effect on 1 March 2020 and sharpened the disclosure duty, and the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria has published guidelines setting out how "material fact" is understood. This duty is separate from, and in addition to, the Section 32.

When does the seller have to disclose?

The duty bites early. A vendor or their agent must not knowingly conceal a material fact, and the obligation to disclose known material facts applies from the point a prospective buyer indicates they are considering the property, not only once contracts are drawn. So it is meant to inform your decision while you are still deciding, which is exactly when it matters most.

What are examples of material facts?

The guidelines give concrete examples, and they are broader than most buyers expect. A material fact can include:

• Known structural defects, such as a prior test or report revealing a problem with the structure of the building.
• Building work done without a required permit or approval, which can leave you with an illegal structure and a rectification problem.
• The presence of hazardous materials, such as asbestos or combustible cladding.
• A history of flooding or bushfire affecting the property, even if the damage was repaired years ago.
• A serious crime or traumatic event at the property, such as a homicide.
• Prior use in manufacturing drugs, such as a methamphetamine lab, which can leave contamination.
• Non-obvious restrictions on the property, such as an access limitation or truck curfew that would not be apparent on an inspection or the plans.

The through-line is that these are things a buyer would struggle to discover by simply turning up to an inspection, but which a seller often knows. That is precisely the gap the material facts duty is meant to close.

What if a seller knowingly hides a material fact?

Knowingly concealing a material fact is a criminal offence in Victoria. The penalty can reach up to 120 penalty units, or up to 12 months imprisonment. A penalty unit is a set dollar amount that the Victorian Government indexes each year, so the actual fine depends on the penalty unit value at the time. Beyond the offence itself, a buyer who was misled may have grounds to take action over the sale, which is a matter for a lawyer to advise on given the specific facts.

The word to sit with is "knowingly". The duty is not a guarantee that every hidden problem will surface; it targets what the seller or their agent actually knew, or arguably ought to have known, and chose not to tell you. A defect nobody knew about is a different situation from one that was quietly painted over.

Where the duty stops, and your due diligence begins

Material facts do not turn buying into a no-risk exercise, and the duty is not a substitute for a buyer's own checks. The seller's obligation covers facts they know; it does not oblige them to go hunting for problems on a buyer's behalf, and it does not cover things that are reasonably apparent on inspection or discoverable through ordinary due diligence. That is why independent building and pest inspections, a close read of the Section 32 and contract, and attention to matters that carry their own overlays, like flood risk and asbestos, remain the usual due-diligence steps in a purchase.

Consumer Affairs Victoria also publishes a due diligence checklist for buyers, which sits alongside the material facts duty rather than replacing it. The two operate together: the material facts rule works against a seller who knows something significant and stays quiet, while a buyer's own inspections and searches cover the things a seller may not know or be obliged to disclose.

How this fits with the Section 32

It helps to keep the two documents distinct in your mind. The Section 32 is a formal, prescribed statement about the property's legal and title position, and an error or omission in it can give a buyer rights to withdraw. The material facts duty is a broader, conduct-based obligation about disclosing significant things a seller knows, including matters of condition and history that the Section 32 never touches. A property can have a flawless Section 32 and still carry a material fact, an unpermitted extension, say, that should have been disclosed. Reading the Section 32 carefully and asking direct questions about the property's history are complementary habits, and together they leave far less about a property to chance than buyers often fear.

Sources

• Consumer Affairs Victoria, "Material Fact Guidelines" and related guidance on buying and selling property: the definition of a material fact (a fact that would be important to a potential purchaser in deciding whether or not to buy any land); the requirement that a vendor or agent not knowingly conceal a material fact; and the published examples (structural defects, building work without a required permit, asbestos or combustible cladding, prior flooding or bushfire, a homicide or serious crime, use as a drug lab, and non-obvious restrictions such as truck curfews). https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/buying-and-selling-property/selling-property/preparing-to-sell-your-property
• Consumer Affairs Victoria, "Sale of land changes in effect (legislation update)": the commencement of the material facts disclosure changes on 1 March 2020 under the Sale of Land Amendment Act 2019, and that knowingly concealing a material fact is an offence carrying up to 120 penalty units or up to 12 months imprisonment. https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/latest-news/sale-of-land-changes-in-effect-legislation-update
• Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic): the Act, as amended by the Sale of Land Amendment Act 2019, under which the disclosure duty and offence sit.

Sources verified 18 August 2026. The material facts guidelines and penalties are set by legislation and can change, and the dollar value of a penalty unit is indexed annually; confirm the current position with Consumer Affairs Victoria or a lawyer before relying on it. Whether a specific matter is a material fact, or gives a buyer any right, depends on the facts and is a question for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor.