The WA conveyancing process: step by step from offer to settlement
Conveyancing in WA runs on a genuinely different logic from the eastern states. There is no separate "exchange" step like New South Wales and no cooling-off period like Victoria. Instead, a WA sale is built around a single document, the Offer and Acceptance (O&A) contract, which becomes binding the moment it is signed and acceptance is communicated. This guide follows a standard WA purchase from making an offer through to settlement, and is explicit about the two protections WA does not give you automatically, so you know where the real risk sits.
What makes the WA process different
Two absences define WA conveyancing, and both push the important work earlier than in other states. First, there is no statutory cooling-off period for wa real estate contracts at all (not just a waivable one); a buyer can only get a right to withdraw if their lawyer or agent negotiates a special condition into the contract (e.g. a finance or building inspection clause) and the seller agrees to it Second, WA has no law requiring a seller to give buyers a prescribed disclosure statement before they sign, unlike Victoria's Section 32 or South Australia's Form 1; Consumer Protection WA confirms there is no mandatory seller disclosure statement in WA.
Put together, this means a WA buyer cannot rely on a statement handed over before signing, or a window to withdraw afterwards. Both jobs, checking the property and protecting your position, have to be done through the terms of the offer itself, before you sign it. Each step below flags where that matters.
Step 1: Finding a property and settlement agent
Before you make an offer, engage a settlement agent (WA's licensed title for this work, sometimes also called a conveyancer, see the settlement agent versus conveyancer guide). Because there is no cooling-off period afterwards, having your settlement agent ready before you make an offer, not after, means they can advise on the wording of your conditions while you still have time to negotiate them.
Step 2: Making an offer with conditions
Most WA sales use the standard REIWA Offer and Acceptance form and Joint Form of General Conditions. When you make an offer, you and your settlement agent decide what conditions to include, most commonly:
- Subject to finance: your lender must formally approve your loan by a set date.
- Subject to a building and pest inspection: a satisfactory inspection report by a set date.
These conditions are the closest thing WA has to the checks a buyer in another state does during a cooling-off period, except they have to be agreed with the seller as part of the offer, not added afterwards. An unconditional offer skips this protection entirely, and is common in a competitive market or at auction.
Step 3: Offer and acceptance becomes binding
Once the seller signs your offer (or you sign their counter-offer) and that acceptance is communicated back to you, usually by the agent, the contract is binding. There is no cooling-off period afterwards: There is no statutory cooling-off period for WA real estate contracts at all (not just a waivable one); a buyer can only get a right to withdraw if their lawyer or agent negotiates a special condition into the contract (e.g. a finance or building inspection clause) and the seller agrees to it
Step 4: Satisfying your conditions
If your offer was conditional, the period after signing is spent satisfying those conditions by their deadlines: your lender formally approves finance, and your inspector completes the building and pest report. If a condition is not met, it usually lets you withdraw from the contract without penalty, exactly as agreed in the condition's wording, which is why the wording matters and is best drafted by your settlement agent rather than left to a generic form. If every condition is satisfied, or your offer was unconditional from the start, the contract moves toward settlement.
Step 5: Between contract and settlement
Once conditions are satisfied, your settlement agent works through the run-up to settlement:
- Assesses transfer duty: WA's transfer duty (its name for stamp duty) is calculated on the greater of the price or unencumbered value, along with any first home owner rate you are entitled to. Duty is administered by RevenueWA and is payable at settlement. See the transfer duty WA guide.
- Runs title searches: confirming title through Landgate and checking nothing new has been registered against the property since the offer was made. Because WA has no mandatory vendor disclosure statement, this search work is how a buyer's settlement agent independently verifies what the agent could not be relied on to volunteer.
- Coordinates finance and figures: liaising with your lender so the loan funds are ready, and calculating settlement adjustments for council rates and water charges paid in advance or arrears.
- Books settlement: agreeing the date and time in the electronic settlement workspace.
Step 6: Settlement day
Settlement is the day ownership passes to you. Most WA settlements now complete electronically through the PEXA platform. On the day, both settlement agents are in the PEXA workspace with the agreed figures and documents, your lender releases the loan funds, and at the settlement time the platform simultaneously transfers the price to the seller (after discharging their mortgage), pays the transfer duty and other amounts, and lodges the transfer with Landgate, WA's land titles office. When settlement confirms, the agent releases the keys.
After settlement
After settlement, Landgate registers the transfer and the title is updated to show you as owner, RevenueWA records the duty as paid, and your lender registers its mortgage if you borrowed. Your settlement agent confirms completion and you arrange to transfer utility and council accounts into your name.
How long the WA conveyancing process takes
There is no fixed statutory settlement period in WA; the timeframe is whatever the contract specifies, negotiated between buyer and seller. A settlement period of around 30 to 90 days is common for an established home, with the exact date written into the offer, while off-the-plan or new-build purchases can run much longer because settlement waits on construction being completed. Because the period is set by agreement rather than by a legal default, confirm the date in your own contract with your settlement agent rather than assuming a standard length.
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Conveyancing Explained provides general information about property transactions in Australia. It is not legal advice and does not create a client relationship. For advice on your situation, engage a licensed conveyancer, settlement agent, or property solicitor in your state or territory.