Do I need a vendor statement to sell my property in WA?

No. Consumer Protection WA confirms there is no mandatory seller disclosure statement in WA, unlike Victoria (Section 32), South Australia (Form 1) or Queensland (Form 2). Your estate agent must still disclose relevant facts about the property if a buyer directly asks, but there is no prescribed document you must prepare and hand over before a buyer signs.

What must a WA seller still disclose?

Your estate agent must disclose relevant facts about the property, particularly where a buyer directly asks about a specific concern. Beyond that, WA relies on the buyer doing their own checks, such as a title search or a Landgate Property Interest Report, rather than a mandatory seller statement.

How much does it cost to sell a house in WA?

Settlement for a seller typically costs about $700 to $2,000 for the professional fee (a market estimate, GST inclusive), usually lower than a buyer's fee because there is no vendor statement to prepare. On top of settlement sit any mortgage discharge fee and estate agent commission, which is usually the largest selling cost. Sellers do not pay transfer duty.

Selling property in WA: costs and why there's no disclosure statement to prepare

Q: Do sellers pay transfer duty in WA?

No. Transfer duty (WA's name for stamp duty) is paid by the buyer, not the seller, on a standard residential sale. A seller's costs are the settlement agent fee, standard searches, any mortgage discharge fee charged by their lender, and estate agent commission. Any capital gains tax is a separate federal matter.

Selling in WA is lighter on paperwork than in states with a mandatory vendor statement. There is no law requiring you to hand a buyer a prescribed disclosure document before they sign, unlike Victoria's Section 32 or South Australia's Form 1. That does not mean you have no obligations at all: your estate agent must still disclose relevant facts if a buyer asks, and getting your title and paperwork in order before you list still matters. This guide covers what you do and don't have to disclose, who does the work, what selling actually costs, how a mortgage is discharged, and settlement day from the vendor's side.

This guide provides general information only. It is not legal advice. For advice specific to your sale, engage a licensed WA settlement agent or property lawyer.

The seller's side of a WA sale

A WA sale puts less formal, document-based work on a seller up front than a Victorian or South Australian sale does, because there is no statutory vendor statement to assemble before you market the property. In broad order, selling in WA runs: appoint an estate agent and a settlement agent; market the property and receive offers; negotiate and accept an Offer and Acceptance contract from a buyer; help the buyer satisfy any finance or inspection conditions in their offer; and complete settlement, usually electronically, when the price is paid and title transfers out of your name.

Why there is no vendor statement to prepare

Consumer Protection WA, the state's consumer affairs regulator, confirms directly: "In WA, there is no mandatory seller disclosure statement." That puts WA in a genuinely different position from Victoria (the Section 32 vendor statement), South Australia (the Form 1 vendor statement), Queensland (the Form 2 seller disclosure statement) and, differently again, from New South Wales (prescribed contract attachments including the section 10.7 planning certificate). In each of those states a seller has a document-preparation obligation before marketing even begins. In WA, that obligation does not exist.

This is a real difference in the law, not a gap your settlement agent quietly fills in with an informal equivalent. A WA seller genuinely does not have to compile and hand over a formal statement of title, planning, encumbrances and outgoings the way a Victorian seller does.

What you must still disclose if asked

The absence of a mandatory statement is not the same as no disclosure obligation at all. Consumer Protection WA notes that the real estate agent acting for you must still disclose relevant facts about the property, particularly where a buyer directly asks about a specific concern. Buyers, for their part, are expected to do their own checks: ordering a title search, and where relevant a Landgate Property Interest Report for interests that might not show on the title itself. In practice, this shifts more of the checking burden onto the buyer's side than in states with a mandatory statement, which is worth knowing if a buyer's questions during the sale feel more detailed than you expect: they are doing the work a Victorian Section 32 would otherwise do for them.

Estate agent versus settlement agent: who does what

Two professionals are usually involved on the seller's side, and they do different jobs:

The estate agent markets the property, conducts inspections and negotiates offers with prospective buyers, and holds the deposit in trust. An agent is licensed under WA's real estate agent legislation and paid a commission. An agent does not handle the legal transfer of title and cannot give you legal advice.
Your settlement agent (WA's licensed title for this work) prepares and lodges the legal documents needed to transfer ownership, runs title searches, liaises with your lender to discharge a mortgage, and completes settlement. Some settlement agents also hold a legal practising certificate and can advise on contract disputes; where your matter has a legal complication, a solicitor is worth engaging directly.

You can engage your settlement agent before you appoint an estate agent, and there is an argument for doing so: having your title and any encumbrances checked early means fewer surprises once offers start coming in. If you are still weighing which professional to use, our settlement agent versus conveyancer guide explains the difference in WA specifically.

Seller settlement costs in WA

A seller's settlement costs in WA are usually lighter than a buyer's, because there is no vendor statement to assemble and generally fewer searches to run. The main items are:

Cost item	Typical treatment	Paid to
Settlement agent fee	About $700 to $2,000 (market estimate, GST inclusive)	Your settlement agent
Standard searches	Title search and any council or water searches your settlement agent runs to confirm your position	Landgate, councils, water authorities (via your settlement agent)
Mortgage discharge fee	Charged only if a loan is registered on the property	Your lender
Estate agent commission	Usually the largest selling cost; negotiated as a percentage of the sale price	Your estate agent
Transfer duty	Not payable by the seller (a buyer cost)	n/a

The professional-fee range is a market estimate for a standard residential sale (North Shore Conveyancing, 2026), not an official schedule, and is GST inclusive; WA settlement agent fees are deregulated. Agent commission is set by your agency agreement, not by law. Any capital gains tax is a separate federal matter for your accountant, not a settlement cost. The full buyer-and-seller cost picture, with the duty and registry figures computed from official rates, is in the conveyancing cost WA guide.

Do sellers pay transfer duty in WA? No

Transfer duty (WA's name for stamp duty) is paid by the buyer, not the seller, on a standard residential sale. It is assessed by RevenueWA on the buyer's purchase and is often their single largest cost, but it is not a seller expense. If you are curious how much your buyer will pay, or you are selling one home to buy another, the transfer duty WA guide sets out the rates and a calculator.

Discharging your mortgage

If a loan is registered against the property, it must be discharged at settlement so the buyer takes clear title. Once you have a signed Offer and Acceptance contract, tell your lender you are selling and request a discharge of mortgage; lenders typically ask for several weeks' notice and charge a discharge or administration fee. Your settlement agent coordinates the timing so the lender is ready to release its security in the electronic settlement workspace at the same moment the buyer's funds arrive. The loan balance is paid out of the sale proceeds before the remaining funds reach you.

Settlement day for the seller

Most WA settlements now complete electronically through the PEXA platform, so there is no in-person meeting. On the day, both settlement agents are in the settlement workspace with the agreed figures. At the settlement time, the buyer's funds are transferred, your mortgage (if any) is discharged from those funds, agent commission and your settlement costs are accounted for, and the net proceeds are paid to you. The transfer of title is lodged with Landgate, moving ownership to the buyer. Once settlement confirms, your agent releases the keys. You should have vacated and removed your belongings by the settlement time set in the contract, because the buyer is entitled to possession as soon as settlement completes.

After settlement, Landgate registers the transfer, the title updates to show the new owner, and your settlement agent provides a statement showing how the proceeds were applied.

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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.