Property settlement · Western Australia
Property settlement in WA, drawn plainly
Settlement is the day a property passes from seller to buyer: the buyer pays the balance of the price, becomes the registered owner and, unless other arrangements were made, takes possession.
This guide, published by Dotto, follows a WA sale from the signed offer to the new title. It is written from the pages of the state’s Consumer Protection regulator, Landgate and RevenueWA, and it takes the view of the person buying or selling.
General information, not legal advice. For your own sale or purchase, Consumer Protection’s property settlement page is the official place to start.
- 1 What a settlement agent does
- 2 From offer to keys
- 3 Checking a settlement agent’s licence
- 4 Electronic settlement
- 5 Transfer duty in WA
- 6 The certificate of title
Schedule of parcels
| No. | Guide | The question | Written from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What a settlement agent does | Who may run a WA settlement, and what are they expected to do for you? | Consumer Protection (LGIRS), WA Government licensing pages |
| 2 | From offer to keys | What happens, in order, between a signed offer and settlement day? | Consumer Protection (LGIRS), Landgate, RevenueWA |
| 3 | Checking a settlement agent’s licence | Where is the public register, and what does a licence carry with it? | WA Government licensing pages, Consumer Protection, Legal Practice Board of WA |
| 4 | Electronic settlement | How does a WA settlement happen online, and who sets the rules? | Landgate, ARNECC, RevenueWA, Consumer Protection |
| 5 | Transfer duty in WA | Who pays transfer duty, when, and what changes for a first home? | RevenueWA (Department of Treasury and Finance), Consumer Protection |
| 6 | The certificate of title | What does a WA title show, and how do you get a copy? | Landgate, Consumer Protection |
Four field notes
Four points from official WA pages, in summary, that change how a buyer or seller reads the weeks before settlement.
- Real estate contracts made in WA come with no compulsory cooling-off period.
Consumer Protection, Buying property by private sale. More in From offer to keys.
- The contract of sale sets the settlement date, and the time to settlement is usually 30 to 90 days.
Consumer Protection, Property settlement.
- The rate of duty is set by the date the agreement is entered into, not by the settlement date.
RevenueWA, on the first home owner rate of duty, Duties Fact Sheet. More in Transfer duty in WA.
- Landgate keeps the single official copy of every Certificate of Title, in digital form.
Landgate, Order a Certificate of Title. More in The certificate of title.
Legend: who keeps which line
A WA settlement passes through several public bodies. Each has its own part, and its own pages to check.
Consumer Protection
Part of the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS), which its own page says was previously known as the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Consumer Protection licenses settlement agents in WA.
Landgate
Keeps the WA Government’s official register of who owns land, along with its survey information.
RevenueWA
Part of the Department of Treasury and Finance. Landgate lists a Certificate of Duty, obtained from RevenueWA for the assessment of transfer duty, among the things a land transfer needs.
ARNECC
The Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council is the body set up to help implement and manage the rules for electronic conveyancing. Its members are the land titles registrars of the states and territories that signed its intergovernmental agreement.
Legal Practice Board of Western Australia
Issues the practising certificates lawyers in WA need, which matters because a certified legal practitioner can also run a settlement.