Cooling off: Victoria
In Victoria, 5 business days, on contracts over $10,000. The three things that quietly remove the right are on the main page.
Victoria's threshold is the lowest in the country — the right attaches at $10,000, where most jurisdictions wait for $20,000 — and it carries the trap that catches careful people.
Getting legal advice can cost you the right
There is no cooling-off right if you engaged a lawyer to check the contract before you signed it. The logic is coherent: the period exists to protect someone who signed without advice, and you had advice. But the effect is that the single most prudent thing a homeowner can do — have a solicitor read the contract — removes the safety net that would otherwise sit underneath them.
That is worth knowing in advance rather than discovering it on day three. If you are having the contract reviewed, understand that you are trading the cooling-off period for the review, and that the review therefore has to do the whole job.
The date you signed is not the date that counts
The five days run from the date you received the signed copy, regardless of when you signed. On a contract signed in an office and returned by post a week later, those are different dates and the later one governs.
If you withdraw in time, the builder may keep $100 plus out-of-pocket expenses incurred and approved by you, and must refund everything else. Withdrawal has to be in writing and delivered in the way the legislation specifies, so follow the method rather than sending an email and hoping.
Victoria: the position
- Cooling-off period
- 5 business days
- Applies to
- A major domestic building contract — over $10,000
- Clock starts
- The date you received the signed copy, not the date you signed
- If the cooling-off notice was missing
- 7 days after realising the contract should have included it
- What the builder may keep
- $100, plus out-of-pocket expenses incurred and approved by you
- No right to withdraw if
- You engaged a lawyer to check the contract before signing, or had a previous contract on the same terms for the same home or land
Read from Consumer Affairs Victoria, Getting out of a building contract on 23 October 2026. We publish the date we read it so you can judge how current it is. Consumer Affairs Victoria is the authority on what applies to your contract — and on a deadline measured in days, asking them beats reading us.
Questions about cancelling in Victoria
How long do I have in Victoria?
Five business days, on a major domestic building contract — over $10,000, the lowest threshold in the country.
I had a lawyer look at the contract. Does that matter?
Yes, and it is the trap in this state: there is no cooling-off right if you engaged a lawyer to check the contract before signing. The most prudent thing a homeowner can do removes the safety net, so the review has to do the whole job.
When does the clock actually start?
From the date you received the signed copy, not the date you signed. On a contract signed in an office and returned by post, those are different dates and the later one governs.
What does it cost to withdraw?
The builder may keep $100 plus out-of-pocket expenses incurred and approved by you, and must refund the rest. Withdrawal must be in writing and delivered the way the legislation specifies.