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The handover board · Five jobs

Sell without agents: the jobs that are left

Selling your home without an agent does not make the agent’s work disappear. Each job passes to someone: usually to you, sometimes to a conveyancer or solicitor. This board takes five of those jobs one at a time and sets out, state by state, the rules that come with each. It is a guide published by Dotto from the official sources listed at the foot of each page.

General information, not legal advice. The rules differ between states and change over time. Check with your state’s fair trading or consumer affairs body, listed at the end of this page, and ask a solicitor or licensed conveyancer how a rule applies to your own sale.

Checked against official sources on

Before the board

Some jobs were never the agent’s

NSW’s own page draws the line clearly: “A real estate agent can help you sell your home by handling the marketing, negotiating and legal requirements except the contract and settlement, which are handled by a conveyancer or solicitor.”

So even with an agent, two of the jobs already sit with someone else. Without one, NSW puts the rest plainly: “If you decide not to use a real estate agent, you are responsible for managing the entire sale process. This includes legal, financial and marketing tasks.” The board below follows those tasks one by one.

A worn brass door knob with a keyhole, set in a dark-painted wooden door
A worn brass door knob on a dark front door. Without an agent, the person who opens it to buyers is you. Photo by DyeAnnaBee on Pixabay
The board

Five jobs, and who holds each one now

A struck-through tag is the job’s old holder. A green tag is who holds it when there is no agent. Each row links to the guide for that job.

  1. Advertising your own home honestly

    The listing, the photos, the words and the price you print.

    Held byAgent→You

    VICIn Victoria it is illegal for a seller, as well as an agent, to misrepresent a property when advertising or marketing it, whether in speech or in writing.

  2. Who may prepare the contract

    The contract of sale, the legal paperwork and the transfer.

    Held byConveyancer or solicitor+You, in some states

    NSWNSW’s conveyancing page says you can do your own conveyancing, though most people engage a licensed conveyancer or solicitor. Another NSW page says a home goes on the market with a contract prepared by a lawyer or licensed conveyancer, and every NSW settlement needs a subscribing solicitor or conveyancer. The contract must be prepared before the home is advertised.

  3. Offers, and when a sale becomes binding

    Taking offers, answering them, and the moment both sides are bound.

    Held byAgent→You

    QLDIn Queensland, once both you and the buyer have signed the contract, it is binding.

  4. Setting a price without an appraisal

    What the official sources offer an owner, and what a land value is not.

    Held byAgent→You

    NSWNSW’s steps for sellers say to decide on a realistic price based on the valuation and current market trends, and to advertise that price accurately.

  5. If a buyer walks away

    Cooling-off from the seller’s side: the notice, the deposit, the deadline.

    Held byAgent→You

    QLDIn Queensland, if a buyer cancels during the cooling-off period, you may take a penalty of up to 0.25% of the purchase price out of their deposit, and you need to refund the rest within 14 days.

In the states’ own words

What each state says about going without an agent

VICMost sales are handled by an estate agent or an agent’s representative, but Victoria’s regulator says you can choose to sell without their help.

SASouth Australia notes you don’t pay an agent’s commission if you sell the property yourself, and that it can be time consuming.

WAWestern Australia’s Consumer Protection lists both paths: selling yourself, or bringing in a licensed real estate agent.

QLDQueensland’s page adds a caution. It asks owners to be careful about selling privately, and to always have a solicitor check a house sale contract before they sign it.

NTThe Northern Territory’s page advises getting legal advice if you decide to sell a property yourself.

Tasmania’s and the ACT’s pages on selling without an agent are not covered here.

About this board

What this guide is, and where to check

Sellwithoutagents.com.au is a guide to selling a home without an agent, published by Dotto. It reports each rule as the state that made it states it, names that state every time, and quotes no market prices. It is general information rather than advice about your sale: a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is the person who applies these rules to a particular contract.

The official pages for sellers, state by state: