For conveyancing Melbourne transactions, three things genuinely changed in 2026-27. Home Warranty replaced Domestic Building Insurance on 1 July 2026. Land registration fees and the electronic conveyancing rules moved on the same date. And a set of Sale of Land Act reforms passed Parliament in September.
A fourth thing has not changed: most of the duty and grant framework is where it was.
That last sentence matters as much as the first three. This is for buyers and sellers who want to know what is actually different — and what is still being reported as new when it is not.
Home Warranty replaced Domestic Building Insurance on 1 July 2026
This is the clearest change of the year and the one most likely to affect a real transaction.
What Home Warranty covers
From 1 July 2026, Home Warranty covers eligible domestic building work valued at more than $20,000. The old Domestic Building Insurance threshold was over $16,000.
Cover runs to $400,000 in total per home, where DBI provided up to $300,000 for homes up to three storeys. Protection extends up to six years after completion for major defects, and up to two years for other defective or non-compliant work.
Building contracts signed before 1 July 2026
Two practical points. If a contract was signed before 1 July 2026 and a DBI Certificate of Insurance was issued, that cover continues under DBI. And the Building and Plumbing Commission is now the scheme’s provider, where DBI was written through insurers.
Why it matters for the vendor statement
The reason this reaches a property sale rather than just a building contract is the vendor statement. If you built or renovated in the last several years, the certificate sitting behind that work is a disclosure item. Which scheme it belongs to now depends on the date the building contract was signed.
Which guidance to rely on
One warning worth putting plainly. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s guidance on this has not kept pace, and the $16,000 figure is still in circulation. For the current position, use the Building and Plumbing Commission’s own pages.
The Sale of Land Act reforms have passed — but check before you rely on a date
The Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 8 September 2026. It is Act 36 of 2026.
The five Sale of Land Act reforms
As the Bill was explained to Parliament on 4 June 2026, the Sale of Land Act 1962 reforms it carries would:
- require a vendor to make the section 32 statement available at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale, or 14 days before a contract is signed
- expand comparable property disclosure to include key features of the selected comparable properties
- require an estate agent to publish a reserve price agreed with the vendor at least seven days before an auction or fixed-date sale
- give the Property Price Statement and price information greater prominence in property advertising
- prevent agents from taking commission before settlement, or until a contract is rescinded
Commencement dates are not yet confirmed
Here is the honest part. Commencement dates for these reforms were not published on any primary source we could reach at the time of writing. The Sale of Land Act 1962 moved to version 174, in force from 9 September 2026. Which of these provisions commenced on assent, and which are deferred, is not stated there.
So: passed, yes. In force today, unconfirmed. Setting an auction date or planning a campaign? Confirm the current position at legislation.vic.gov.au, or ask your conveyancer rather than working from an article — including this one.
Settlement itself moved on 1 July 2026
Quieter changes, but they touch every conveyancing Melbourne transaction.
Land Services Victoria name and fee changes
Land Use Victoria became Land Services Victoria on 21 May 2026 — the same body, a different name on the correspondence.
Lodgment and search fees rose on 1 July 2026, with the fee unit set at $17.27 for 2026-27. The fees themselves are expressed in fee units, and change each 1 July under the Monetary Units Act 2004. If your conveyancer quoted disbursements before 1 July, some of those figures moved.
Electronic conveyancing Operating Requirements version 7.2
The electronic conveyancing Operating Requirements moved to version 7.2 on 30 June 2026, adopting the national model requirements. For a buyer or seller this is invisible. It governs how the practitioners on both sides operate inside the electronic workspace, not what you sign.
The new Environmental Priority Sites Certificate
Land Services Victoria also introduced an Environmental Priority Sites Certificate for property transactions. That sits alongside the existing contamination check through EPA Victoria’s Priority Sites Register on Victoria Unearthed.
EPA Victoria’s own buying-and-selling guidance, updated 20 January 2026, points to the register rather than the certificate. Ask your conveyancer which check is being run on your property.
What these conveyancing Melbourne changes mean for you
The same set of changes lands differently.
If you are selling
If you are selling a property, the two that matter are building work disclosure and the section 32 timing. Work out which insurance scheme sits behind any recent building work. Then assemble the vendor statement assuming a 14-day availability rule will apply to your campaign, rather than hoping it will not.
If you are buying
If you are buying a property, the change that reaches you first is what you are entitled to see and when. Expanded comparable property disclosure and a published reserve price are both aimed at the information gap at auction. Neither is a substitute for having the contract and vendor statement read before you bid.
If you are buying and selling in the same month
If you are doing both in the same month, the sequencing is the risk rather than the rules. Two settlement dates, two lenders and one set of funds is where timing pressure actually comes from.
Not sure which of these touches your transaction?
Send us the contract and vendor statement and we will tell you what applies. The review is free and no obligation, and the choice to proceed is entirely yours.
What has not changed, despite how it is being reported
Stamp duty, concessions and grants
Victoria’s land transfer duty framework is unchanged: a sliding scale assessed on the dutiable value of the property. The concession categories are the same ones — first home buyer, principal place of residence, off-the-plan and pensioner, with foreign purchaser additional duty on top.
The State Revenue Office’s first home buyer duty page describes relief for homes up to $750,000. Its First Home Owner Grant page describes a $10,000 grant for first-time buyers of a new home.
Land taxes and the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution
Windfall gains tax still applies where land value rises because of a rezoning. Vacant residential land tax still applies to homes left vacant the previous year.
The Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution rose for 2026-27, as it does most years. We covered the detail in GAIC rates for 2026-27 rather than repeat the figures here.
Anti-money-laundering obligations
Anti-money-laundering obligations are the other item frequently listed as a 2026-27 change. They are real, and they change how identity is verified in a transaction rather than what a transaction costs. We set out what that means for a buyer and a seller in our piece on the AUSTRAC anti-money-laundering changes.
Why the unchanged rules matter
Why labour the point about what has not changed? Because a buyer who believes the duty rules were rewritten will budget from the wrong page. And a seller who believes nothing has changed will disclose building work the wrong way. The gap between those two errors is where most of this year’s confusion sits.
Conveyancing Melbourne FAQs: 2026–27 changes
Does the 14-day section 32 rule apply to my sale right now?
Unconfirmed. The Act has passed and been assented, but a commencement date for that provision was not published on the primary sources at the time of writing. Check before you set an auction date.
My builder signed the contract in June 2026 — which insurance applies?
DBI, if a Certificate of Insurance was issued before 1 July 2026. Cover continues under the original terms.
Did stamp duty rates change for 2026-27?
Not as far as the State Revenue Office’s published material shows. The concession categories are unchanged. Rate tables move, though, so check sro.vic.gov.au for the figures that apply to your purchase price.
Why does the renaming of Land Use Victoria matter?
Mostly it does not, beyond correspondence and search receipts arriving under a different name. It is listed here so it is not mistaken for something larger.
Where does this leave a buyer signing next month?
In much the same position as six months ago, with one real difference: building work disclosure now sits under a different scheme with a higher threshold. Have the contract and vendor statement reviewed before you sign.
Eagle Peak Conveyancing, Unit 1/21 Perpetual St, Truganina VIC 3029. Call 0485 952 616 or email support@eaglepeak.com.au.
The headline version of this year is that everything changed. The accurate version is narrower. The building insurance scheme changed on 1 July, and settlement fees and the electronic conveyancing rules moved with it.
A significant set of Sale of Land Act reforms passed in September without a public start date. The duty and grant framework stayed where it was. Knowing which of those four actually reaches your contract is the difference between preparing properly and worrying about the wrong thing.
Buying or selling in Victoria this year?
Send us your contract and vendor statement for a free, no-obligation review before you sign anything.
