🔍 Selling Your Property in Victoria? You Might Be Giving Away More Than You Think

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When you sell a property in Victoria, you're legally required to disclose certain information, but that doesn't mean you need to give away your personal and financial life story. At Victorian Property Settlements, we’ve seen too many examples where other firms go far beyond what's required, uploading full tenancy agreements, tax forms, ATO clearance certificates, and even bank account details into the Section 32 Vendor’s Statement.

You’re not just selling bricks and mortar. You're revealing your identity, your financial position, your tenant’s private information, and your dealings with the ATO — often to people who don’t need to see it.

And the risk doesn’t end at settlement. Let’s break it down.

📂 What You’re Likely Disclosing — Often Unnecessarily

🧑‍💼 Your Full Name, Co-Owner, and Trust Structure

  • Visible through title searches and contract documents.

  • If a trust or company is involved, your directorships or trustee roles are easily linked.

🏠 Your Address, Postal Details, and Contact Information

  • Land tax notices and rate notices often show where you live or run your business — unless redacted.

🏦 Financial Health

  • Mortgage details, caveats, and payout authorities reveal how much you owe.

  • Including ATO GST forms or clearance certificates shows your tax position and may suggest you’re a business operator.

👥 Tenant Information

  • Lease documents are often dumped into Section 32s without redaction.

  • Tenants’ full names, phone numbers, employment details, and IDs are sometimes exposed.

  • This is a breach of the Privacy Act and could lead to formal complaints or identity theft.

⚠️ The Worst Offence: Post-Settlement Information Giveaways

Many sellers think that once the settlement has taken place, their data is safe. But this is where most privacy breaches occur.

We’re talking about:

  • Councils

  • Water authorities

  • Body Corporates

  • Utility companies

  • Service providers and trades

These entities often send post-settlement requests like:

“Can you please tell us the name and forwarding address of the outgoing owner?”

And what do many conveyancing firms do? They hand it over. No filtering. No thought. No boundaries.

We routinely hear:

“Oh, it’s just Julie from Council.”
“That’s the building manager, they just want to update their records.”
“It’s standard procedure.”

No, it’s not.

✋ Let’s Be Clear:

Under the relevant legislation — the Local Government Act, Water Act, Owners Corporations Act, and so on — these bodies are entitled to the minimum information necessary to update ownership or levy rates.

They are not entitled to:

  • Your forwarding address

  • Your phone number

  • Your email

  • Your tax file number

  • Your utility accounts

  • Anything that falls outside the regulatory requirement

You’re paying a professional, not a gossip.

✅ How We Do It Differently

At Victorian Property Settlements, we’re one of the few firms that:

  1. Provides tailored, individual post-settlement notifications to relevant authorities

  2. Includes only the bare minimum information required under law

  3. Never supplies forwarding addresses or private contact details unless legally compelled

  4. Shield you from nuisance calls, billing errors, and future liabilities linked to your old property

  5. Ensures every disclosure is compliant with the relevant Act or regulation

We don’t treat your private life like public property — because it isn’t.

🚨 Why This Matters

If your conveyancer is:

  • Forwarding your details to building managers “just in case”

  • Sending your name and contact info to plumbers, maintenance teams, or real estate databases

  • Letting utility companies continue to use your data for billing after you've sold...

Then they’re not protecting you — they’re exposing you.

You may find yourself:

  • Still receiving rates, notices, or water bills for a property you no longer own

  • Chased by new owners, agents, or authorities for “your” account

  • Caught in disputes over post-sale issues long after your name should’ve disappeared

🛡 Make a Clean Break

When you sell your home, you’re paying for legal protection, privacy control, and a clean handover, not a document dump and a privacy breach.

Choose a conveyancer who understands where the boundaries lie — and defends them.

📞 Victorian Property Settlements
Trusted by Victorian sellers for over 25 years
Call: 03 9783 0111
Visit: www.victorianpropertysettlements.com.au