Do I need a solicitor to write a will in Victoria?

No, you can draft a will yourself or use an online service. If you want to know how to write a simple will for a straightforward estate, the step-by-step guide above covers exactly that. But only a solicitor can give you legal advice about your specific situation, flag risks like family provision claims, and ensure the document is properly executed. For anything beyond a very simple estate, professional advice is worth it.

Can I write my will by hand?

Yes. A handwritten will is valid in Victoria provided it's signed and witnessed correctly under the Wills Act 1997 (Vic). That said, typed wills are clearer and less prone to interpretation disputes.

How many witnesses do I need?

Two adult witnesses, both present at the same time when you sign. They must also sign the will. They should ideally not be beneficiaries or married to a beneficiary.

Does marriage revoke my existing will?

In most cases, yes. Marriage automatically revokes a will in Victoria unless the will was expressly made in contemplation of that marriage. If you marry after drafting your will without updating it, your estate could be distributed as if you had no will at all.

Can I leave superannuation in my will?

Not directly. Superannuation passes outside your estate via a binding death benefit nomination with your super fund. Your will doesn't control it unless the fund pays to your estate. Speak to a solicitor or financial adviser to coordinate your super and estate planning.

What happens if I die without a will in Victoria?

You die intestate, and your estate is distributed according to the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) – typically to your spouse, then children, then parents and siblings. Unmarried partners, friends, and charities receive nothing regardless of your wishes.

How often should I update my will?

Review it every three to five years as a baseline, and update it after any major life event – marriage, divorce, birth of a child, significant asset purchase, or the death of a beneficiary or executor.

Can I change my will after it's been signed?

Yes. You can add a codicil (a formal amendment, signed and witnessed the same way as the original will) or create an entirely new will that revokes the previous one. Never cross out or write over your existing will, alterations made after signing aren't valid unless properly executed.

What is testamentary capacity?

It means you understand the nature and effect of making a will, the extent of your estate, and who has a reasonable claim on it, and that you're acting freely. If capacity is genuinely in doubt (for example, due to dementia), a solicitor can arrange a capacity assessment before the will is signed.

How does a solicitor-drafted will differ from an online will?

An online service generates a document based on your answers to set questions. A solicitor asks follow-up questions, identifies issues the platform wouldn't flag, advises on superannuation, joint assets, tax implications, and family provision risks, and takes professional responsibility for the outcome. For most people with property or family complexity, the difference is significant.

Smiling couple consults with a professional in an office setting.

Commercial Property Due Diligence Checklist for Victorian Buyers

Written by Staff on August 12, 2026.

If you’ve found a warehouse or a retail shopfront and you’re ready to make an offer, due diligence needs to be done before you commit. A due diligence checklist for commercial property has to cover a lot more ground than most first-time buyers expect (title and searches, physical condition, tenant and lease terms, GST treatment, and environmental risk), and it needs to happen while you can still act on what you find.

This guide walks through what a proper commercial due diligence checklist in Victoria should cover, and why skipping any part of it can cost far more than the legal fees you were trying to save.

Quick Answer

Commercial due diligence covers four distinct areas: legal title and searches, building and physical condition, tenant and lease review, and tax and environmental risk.
A PPSR search, an Essential Safety Measures report, and a review of the GST treatment (going concern vs taxable supply) are steps specific to commercial property.
For tenanted properties, the lease itself often matters more than the building. Rent reviews, make-good clauses, and outgoings recovery all shape what you’re buying.
Environmental contamination checks matter more for industrial and former commercial sites than most first-time buyers expect.

What Is Due Diligence in Real Estate? And Why is Commercial Different?

At its simplest, it’s the process of independently verifying everything a vendor has told you about a property before you’re legally bound to buy it. For a house, that mostly means checking the section 32 statement, confirming there are no nasty surprises on title, and getting a building and pest inspection.

Commercial property asks a lot more of you. You’re not just buying bricks and land; you’re often buying an income stream, a set of contractual relationships with tenants, and a business use that has to comply with a stack of regulations a residential property never touches. A commercial due diligence checklist needs to work across legal, physical, financial, and tax dimensions simultaneously, usually within a due diligence period far shorter than most buyers expect.

This is exactly where a specialist gets involved early. Commercial conveyancing services exist because these transactions involve more moving parts than residential ones, and missing one can be expensive to unwind after settlement.

Legal Due Diligence Checklist for Commercial Property

This is the foundation of any due diligence checklist for Victoria properties, and where a conveyancer or solicitor is the most useful.

Title Search

Confirm who legally owns the property, whether the title is clear, and whether there are any registered proprietors you weren’t told about. A current title search should always be run fresh, not relied on from an old contract.

Easements and Covenants

Many commercial sites, particularly in Melbourne’s northern industrial corridors, carry easements for drainage, services, or shared access. If you’re unsure what an easement is and how it might restrict your intended use of the site, this is worth understanding before you commit.

Caveats

A caveat lodged against the title can indicate a dispute or an unregistered interest that needs to be resolved before settlement can proceed cleanly.

Planning Certificates

Zoning and planning overlays determine what you’re permitted to do with the property. A site zoned for light industrial use won’t automatically permit a food business, and council planning certificates will confirm current permitted use, any pending amendments, and heritage or environmental overlays that might apply.

Section 32 Statement

The vendor’s statement discloses encumbrances, outgoings, and any notices affecting the property. For commercial sites, this document tends to be denser than its residential equivalent, and it’s worth having it reviewed by someone used to reading them.

PPSR Search

Commercial properties are frequently sold with fixtures, plant, or equipment included. A Personal Property Securities Register search confirms whether any of that equipment has a registered security interest. If it does and you don’t check, you could buy equipment that a financier is entitled to repossess.

Outstanding Rates and Land Tax

Confirm current council rates, water rates, and any outstanding land tax owed by the vendor. These are usually adjusted at settlement, but you need accurate figures before that adjustment happens, not after.

A woman smiling and shaking hands in a professional setting.

Building and Physical Due Diligence

Legal due diligence tells you what you’re allowed to do with a property. Physical due diligence tells you the condition it’s in.

Structural Assessment

Commission an independent building inspection covering the roof, structural framing, drainage, and any visible defects. For older warehouses and shopfronts common across Melbourne’s northern suburbs, this step regularly uncovers issues a walkthrough alone won’t reveal.

Asbestos Register

Any commercial building constructed before 2004 must have an asbestos register if asbestos-containing materials are present. Request this document directly. It should identify the location and condition of any asbestos on site, as it directly affects future renovation or demolition costs.

Essential Safety Measures Report

Victorian building owners must maintain and report annually on the essential safety measures installed in their commercial buildings, including fire detection, sprinklers, emergency lighting, and exit signage. Ask for the current Annual Essential Safety Measures Report before you exchange, as it will tell you whether the fire safety systems are compliant and maintained, not just installed.

Electrical and HVAC Condition

Get an independent assessment of the electrical switchboard, wiring age, and heating and cooling systems. These are expensive to replace and rarely disclosed in detail by vendors.

Accessibility Compliance

Commercial premises open to the public need to consider obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, which covers access to buildings, goods, and services separately from the building code. A property that technically meets Victorian building regulations can still fall short of DDA access requirements, so it’s worth having both checked rather than assuming compliance with one covers the other.

Tenant and Lease Review for Tenanted Properties

If you’re buying a property with an existing tenant, you’re effectively buying the lease as much as the building. This section of the due diligence checklist gets skipped far too often by first-time commercial buyers.

Tenant Financial Strength

A strong building with a struggling tenant is a weaker investment than it looks on paper. Request recent rent payment history and, where possible, some indication of the tenant’s trading position.

Rent Review Mechanisms

Understand how and when rent increases (including fixed percentage, CPI-linked, or market review) and whether an upcoming review is favourable or overdue.

Lease Expiry and Options

Check the current lease term, any renewal options the tenant holds, and how much certainty of income that gives you as the incoming owner.

Outgoings Recovery

Confirm whether the lease is gross or net. Under a net lease, the tenant covers outgoings such as council rates, insurance, and land tax; under a gross lease, the landlord absorbs these costs into the rent. This materially changes your actual return.

Make-Good Clauses

These set out what condition the tenant must return the premises to at lease end. A weak or absent make-good clause can leave you covering fit-out removal and reinstatement costs yourself.

Rental Arrears

Confirm there are no outstanding arrears you’d be inheriting, and how any existing arrears will be handled at settlement.

Architectural models on blueprints with a construction helmet.

GST and Environmental Due Diligence Checklist

These two areas are commonly missed by buyers coming from residential property, and both carry a real financial sting if they’re not checked properly.

GST Treatment

Commercial property sales can be GST-free if they qualify as a sale of a going concern, which generally requires the property to be sold with an active lease in place and both parties registered for GST. If the sale doesn’t meet the ATO’s requirements, GST applies to the full purchase price, which can significantly increase the total you’ll need to fund at settlement. This needs to be confirmed and documented in the contract before exchange, not assumed.

Commercial and Industrial Property Tax

Victoria’s newer Commercial and Industrial Property Tax reform changes how some commercial and industrial land is taxed going forward, and it’s worth understanding whether a property you’re considering has already entered the reform or will trigger it on this sale.

Environmental Contamination

Industrial and some retail sites carry a real risk of soil or groundwater contamination from past use. A Phase 1 environmental site assessment reviews historical land use and existing records to identify potential contamination; if that raises concerns, a Phase 2 assessment involves actual soil and groundwater testing.

Victoria’s contaminated land framework is administered by EPA Victoria, and a property affected by an Environmental Audit Overlay may have restrictions on future use until an audit is completed. For any site with an industrial history, this step belongs early in your due diligence checklist, not as an afterthought.

Getting Started

Working through legal, physical, tenancy, tax, and environmental due diligence simultaneously, within a due diligence period that’s often only a few weeks long, is where commercial purchases get complicated fast.

If you’re purchasing your first commercial property in Melbourne, working through this process with a solicitor who handles commercial matters regularly means the gaps get caught before exchange, not after settlement when they’re far more expensive to fix. BT Legal’s conveyancing Melbourne team can talk you through what a due diligence period should realistically cover for your specific property and help you avoid the costly assumptions that catch first-time commercial buyers out.

General information only. This article doesn’t constitute legal advice. Every commercial property transaction has its own risks, and you should get advice specific to your purchase before you sign anything.