Is off the plan the same as buying a brand new townhouse?

Not always. A townhouse bought after it is finished and titled is new but not off the plan. Queensland describes off the plan as signing before the building is out of construction and the lot's title exists, and Victoria's cancellation right is tied to the plan of subdivision being unregistered. On those descriptions, a completed and titled townhouse is no longer off the plan.

Can you buy off the plan before building has started?

Yes. Revenue NSW lists townhouses where construction has not started as eligible off-the-plan purchases, and WA Consumer Protection describes contracts signed before building has commenced. That is the earliest and longest-running version of the arrangement, and the one where plans, specifications and the contract carry the most weight.

Do you pay the full price when you sign?

No. You pay a deposit at signing and the balance at settlement. Victoria caps the deposit at 10 per cent of the contract price. If you borrow, the lender's money is normally paid at settlement, so finance for off the plan purchases is a separate step to plan around.

Does off the plan change the cooling-off period?

In NSW, yes: off-the-plan buyers get 10 business days, against 5 for existing homes, and forfeit 0.25 per cent of the price if they use it. Victoria's general period for private sales is 3 clear business days, though Consumer Affairs Victoria's page does not mention off-the-plan contracts, so confirm it applies to yours. WA Consumer Protection says there is no mandatory cooling-off period for real estate contracts in WA.

What does off the plan mean when buying a townhouse?

Buying off the plan means signing a contract to buy a home before it is finished, and often before building has started. You pay a deposit when you sign and the balance at settlement, which the NSW Government says is not until the building is finished and the plan is registered. As at October 2026, the state government pages that explain the idea describe it in slightly different words, and the differences decide which protections apply.

Checked October 2026. Rules, rates and prices change, so confirm anything that matters with the source linked below.

How the official pages describe it

State	How the official page puts it
Victoria	Buying a house or unit before building works are complete (Consumer Affairs Victoria). Its contract protections, such as the right to end the contract if the plan of subdivision is not registered by the time in the contract or the default of 18 months, are tied to registration of that plan.
New South Wales	A property advertised and sold before construction or land subdivision is complete (NSW Government).
Queensland	A contract signed before the building is out of the construction phase, where relevant, and before the title to the lot has been created (Queensland Government).
Western Australia	A contract signed with a developer before final subdivision approval, or before building has commenced or been completed, covering vacant land, house-and-land and strata properties such as units, townhouses and apartments (WA Consumer Protection).
South Australia	Properties advertised for sale before they are built (SA Government).

In Victoria the contract protections turn on the plan of subdivision being registered, while Consumer Affairs Victoria says the duty concession depends on how far construction has progressed when you sign. A single townhouse can therefore sit inside one rule and outside another, depending on when you sign.

Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory have their own rules and are not covered here.

Browse new townhouses

See the townhouse developments selling now, with bedrooms, prices and completion dates, city by city.

What you sign and what you pay

You contract with the developer, who is the seller (the vendor). The usual shape, according to the NSW Government, is a deposit to reserve the property and the rest of the price at settlement, with settlement set for when the building is finished and the plan is registered.

Deposit. Consumer Affairs Victoria says an off-the-plan deposit cannot exceed 10 per cent of the contract price. WA Consumer Protection says deposits typically do not exceed 10 per cent. The other official pages checked for this guide do not state a cap, so the contract sets the amount.
Price. Consumer Affairs Victoria and the NSW Government both say the price is fixed when the contract is signed, so a rising or falling market does not change what you owe, unless the contract includes a price adjustment clause.
Holding payments. In NSW an expression of interest payment does not secure a property and there is no binding contract until contracts are exchanged.

How deposits are held and released is covered in off the plan deposits and deposit bonds.

How it differs from other ways of buying

Established townhouse. You can inspect the finished home. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists being unable to inspect the property, and relying on an artist's impression, floor plan and advertising, as the first risk of buying off the plan. NSW also gives off-the-plan buyers a cooling-off period of 10 business days, against 5 for an existing home.

House-and-land. Land and building are often separate contracts. The NSW Government tells buyers to understand how the two contracts interact. Revenue NSW treats a contract for land with a home still to be built as an off-the-plan purchase for its duty deferral, provided the land contract says a home will be built. Queensland's 2023 sunset clause reforms, by contrast, do not cover linked or single house-and-land contracts. The label is similar, but the rules can differ.

How long it takes

No official page gives an average build time. The published markers are backstops written into law:

Victoria: if the plan of subdivision is not registered by the time in the contract, or the default of 18 months, the buyer can end the contract and get the deposit back (Consumer Affairs Victoria).
Queensland: the seller of a proposed lot must settle within 18 months of the contract, otherwise the buyer may end it by written notice before settlement.
Western Australia (strata): where no registration date was agreed, the buyer may cancel once more than six months have passed since the contract and the plan is still unregistered.
New South Wales: the buyer must be given a copy of the registered plan at least 21 days before settlement.

Developers add their own cut-off through a sunset clause, explained in what is a sunset clause.

Where townhouses fit

Official pages name townhouses directly. Revenue NSW lists townhouses where construction has not started or is under way as eligible off-the-plan agreements, the State Revenue Office in Victoria has a separate page for its temporary concession on strata apartments and townhouses, and WA Consumer Protection includes townhouses among the strata properties sold this way.

Many projects with a shared driveway or common property are strata or community schemes, which brings an owners corporation or body corporate. That matters for off-the-plan rules too: Queensland's sunset clause reforms exclude lots in community titles schemes. Title type is explained in strata vs Torrens title for townhouses, and the full process is in buying a townhouse off the plan. To see what is currently selling this way, you can browse new townhouses in Melbourne.

The meaning of off the plan is not identical across the states, and some protections apply only while the plan of subdivision is unregistered. The date you sign relative to registration matters.

Common questions

Is off the plan the same as buying a brand new townhouse?: Not always. A townhouse bought after it is finished and titled is new but not off the plan. Queensland describes off the plan as signing before the building is out of construction and the lot's title exists, and Victoria's cancellation right is tied to the plan of subdivision being unregistered. On those descriptions, a completed and titled townhouse is no longer off the plan.
Can you buy off the plan before building has started?: Yes. Revenue NSW lists townhouses where construction has not started as eligible off-the-plan purchases, and WA Consumer Protection describes contracts signed before building has commenced. That is the earliest and longest-running version of the arrangement, and the one where plans, specifications and the contract carry the most weight.
Do you pay the full price when you sign?: No. You pay a deposit at signing and the balance at settlement. Victoria caps the deposit at 10 per cent of the contract price. If you borrow, the lender's money is normally paid at settlement, so finance for off the plan purchases is a separate step to plan around.
Does off the plan change the cooling-off period?: In NSW, yes: off-the-plan buyers get 10 business days, against 5 for existing homes, and forfeit 0.25 per cent of the price if they use it. Victoria's general period for private sales is 3 clear business days, though Consumer Affairs Victoria's page does not mention off-the-plan contracts, so confirm it applies to yours. WA Consumer Protection says there is no mandatory cooling-off period for real estate contracts in WA.

Keep reading

Sources

This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Get advice that suits your situation before you buy.