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Unconditional approval feels like the finish line, but between that email and picking up the keys sits settlement — a coordinated legal and financial handover involving your lender, your conveyancer, the seller's side and sometimes an outgoing bank. Most settlements run smoothly, but the ones that do not usually fail on avoidable logistics. Here is the whole sequence, what is expected of you at each step, and where delays actually come from.
By the time settlement is in view you have signed a contract of sale, your loan has moved from conditional to unconditional approval (all lender conditions satisfied — valuation done, documents verified), and a settlement date has been fixed in the contract, commonly around four to six weeks after exchange depending on the state and what the parties negotiated. From here, three workstreams run in parallel: the lender prepares and certifies your loan, your conveyancer prepares the transfer, and you arrange funds and insurance. If you are still at the approval stage, our guide to how pre-approval works covers the earlier steps.
Once approval is unconditional, the lender issues loan documents — the loan contract, mortgage documents, and direct debit forms. Increasingly these are signed electronically; some lenders still require wet signatures witnessed on the mortgage. Read the contract properly: check the loan amount, rate type, loan term, repayment type and offset/redraw features match what you agreed. Errors are much easier to fix now than after certification. Return the documents promptly — slow document return is one of the most common self-inflicted delays. Once the lender verifies your signed documents, the loan is "certified" and ready to settle.
Your conveyancer or solicitor coordinates the legal side: title searches, rates and adjustment calculations (dividing council rates, water and strata between buyer and seller as at settlement day), preparing the transfer, and booking settlement with all parties. They will send you a settlement statement showing exactly how much money is needed to complete: the balance of the purchase price, plus stamp duty, their fees and adjustments, minus your loan amount and the deposit already paid. Review it, ask questions, and confirm the shortfall figure — that is the cash you must have ready.
Two things the buyer must personally get right before settlement day:
If you are refinancing rather than buying, the equivalent step is your discharge authority with the outgoing lender — slow discharge departments are the classic refinance bottleneck.
Free, instant, and no details required — see roughly what lenders could approve for you.
Settlement itself is almost entirely electronic in Australia now, conducted through an online property exchange workspace (PEXA is the platform most people have heard of). All parties — both conveyancers, the incoming lender, any outgoing lender — sign into a shared workspace where the financial settlement and the title transfer happen simultaneously: the lender advances the loan, funds flow to the seller and other payees, duty is paid, the seller's mortgage is discharged and yours is registered. You do not attend anything; your role finished when funds and documents were in place. Your conveyancer confirms completion, the agent releases the keys, and the property is yours. First home buyers can find a broader map of the journey in our first home buyer guide.
Shortly before settlement — usually within the last few days — you are entitled to a final inspection of the property. You are checking that it is in the same condition as when you exchanged, that any items included in the contract (fixtures, appliances) are present, and that the seller has not left damage or rubbish. Do it seriously: after settlement, your leverage largely disappears. If something is wrong, tell your conveyancer immediately — they can negotiate a fix, a price adjustment or, in serious cases, delay settlement. Do not simply hope it works out.
The common culprits, roughly in order of frequency:
If settlement is delayed, contracts typically allow the other side to charge penalty interest and, after formal notice, more serious remedies — so treat the date as hard. The practical defence is buffer: have documents back within days, funds ready a week early, and insurance sorted as soon as you go unconditional.
A few loose ends worth doing in the first week: confirm your first repayment date and direct debit, set up your offset account and salary crediting if your loan has one, keep your settlement statement for tax records (especially for investment purchases), and update your address with the electoral roll, licence and insurers.
A good broker does not disappear after approval — chasing documents, certification and settlement bookings is part of the job. If you want someone driving the process end to end, get in touch before you sign a contract.
The settlement date is set by the contract of sale — commonly four to six weeks after exchange, though it varies by state and negotiation. The lender-side work of documents and certification typically needs one to two weeks inside that window, which is why returning documents quickly matters.
No. Settlement is conducted electronically between the conveyancers and lenders in an online workspace. Your job is done beforehand: signed loan documents, cleared shortfall funds, and building insurance. Your conveyancer notifies you when it completes and the agent releases the keys.
It is the cash you must contribute on top of your loan: purchase price plus duty, fees and adjustments, minus the loan amount and the deposit you have already paid. Your conveyancer's settlement statement sets out the exact figure — make sure it is available as cleared funds early.
In the last few days before settlement, after the seller has moved out where possible. You are confirming the property's condition and contract inclusions. Report any problems to your conveyancer immediately — issues are far easier to resolve before settlement than after.
It depends on who caused it. Contracts generally let the ready party charge penalty interest and issue formal notices that can escalate further. Most delays are logistical — late documents, uncleared funds, missing insurance — and are cured within days, but they can be expensive and stressful, so build in buffer.
This article is general information only and doesn't consider your personal objectives, financial situation or needs — it isn't personal credit advice, and lending criteria, rates, fees and government schemes change. Before acting, speak with a licensed MakeMyLoan broker or credit representative who will assess your circumstances and provide a credit guide before any credit assistance is given.
