Before you buy
The checks that matter, in order, and what a report can and cannot do for you.
Guides
The registers, explained.
Plain English guides to the hazards, checks and official registers that affect Australian property. Understand what the data means, where it comes from, and how we use it in our reports.
- Independent
and factual - Based on
official sources - Written for buyers,
renters and owners
Flood planning areaRisks on recordResult: Council keeps its own mapNSW sample report · imagery January 2021
- Flood planning area
- Bushfire prone land
- Heritage item
- Lot boundary (cadastre)
Topics
All 16 guides →Practical explanations, written clearly, with links to the official sources.
Flood risk
How flood mapping really works, state by state, and how to read it for one lot.
Planning & zoning
Easements, certificates and the controls that decide what can be built.
Building & defects
The public register of serious defect orders and how to search it.
Environment & hazards
Bushfire mapping, contamination records, flight paths and road noise.
Renting
What to check before you sign, on site and in the registers.
Data sources
Our guides link directly to the official registers we use. We show the source, layer name and currency date so you can check for yourself.
See all data sources →- NSW Planning Portal
- NSW Spatial Services
- BOCSAR
- NSW EPA
- NSW Rural Fire Service
- Building Commission NSW
- Heritage NSW
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
See how it all comes together
View a sample report →Explore a sample report to see how the information from these registers appears in a real property report. The street number and street name are hidden for the owner's privacy: register lines that name the street show "[street name hidden]" and the written summary says "the street"; every other finding is the actual government record.
All guides
- The full due diligence checklistEvery check that matters, the free route for each, and which ones no report can do for you.
- How flood risk really works in NSWThere is no single flood zone map. The three layers of truth and how to check each one.
- Flood checks in QueenslandCouncil overlays, FloodWise reports and FloodCheck, and why Brisbane's mapping predates the 2022 flood.
- Flood overlays in VictoriaLSIO, SBO, Floodway Overlay and Urban Floodway Zone, and how to read them free on VicPlan.
- Easements: the lines that decide what you can buildRights of way, drainage and sewer strips, and why the map and the title can disagree.
- The section 10.7 certificate, explainedWhat is in it, what is missing, and why it arrives after you have fallen for the house.
- Checking building defect ordersThe public register of serious apartment defects almost nobody searches.
- Bushfire prone land: what the map decidesThe RFS map versus a BAL rating, and what being mapped changes for building work.
- Contaminated land checksThe EPA record, former petrol stations, and why an empty result is not a clean bill of health.
- Bushfire overlays in VictoriaThe BMO and the bushfire prone area are separate controls. What each triggers, and where a BAL fits.
- Bushfire checks in QueenslandCouncil bushfire overlays versus the state bushfire prone area map, and how a BAL rating differs.
- Contaminated land in VictoriaThe Environmental Audit Overlay, the EPA Priority Sites Register and what a PRSA means.
- Contaminated land in QueenslandThe EMR and CLR registers, the paid lot on plan search, and what a listing means.
- Flight paths, trains and main roadsChecking noise before you buy, including the Western Sydney Airport corridors.
- Buying at auctionNo cooling off period means every check happens before you bid. The list, in order.
- What a property report costs in AustraliaFour different products share one name. An honest map of the options.
- What the free flag count meansWhat runs when you press the button, and why counts are never scores.
- What to check before rentingThe fifteen minutes on site, then the half of the check nobody can do in person.
- Living near a train line or main roadWhat actually determines whether the noise will bother you, and the two visits that settle it.
- Mould and damp before rentingThe signs on the day, and the structural signals that predict a damp winter.