By Nicholas MurraySales Manager – Sales Manager, Murray Property
Selling a property from another country is not a harder version of selling one from Paddington. It is a different process with two extra layers underneath it, and neither of them has anything to do with the market.
The campaign runs the same way. Photography, portals, buyers, offers. What changes is that every document you sign has to satisfy an Australian land titles office from ten thousand kilometres away, and that a tax clearance you may not have heard of decides whether you receive your proceeds or wait a year for them.
Owners who sort those two things out early sell without incident. Owners who leave them until there is a contract on the table lose weeks, and sometimes a buyer.
Before anything else, is this the right year?
f you are a foreign resident for Australian tax purposes, the single largest number in this transaction is decided by the date you sign the contract, not by what the property sells for.
Sell while you are a foreign resident and you can lose the main residence exemption on a former home entirely, for your whole ownership period, not just the years away. Sell as an Australian resident and the same gain may be exempt.
That is worth understanding before you appoint anyone. Capital gains tax for foreign residents sets out the position, and are you a foreign person? establishes whether it applies to you.
We are agents, not tax advisers, so we will not tell you when to sell. What we can do is run a campaign around a contract date your accountant has nominated. Tell us the date and we will work to it.
The clearance certificate, and why it comes first
Since 1 January 2025, 15% of the sale price is withheld at settlement on every property sale in Australia. Not 15% of your gain, of the whole price. On a $1.5 million sale that is $225,000 going to the ATO, whether you made money or lost it.
If you are a foreign resident, you cannot get a clearance certificate. You apply for a variation notice instead, which can reduce the withholding to somewhere between 0% and 14.99% based on your actual expected tax. Lodge it as soon as the contract is signed, with the contract and certificate of title attached.
If you are an Australian resident for tax, you avoid it entirely with a clearance certificate. It is free, it stays valid for 12 months, and it takes up to 28 days to issue. Apply the moment you start thinking about selling, not when you have a contract.
Two things that go wrong regularly. The name on the certificate must match the certificate of title exactly, a married name, a middle initial, a spelling difference and the buyer must withhold at the full rate. And a variation notice specifies a maximum sale price; sell above it and the variation is void.
Signing documents from another country
This is where most of the friction lives, and there is one decision that determines whether it is straightforward or slow.
Use an Australian consular officer, not a local notary.
A document witnessed at an Australian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate is recognised in Australia immediately. A document witnessed by a foreign notary usually needs an Apostille or consular legalisation afterwards, which adds weeks and sometimes fails on a technicality.
Selling from Singapore, London, Hong Kong or Dubai, you have an Australian mission within reach. Use it.
What typically needs witnessing:
- The contract of sale
- The transfer of land form
- Settlement statements and authorities
- A power of attorney, if you are using one
- Identity verification forms
The one caveat: book early. Consular appointments are not always available at short notice, and in some posts the wait runs to several weeks. This is the single most common cause of delayed settlements for overseas sellers, and it is entirely avoidable. Find out the appointment lead time in your city before you list, not after.
Verification of identity
Separate from witnessing, Australian conveyancing rules require your identity to be verified before a land dealing can be registered. It exists to prevent title fraud, and there is no way around it.
For sellers overseas, the Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have an agreed arrangement: identity verification carried out at an Australian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate.
Three useful details:
- It covers both electronic and paper conveyancing
- It is available to foreign nationals as well as Australians, provided the transaction involves Australian land
- DFAT charges a fee for the service
Practically, this means one consular appointment can often handle both your identity verification and the witnessing of your documents. Ask your conveyancer to confirm exactly what needs to be done in that appointment before you attend, because a second appointment is another few weeks.
Or appoint a power of attorney
The alternative to signing everything yourself is appointing someone in Australia to sign for you.
A power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2003 (NSW) lets a person you nominate execute the contract, the transfer and the settlement documents on your behalf. For sellers in time zones with no overlap with Sydney, New York, San Francisco, this is often the practical choice rather than a convenience.
Four things that go wrong:
Registration. A power of attorney used for a dealing in land must be registered with NSW Land Registry Services. An unregistered POA will not support a transfer, and discovering this at settlement is a bad afternoon.
Witnessing. The same rules apply as above, if you execute the POA overseas, have it witnessed by an Australian consular officer. Ineligible witnesses are one of the most common reasons a POA is rejected.
The wrong document. A power of attorney drawn for use in another country will not do. You need one prepared under NSW law, for use in NSW.
Who you appoint. Usually your solicitor or conveyancer, sometimes a family member. It should not be your selling agent, we act for you in the sale, and holding your power of attorney at the same time is a conflict we would not accept.
Have it drawn by an Australian solicitor, and start it early. Between drafting, consular witnessing and registration, a POA is a several-week exercise.
Selling with a tenant still in place
If the property is leased, you have a decision to make and it affects both your buyer pool and your timeline.
Selling tenanted keeps income coming in through the campaign and appeals to investors, who will often value a good tenant on a decent lease. It also means access for inspections has to be negotiated within the notice requirements of the Residential Tenancies Act, and a tenant who is not cooperative can make a campaign slow.
Selling with vacant possession opens the property to owner-occupiers, who in Darlinghurst and Surry Hills usually pay more. But ending a tenancy now requires a valid ground and proper notice, the no-grounds provisions were abolished in May 2025. Our guide to the no-grounds eviction ban sets out where sale sits among the permitted grounds.
The right answer depends on the property, the lease, the tenant and the buyer market at the time. It is worth deciding before the campaign is planned rather than during it, because the two run differently.
Running a campaign across a time zone
Some practical things worth agreeing before we start:
Offer decisions. In a private treaty campaign, offers arrive with a shelf life. Agree in advance how we reach you, how fast you can respond, and who can decide if we cannot reach you at all.
Auction day. Auctions are Saturday mornings in Sydney, Friday evening in London, Saturday morning in Singapore, Friday night in New York. If you are auctioning, we will need you contactable through the reserve conversation. Singapore-based owners barely notice this. New York-based owners should plan for a late night.
Signing the contract. If you are signing personally rather than through an attorney, your consular appointment needs to be bookable inside the buyer’s patience. This is the moment the appointment lead time stops being administrative and starts being commercial.
Marketing approvals. Copy, photography, price guides. We work to your hours for these, they are never so urgent that they need a 3am email.
Settlement
Settlement is electronic through PEXA, which means you need an Australian solicitor or licensed conveyancer. There is no way to complete a NSW property settlement without one.
Proceeds go to an Australian bank account. If you have closed yours, reopening one from overseas is considerably harder than keeping it, worth sorting well before settlement.
If withholding applied, that amount goes to the ATO at settlement and the balance comes to you. You claim it back as a credit when you lodge your Australian return, which may mean waiting until after the following 30 June. Plan your cash flow on the net figure, not the gross.
A realistic timeline
Working backwards from settlement, for an overseas seller:
- 12 weeks out — tax advice, decide the contract date, apply for the clearance certificate or start the variation
- 10 weeks out — if using a power of attorney, start drafting. Check consular appointment availability in your city
- 8 weeks out — appoint the agent, engage the conveyancer, plan the campaign, resolve the tenancy question
- 6 weeks out — campaign launches
- On contract — lodge the variation application if you are a foreign resident
- Before settlement — consular appointment for witnessing and identity verification, confirm the receiving account
Ninety days is comfortable. Sixty is workable if the certificate and the consular appointment are already sorted. Under thirty and something will be waiting on paperwork.
How we handle it
We sell across Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Potts Point and Paddington, and a meaningful share of our vendors are outside Australia when they sign.
What that means in practice: we will work to a contract date your accountant has nominated, coordinate with your conveyancer on the consular timing rather than leaving you to discover it, negotiate access with a sitting tenant, and take the call at whatever hour the reserve conversation needs to happen.
New sellers receive professional photography, video and drone footage at no cost.
If you are considering selling from overseas, get in touch and tell us where you are based. We can also talk through what a sales campaign looks like, or if you are not yet decided, what the property would earn as a rental.
Contact us
Phone: 02 9371 5901
Email: home@murrayproperty.com.au
Office: 251 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my Australian property while living overseas?
Yes. The campaign runs normally. What changes is document execution, signing and identity verification must be done in a way Australian land titles offices accept, and the tax withholding at settlement.
Do I need to fly back to Australia to sell?
No. You can sign documents at an Australian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate, or appoint a power of attorney so someone in Australia signs for you.
Should I use a local notary or an Australian consulate?
An Australian consular officer. Their witnessing is recognised in Australia immediately, while a foreign notary’s usually requires an Apostille or legalisation afterwards, adding weeks and occasionally failing.
Do I need a power of attorney to sell?
Not necessarily. It is an alternative to signing personally, and it is most useful when your time zone has no overlap with Sydney or consular appointments are hard to get. If you use one it must be prepared under NSW law, witnessed correctly and registered with NSW Land Registry Services.
How much will be withheld at settlement?
15% of the sale price, unless you provide a clearance certificate as an Australian resident or obtain a variation as a foreign resident. It is withheld on the price, not on your gain, and it is a credit against your actual tax rather than a final tax.
Can I sell with my tenant still in the property?
Yes. Access for inspections must comply with notice requirements under the Residential Tenancies Act. Selling with vacant possession usually widens the buyer pool in the inner east, but ending a tenancy now requires a valid ground and proper notice.
How long does the whole process take?
Allow around twelve weeks from decision to settlement. The two items with fixed lead times are the ATO clearance certificate or variation, up to 28 days, and your consular appointment, which varies by city.
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Disclaimer
The data, figures, and market statistics referenced in this article were current at the time of publication and are sourced from third-party providers including CoreLogic/Cotality, Domain, realestate.com.au, HtAG Analytics, PropTrack, and NSW Fair Trading, among others. Property market data changes frequently, median prices, rental yields, vacancy rates, clearance rates, and days on market figures are updated regularly by their respective providers and may have changed since this article was published. Readers are encouraged to verify all figures directly with the cited sources before making any decisions.
This article is intended as general information only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or taxation advice. The information provided does not take into account your individual circumstances, objectives, financial situation, or needs. Before making any property investment, purchase, sale, or management decision, you should seek independent advice from a qualified financial adviser, solicitor, or property professional licensed in your state.
Murray Property is a licensed real estate agency operating in NSW. We are not financial advisers. References to rental yields, capital growth, or investment returns are based on publicly available market data and historical performance, which is not a reliable indicator of future results.
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