Property Lawyers Brisbane

How buying and selling property works in Queensland

Queensland runs its own conveyancing system, and it changed significantly on 1 August 2025 when the seller disclosure scheme in the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) started. If you are buying or selling a unit in Fortitude Valley, New Farm or Newstead, a house in Paddington or Bulimba, or a shop or vacant block anywhere in Brisbane, the same basic rules apply.

Before the buyer signs the contract, the seller must hand over a completed seller disclosure statement (the approved Form 2) together with the prescribed certificates that apply to the property. These include a title search and survey plan, certain environmental, building and planning notices, a pool safety certificate where there is a pool, and body corporate certificates where the property is a lot in a community titles scheme. At an auction, the documents must be given or made available before the hammer falls. The scheme covers residential property, commercial property and vacant land, with a small number of exceptions, such as sales between related parties.

If the seller does not give the disclosure statement or an applicable prescribed certificate before the buyer signs, section 104 of the Act generally lets the buyer terminate by written notice at any time before settlement. If the disclosure is inaccurate or incomplete, the buyer can terminate only if the problem is material (meaning it genuinely matters), the buyer did not know the true position when signing, and would not have signed had they known. After a valid termination, the seller must repay the deposit and other amounts paid within 14 days.

Queensland does not use the formal exchange of contracts that New South Wales does. As a general rule, you can be bound once both parties have signed and acceptance has been communicated, which is why you should get advice before you sign, not after.

What the Form 2 does not tell you about a Brisbane property

The disclosure statement is not a full health check. The Queensland Government's guidance is clear that it does not cover the structural soundness of buildings, the property's flooding history, or past building and development approvals. In a river city, that gap matters. Brisbane City Council publishes a Flood Awareness Map showing the likelihood of river, creek and storm tide flooding for a property, as well as overland flow and historic flood events, and it is worth checking before you make an offer anywhere near the river or a creek.

Inner Brisbane is also apartment country. If you are buying a unit, the body corporate certificate deserves careful reading: it sets out levies and other scheme information under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld). Building and pest inspections, finance approval and any special conditions remain things you negotiate into the contract yourself. The law does not add them for you.

Cooling-off, transfer duty and settlement: the Queensland rules

Buyers of residential property in Queensland get a cooling-off period of 5 business days under the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld). It starts on the day the buyer receives a copy of the contract signed by both parties (or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or public holiday) and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. If you terminate in that window, the seller may keep up to 0.25% of the purchase price and must refund the rest of the deposit within 14 days. There is no cooling-off period for auction sales, or for a registered bidder who buys shortly after the property is passed in, and a buyer can waive or shorten the period by written notice. Sellers have no cooling-off right.

Transfer duty (often still called stamp duty) is collected by the Queensland Revenue Office under the Duties Act 2001 (Qld). Documents must be lodged within 30 days of the liability date, which is usually the contract date, not the settlement date. For contracts dated on or after 1 May 2025, first home buyers purchasing a new home can receive a full concession with no cap on the home's value. For an existing home, the first home concession is full for homes valued up to $700,000, reduces for homes valued between $700,001 and $799,999, and is not available from $800,000. You must move in within 1 year of settlement. For transactions entered into on or after 1 August 2026, you must also be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree to claim a home or first home concession.

Settlement itself is almost always electronic. Since 20 February 2023, the Land Title Regulation 2022 has required lawyers, other industry professionals and corporate entities to lodge transfers, mortgage releases, caveats and similar instruments over freehold land through an electronic lodgment network, either PEXA or Sympli. The transfer is then registered by Titles Queensland under the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld).

Where Brisbane leasing, tenancy and neighbour disputes are decided

Most everyday property disputes in Brisbane go to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), whose registry is at Level 8, 259 Queen Street in the Brisbane CBD, a short trip from Fortitude Valley.

Residential tenancy disputes are governed by the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld). Non-urgent disputes, such as bond claims and routine repairs, must first go through the Residential Tenancies Authority's dispute resolution service. If that does not resolve things, the RTA issues a Notice of Unresolved Dispute and you can then apply to QCAT. Urgent matters, such as termination and emergency repairs, can go straight to QCAT. QCAT can decide tenancy claims up to $25,000.

Retail shop lease disputes follow a different path under the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld). Either the landlord or the tenant can apply to the Queensland Small Business Commissioner for mediation, and if mediation fails, eligible disputes of up to $750,000 are referred to QCAT.

Body corporate disputes, which are common in inner-city apartment buildings, go to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management for conciliation or adjudication. Tree and dividing fence disputes between neighbours are decided by QCAT under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld).

Larger or more complex disputes, such as a contested contract termination, a claim over a deposit or a caveat fight, are heard in the Queensland courts. In Brisbane these are the Magistrates Court at 363 George Street and the District and Supreme Courts in the QEII Courts of Law at 415 George Street. Which court applies depends mainly on the amount in dispute and the orders you need.

How Queensland differs from New South Wales and Victoria

If you have bought or sold interstate, some Queensland rules will feel unfamiliar. In New South Wales, a seller must have a contract with prescribed documents ready before the property is marketed, and contracts are formally exchanged. In Victoria, the seller gives a vendor statement, commonly called a Section 32. Queensland's single statutory seller disclosure scheme only began on 1 August 2025, and the Form 2 is its own document with its own termination rights. Cooling-off periods, penalties, duty concessions and tribunal names all differ between states, so do not rely on what happened in your last interstate purchase.

What to do first if you need help with a Brisbane property matter

Start by gathering the paperwork: the contract or draft contract, the Form 2 and its certificates, the lease, any notices you have been given, and your emails and text messages with the agent or the other party. Write down the key dates, especially when you received the fully signed contract, because the Queensland deadlines described above are short and run in business days.

If you have not yet signed, get the contract and disclosure documents reviewed first. If you have already signed and something feels wrong, act quickly, because rights such as cooling-off cannot be revived once they expire. Vitt Legal's Brisbane office is at Level 1 Jubilee Place, 470 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley. The information on this page is general only and is not legal advice about your situation.