For most of Queensland’s history, the rule for property buyers could be summed up in two words: buyer beware. The legal onus sat largely with the purchaser to investigate a property, order searches and uncover any problems before signing a contract. As of 1 August 2025, that long-standing position has shifted.
On that date, the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) commenced — the most comprehensive reform of Queensland’s property law in around half a century, replacing the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld). Among its most significant changes is a new mandatory seller disclosure scheme, set out in Part 7 Division 4 of the Act. Under the scheme, a seller of freehold land must give the buyer a prescribed disclosure statement and a set of prescribed certificates before the buyer signs the contract.
If you are selling, buying, or advising on Queensland property, this is a change you need to understand. This article explains who the scheme applies to, what a seller must hand over, what happens if a seller gets it wrong, and the limited situations in which the scheme does not apply.
Why the scheme was introduced
The seller disclosure scheme is designed to make property transactions more transparent and to bring Queensland into line with other Australian states that already require upfront disclosure by sellers — the Victorian “section 32” vendor’s statement is the best-known comparison. The aim is that buyers receive essential information about a property before they commit, rather than discovering issues afterwards.
The legal framework has two parts: the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), which contains the disclosure obligation and the consequences of non-compliance, and the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld), which prescribes the detail — the approved form and the list of certificates that must accompany it.
Who and what does the scheme apply to?
The scheme applies to contracts for the sale of freehold land in Queensland — broadly, standard sales of houses, townhouses, units in a community titles scheme, and vacant land. It applies to both residential and commercial freehold property, and to contracts signed on or after 1 August 2025.
There are some important carve-outs at the edges of the scheme. The disclosure obligations do not replace the separate, pre-existing disclosure regimes for the sale of proposed lots — for example, off-the-plan sales governed by the Land Sales Act 1984 (Qld) and the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld). Those existing regimes continue to operate. The new scheme is principally directed at the everyday sale of existing freehold lots.
What the seller must give the buyer
Under section 99 of the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), before the buyer signs the contract the seller must give the buyer two things:
- A disclosure statement in the approved form (the Form 2 seller disclosure statement). The statement must be completed with information that is true at the time it is given to the buyer, and signed by the seller. It may be an electronic document and may be electronically signed.
- Prescribed certificates applicable to the lot. These are documents prescribed by the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld).
The disclosure statement and certificates are intended to give the buyer a clear picture of the property’s legal status before they are bound. Depending on the property, the disclosed information and certificates can cover matters such as:
- a title search and the registered plan for the lot;
- registered encumbrances affecting the land, such as easements, statutory covenants and leases, and certain unregistered encumbrances;
- rates and water charges information;
- whether the property is in a community titles scheme, in which case a body corporate certificate and the community management statement;
- a pool safety (compliance) certificate where there is a regulated pool;
- limits imposed by planning laws on the use of the land, and certain transport infrastructure or resumption proposals affecting it;
- contamination and environmental matters, including relevant notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld);
- heritage listings;
- any relevant tree applications or orders under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld); and
- certain notices under the building and construction legislation.
A useful word of caution for sellers: the approved form contains prompts for many — but not necessarily all — of the prescribed certificates. A seller (or their agent or solicitor) should cross-check the actual requirements in the regulation, rather than relying only on the questions the form happens to ask. The disclosure statement also does not cover everything: it is not required to address matters such as the structural soundness of buildings, the property’s flooding history, or previous building or development approvals.
You cannot ‘contract out’ of disclosure
One feature of the scheme deserves emphasis. Section 98 of the Act provides that the disclosure obligation cannot be contracted out of. A seller and buyer cannot simply agree, in the contract, that the seller need not comply. Disclosure is compulsory, subject only to the limited exemptions discussed below.
What happens if a seller does not comply?
This is the part of the scheme that gives it real force. If a seller fails to comply, the buyer may gain a right to terminate the contract — and may do so at any time before settlement.
Under section 104 of the Act, broadly speaking, a buyer may terminate before settlement if the seller:
- fails to give a compliant disclosure statement or prescribed certificate before the buyer signs the contract; or
- gives a statement or certificate that is inaccurate or incomplete about a material matter affecting the property — provided the buyer was not aware of the true position when they signed, and would not have signed the contract had they known.
In other words, a minor or immaterial error will not necessarily hand the buyer an exit. The termination right is tied to material matters and to the buyer’s lack of knowledge of the true state of affairs. (The regulation also identifies certain matters that are deemed not to be material.)
Importantly, the termination right can apply even where the seller was not at fault. Section 106 of the Act makes clear that the buyer’s right to terminate is not lost merely because the inaccuracy originated in a certificate prepared by a third party — such as a body corporate — and the seller was unaware of it. The scheme places the risk of an inaccurate prescribed certificate on the seller, not the buyer. One qualification operates the other way: where the same failure or inaccuracy is also a breach of a disclosure requirement under another Act, the consequence set out in that other Act applies instead of the termination right under this scheme.
If the buyer does terminate, section 105 requires the seller to repay to the buyer any amount the buyer paid towards the purchase — including the deposit — together with any interest that has accrued. Importantly, termination under the scheme does not, of itself, give the buyer a statutory right to compensation; the principal consequence is the unwinding of the contract and the refund of money paid.
For sellers, the message is straightforward: an incomplete or inaccurate disclosure can leave a sale exposed to collapse right up until settlement. That is a significant commercial risk, particularly for a seller who has already committed to an onward purchase.
When does the scheme not apply? Limited exemptions
Section 100 of the Act sets out a number of limited exemptions from the disclosure obligation. They are relatively narrow and most ordinary sales will not fall within them. They include, for example:
- where the buyer and seller are related (within the meaning of the Act) and the buyer gives a waiver notice before signing the contract;
- where the buyer is the State, the Commonwealth or another State, a local government, a constructing authority, a statutory body, or a listed corporation (or a subsidiary of one);
- where a local government is selling land to recover overdue rates or charges, and gives the buyer the required notice before signing;
- where the seller is the State and the buyer was the tenant of the lot for at least three years immediately before entering the contract; and
- where the sale price is more than $10 million (including GST) — or another amount prescribed by regulation — and the buyer gives the seller a notice waiving compliance before signing the contract.
Section 100 contains several further exemptions — for example, certain sales between co-owners, adjustments of a common boundary between adjoining owners, sales giving effect to a court order or a deceased estate transmission, and certain option arrangements. Because the exemptions are specific and limited, sellers should not assume their transaction is exempt. If there is any doubt, it is worth obtaining advice rather than skipping a step that could later unravel the sale.
Practical steps for sellers
If you are preparing to sell freehold property in Queensland, the new scheme rewards early preparation. A practical sequence looks like this:
- Start early — ideally before listing. Compiling a complete disclosure statement and the prescribed certificates takes time. Some certificates must be obtained from third parties such as the body corporate or government bodies, and you will want them ready before a buyer is poised to sign.
- Engage a solicitor or conveyancer to prepare and review the disclosure documents. Getting the Form 2 and the certificates right is a legal task with real consequences if it is done poorly.
- Make sure the information is true when it is given to the buyer. The statement must be accurate at the time it is provided. If circumstances change before the buyer signs, the position may need to be revisited.
- Give the documents to the buyer before they sign — and keep evidence that you did. The obligation is to disclose before signing, and you must be able to prove the buyer received the documents. Where an auction is involved, the Act contains specific rules about how and when disclosure is provided to bidders, including bidders who register after an auction has started.
- Budget for the additional cost. Obtaining certificates and preparing the statement adds to the cost of selling. Factoring this in early avoids surprises.
Practical steps for buyers
Buyers benefit from the scheme, but should not treat it as a substitute for their own diligence. The disclosure statement gives you a clearer starting point, but it does not cover everything you might want to know about a property — for example, it is not a building and pest inspection, it does not address the structural soundness of buildings or the property’s flooding history, and it does not value the property. Read the disclosure statement and certificates carefully, ideally with your solicitor or conveyancer, before you sign. If something in the documents concerns you, raise it before you are bound, not after.
A genuine shift in Queensland conveyancing
The seller disclosure scheme is one of the most consequential changes to Queensland property practice in a generation. It moves a meaningful part of the disclosure burden onto sellers, gives buyers a clearer view before they commit, and attaches a real remedy — termination before settlement — to non-compliance. For sellers in particular, careful preparation is now part of getting a property to market.
Seek advice from an experienced property lawyer
Whether you are selling or buying, the new disclosure scheme adds steps that are best handled with professional guidance. A well-prepared disclosure statement protects a seller’s sale; a carefully reviewed one protects a buyer’s purchase.
At Delaney & Delaney, our conveyancing team acts for buyers and sellers of residential and commercial property throughout Brisbane and Queensland. We can prepare and review seller disclosure documents, advise on whether an exemption applies, and guide your transaction through to settlement under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld).