What a property lawyer does in Queensland
A property lawyer reviews and advises on your contract before you sign, then carries the transaction through to settlement — conducting searches, meeting contract deadlines, calculating adjustments and transfer duty, and attending electronic settlement on your behalf.
Queensland has no licensed conveyancers
Unlike New South Wales and Victoria, conveyancing in Queensland must be carried out by a solicitor. Legal advice on your contract is part of the service, not an extra you have to go elsewhere for.
Where we act
- Residential sales and purchases
- Off-the-plan and vacant land
- Commercial and industrial property
- Rural and grazing property
- Retail and commercial leasing
- Subdivision and development
- Transfers between family members
- Body corporate and community titles
Seller disclosure — what changed in 2025
From 1 August 2025, sellers of freehold land (houses, units, vacant, rural and commercial lots, subject to limited exemptions) in Queensland must give buyers a Form 2 disclosure statement and prescribed certificates before the buyer signs the contract. The regime was introduced by the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld).
If the statement is not given, or is materially inaccurate or incomplete in a way that would have affected a reasonable buyer's decision, the buyer may be entitled to terminate at any time before settlement. For sellers, the practical effect is that the disclosure pack has to be assembled before the property goes to market, not after an offer arrives.
What the disclosure pack must include
- The completed Form 2 disclosure statement
- A current title search and registered plan
- Any relevant body corporate certificate
- Notices affecting the land — contamination, heritage, tree orders
- Pool compliance or non-compliance certificate, where applicable
- Details of any unregistered encumbrances
Disclosure does not replace your own searches
The Form 2 tells you what the seller is required to tell you. It does not tell you about flooding history, planning constraints on what you could build, unapproved structures, or whether the boundaries match the fences.
Buyers routinely assume the disclosure statement is a due diligence report. It is not, and the difference is where the expensive surprises live.
Your cooling-off rights
Buyers of residential property in Queensland get five business days' cooling off, starting the day you receive a copy of the signed contract. If you terminate within that window, the seller may keep a termination fee of 0.25% of the purchase price.
Cooling off does not apply to property bought at auction, or to a contract entered into by a registered bidder after the property is passed in, before 5pm on the second business day after the auction. If you are bidding, your contract review, finance and inspections have to happen beforehand — there is no second chance, and no finance condition to fall back on.
The conditions that protect you
A standard REIQ contract is usually made subject to conditions. Each one is a deadline, and each one is an exit if it is not satisfied.
| Condition | Typical period | What it protects |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling off | 5 business days | An unconditional right to withdraw, less 0.25% |
| Finance | 14–21 days | Terminate if formal approval isn't obtained |
| Building & pest | 7–14 days | Terminate or negotiate on an unsatisfactory report |
| Due diligence | Negotiated | Broader investigation, common in commercial deals |
| Settlement | 30 days | The completion date; time is of the essence |
"Time is of the essence" means exactly that
In a standard Queensland contract, missing a date is a breach — not an inconvenience to be sorted out later. A buyer who cannot settle on the settlement date risks losing the deposit and facing a claim for the seller's losses.
If a date is going to be missed, an extension must be agreed in writing before the date passes. Afterwards, the other party is not obliged to agree to anything.
Transfer duty
Transfer duty is usually the largest single cost of buying, and Queensland's concessions changed significantly on 1 May 2025. Which rate applies depends on whether you will live in the property, whether it is your first home, and whether the home is new or established.
| Buyer | Position |
|---|---|
| First home buyer — new home or vacant land | Full concession from 1 May 2025, with no price cap. Build and occupancy conditions apply to land |
| First home buyer — established home | No duty up to $700,000, phasing out to $800,000 |
| Owner-occupier (not first home) | Home concession rate, available at any price, if you move in within 1 year |
| Investor | General transfer duty rates, no concession |
| Foreign acquirer | Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty of 8% on the dutiable value, on top of standard duty |
The concession has conditions after settlement too
A home or first home concession is not simply a discount applied at settlement. You must occupy the property within the required period and, generally, not dispose of or lease it within one year of moving in. Breach those and the Queensland Revenue Office can reassess the duty and recover the difference — often long after you have spent the saving.
"First home" also means anywhere in the world. Property owned overseas in your twenties can disqualify you.
How a purchase runs
Rural and commercial property
Rural transactions carry a set of issues no residential contract contemplates. Water entitlements may or may not pass with the land. Resource authorities can give third parties rights to access and operate on your property. Vegetation management categories restrict what can be cleared. Stock, plant and standing crops need to be dealt with expressly. Boundary fences and access easements are frequently informal and undocumented.
Commercial and industrial property brings its own: GST treatment and whether the going concern exemption applies, existing leases and whether they are being assigned, outgoings adjustments, and environmental contamination history under the Environmental Protection Act. Getting the GST position wrong on a commercial contract can move the price by a tenth.
What it costs
We quote a fixed professional fee for standard residential conveyancing, confirmed in writing before we start. On top sit disbursements — searches, registration fees and transfer duty — which are set by third parties and passed on at cost.
- Fixed fee for standard residential conveyancing
- Free contract review before you sign
- Searches and registration at cost
- Transfer duty calculated and explained
- Quoted separately for rural and commercial
- Scope changes flagged before the work
You will get a written costs agreement before any work begins. If something in the transaction changes the scope, we tell you before we do the work, not after.
Frequently asked questions
Most standard residential contracts in Queensland settle 30 days after the contract date, though 21 and 45 days are both common. The timeline is set by the contract, not by law, so it can be negotiated before you sign.
Buyers of residential property in Queensland get five business days' cooling off, starting the day you receive a copy of the signed contract. If you terminate within that window the seller may keep a termination fee of 0.25% of the purchase price. Cooling off does not apply to property bought at auction.
Since 1 August 2025, sellers of freehold land (houses, units, vacant, rural and commercial lots, subject to limited exemptions) in Queensland must give the buyer a Form 2 disclosure statement and prescribed certificates before the buyer signs. If they do not, or the statement is materially inaccurate, the buyer may be able to terminate at any time before settlement. Disclosure is not a substitute for your own searches and inspections.
In Queensland, conveyancing must be carried out by a solicitor — there is no separate licensed conveyancer profession as there is in New South Wales or Victoria. Legal advice on the contract is part of the service rather than an extra.
It depends on the type of home. For contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later, eligible first home buyers of a new home or vacant land pay no transfer duty regardless of price. For established homes, eligible first home buyers pay no duty up to $700,000, with the concession phasing out to $800,000. Eligibility conditions apply, including occupying the home and not having owned property anywhere in the world.
In a standard Queensland contract, time is of the essence, so missing a date is a breach rather than an inconvenience. A buyer who cannot settle on the settlement date risks losing the deposit and facing a claim for the seller's losses. Any extension must be agreed in writing before the date passes.
Usually yes, if the contract is subject to a satisfactory building and pest inspection and you act within the condition period. In practice an unsatisfactory report is often used to negotiate a price reduction or repairs instead. What matters is exercising your rights in the correct form and within the deadline.
Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty of 8% applies to acquisitions of residential land by foreign persons, including foreign companies and trusts, on top of standard transfer duty. It is calculated on the dutiable value of the foreign buyer's interest.
Almost entirely. Settlements are completed through the PEXA electronic platform, so there is no physical exchange of documents and cheques. Documents are signed electronically and funds transfer on the day, with confirmation available immediately.
Rural transactions raise matters no residential contract contemplates: whether water entitlements pass with the land, resource authorities giving third parties rights to access the property, vegetation management categories restricting clearing, and the treatment of stock, plant and standing crops. Boundary fences and access arrangements are also frequently informal and undocumented.
More information
Do you have a query in relation to a Body Corporate or resumption? Are you buying or selling a residential, commercial or agricultural property?
Property law lawyers Rockhampton
Our highly experienced team can assist you with all property transactions.
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This page is general information about Queensland law, current as at 2026. It is not legal advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Speak to one of our lawyers before acting.
