How Queensland Real Estate Agents Get Paid: Commission from Contract to Settlement

The deal is done. Contracts are signed, the buyer is locked in, and your focus shifts to the next listing. But the commission you’ve just earned — which may be tens of thousands of dollars — won’t appear in your agency’s account for weeks. Understanding exactly how Queensland real estate agents get paid commission, at what point the legal entitlement crystallises, and what can delay or block payment entirely is knowledge that protects your income.

This is not a simple question of “you sell, you get paid.” The pathway from an executed contract to a cleared commission involves legislative requirements, trust account mechanics, the Form 6 appointment, your solicitor’s settlement statement, and the PEXA platform. Every stage has a potential failure point. Every stage should be understood.

How the Commission Entitlement Actually Arises

Before any money moves, the legal foundation for your commission must be in place. Section 89(1) of the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld) provides that a person is not entitled to sue for, recover, or keep a reward or expense for the performance of an activity as a property agent unless, at the time the activity was performed, the person was properly authorised. This is the foundational rule. No valid Form 6 appointment, no enforceable commission claim — full stop.

The Form 6 (Appointment of Property Agent) is the document that creates the agency relationship. It must be signed by the seller before you commence marketing, and it must specify the commission in a clear, agreed form. The maximum amount of commission an agent can charge is now deregulated, and an agent does not need to disclose to a buyer the amount of commission they will be receiving. That deregulation, introduced by the Property Occupations Act 2014, replaced the previous regulated commission schedule — but it did not remove the requirement for the commission to be expressly agreed in the appointment. The Form 6 must set out the basis of remuneration, whether that is a percentage of the sale price, a flat fee, or a hybrid structure.

Under section 88(2) of the Act, a property agent must not claim commission worked out on an amount more than the actual sale price of the property, the actual rental for the property being let, or the actual amount of rent collected. This is often overlooked by newer agents: commission can only be calculated on the actual contracted sale price — not on an asking price, a valuation, or an estimated figure used before exchange.

Once the Form 6 is validly in place and a sale is effected, the general principle in Queensland is that the commission becomes earned when the agent has been the effective cause of sale. In deciding whether the agent was the effective cause of sale, courts have confirmed that an agent may be the effective cause of sale whether it is the sole cause or an effective cause among other causes. That principle has practical consequences: in conjunction sales, in sub-agency arrangements, and in cases where a seller terminates an agency and then sells privately, the effective cause question determines who gets paid.

The Critical Distinction: When Commission Is Earned vs When It Is Payable

This is where many agents — and some principals — are fuzzy, and the fuzziness is expensive.

Commission being earned and commission being payable are two different events. Under standard Queensland conveyancing practice, most residential sales contracts specify that commission is payable at or after settlement. Some Form 6 appointments, particularly in development projects, split payment — part on the contract becoming unconditional, the remainder at settlement. In Podium Project Marketing Pty Ltd v B Global (Aust) Pty Ltd [2024] QDC 219, the seller appointed the plaintiff sales agent as its non-exclusive agent for the sale of 60 lots, and the commission for the sale of each lot was $40,000 plus GST, 50% of which was payable when a sale contract became unconditional and 50% at settlement.

That split-payment structure is not unusual in off-the-plan or development scenarios, but for standard residential resale contracts, the REIQ contract does not automatically trigger a commission payment at the unconditional stage. Unless your Form 6 expressly provides for payment on contract going unconditional, you should expect that the physical transfer of funds occurs at settlement, through the seller’s solicitor’s disbursement process.

The practical consequence: an unconditional contract does not put money in your account. It gives you an enforceable entitlement to money that will move at settlement. If settlement is delayed — because the buyer cannot achieve finance in time, because a title issue arises, or because parties negotiate an extension — your commission is delayed with it.

What “Unconditional” Actually Triggers

When a contract goes unconditional (all conditions — finance, building and pest, special conditions — have been satisfied or waived), the commission entitlement is crystallised. From this point, the agent has a legally enforceable claim for commission. What it does not trigger, under standard Form 6 and contract terms, is an obligation on the seller to release money before settlement completes.

If your Form 6 is drafted to make commission payable on the contract becoming unconditional, you can issue a commission invoice at that point. If it is drafted to make commission payable at settlement (the default in standard practice), you wait. Read your Form 6. Know which regime applies on every listing.

The Deposit, the Trust Account, and What Happens to the Money

Most Queensland residential sales contracts require a deposit, typically 10% of the purchase price (though 5% or other amounts are common on negotiation). The deposit is generally paid to the real estate agent and held in their trust account until settlement, where it is then paid to the seller. It makes up part of the purchase price paid by the buyer, so it is deducted from the purchase price amount the buyer has to pay at settlement.

The agent’s trust account is not the agent’s money. The funds held there are client funds, subject to strict statutory obligations. The requirements for deposits and other part payments to be held in a trust account by a real estate agent, law firm, or the Public Trustee apply when the seller is a property developer, with an exception where the deposit or part payment is paid by bank guarantee under section 161 of the POA. Outside of that developer exception, deposits received by a selling agent in a residential sale must go into the principal’s statutory trust account immediately.

The trust account earns interest on behalf of the client, not the agency — a detail that matters to your compliance obligations and your client relationships. The deposit sits there, untouched and earning no benefit for the agency, until settlement instructions authorise its release.

The Settlement Statement and How Commission Is Extracted

At settlement, the seller’s solicitor prepares a settlement statement (also called a statement of adjustments). This document accounts for the full purchase price, applies deductions — the deposit already held in trust, adjustments for council rates and water charges, any outstanding mortgage discharge amount, conveyancing fees — and arrives at the net proceeds payable to the seller.

Commission is deducted on this statement. The seller’s solicitor includes the agent’s commission (verified against the Form 6 and a commission invoice) as a disbursement, meaning the agent is paid directly from the settlement proceeds before the remainder reaches the seller. At settlement, the deposit forms part of the payment to the seller. If the real estate agent is the deposit holder, the deposit will form part of the payment of the commission.

This is the mechanism: your commission invoice is presented to the seller’s solicitor before settlement. The solicitor includes it in the settlement statement. On the day of settlement, the funds are disbursed through PEXA, with the agent’s commission directed to the agency’s nominated bank account (or, in the case of trust-held deposits that exceed the commission, the balance of the deposit is remitted from trust and the shortfall topped up from the PEXA proceeds).

PEXA and the Electronic Settlement Process

PEXA (Property Exchange Australia) is the secure online platform used to complete property settlements electronically across Queensland. Over 99% of conveyancing transactions across Queensland now use PEXA — including buying property, selling property, property transfers, and refinancing home loans.

PEXA replaces paper contracts, bank cheques, and physical settlement attendance, with a faster and more secure digital process. For agents, the practical outcome of PEXA’s dominance is that settlement proceeds — including commission — are transferred electronically on settlement day. The days of waiting for a cheque to clear are effectively gone.

Settlement in PEXA is timestamped and near-instantaneous once the workspace is balanced and all parties have confirmed. Settlement happens electronically via PEXA on the agreed settlement day, taking approximately one hour. Once settlement completes, funds are directed according to the payment directions set up in the PEXA workspace by the solicitors. The agent’s commission payment direction — set up by the seller’s solicitor based on the commission invoice and settlement statement — triggers the electronic transfer to the agency’s bank account.

Typical clearance to the agency’s account occurs same-day or the following business day, depending on the receiving bank. Agents should ensure their principal has provided the correct BSB and account number details to the seller’s solicitor well before the scheduled settlement date.

What Agents Need to Do Before Settlement Day

The commission does not pay itself. Agents should:

• Issue a commission invoice to the seller’s solicitor at least five business days before the scheduled settlement date.
• Confirm the invoice has been received and included in the draft settlement statement.
• Ensure the agency’s bank details on file with the seller’s solicitor are current and accurate.
• Confirm whether the deposit held in trust covers the full commission, or whether a shortfall exists and how the balance will be remitted.

If commission is split between two agencies (a conjunction sale), both agencies must present their respective invoices to the seller’s solicitor, who will direct the split in the PEXA workspace according to the agreed split ratio.

For agents settling commission in cryptocurrency, tools such as Shaka (shaka.deal) allow a conjunction payment to be routed to multiple wallets simultaneously at the moment of settlement, without storing funds at any point in the process.

What the Form 6 Wording Does to Your Payment Timeline

Agents who read their Form 6 appointments only to confirm the commission percentage are leaving money exposed. The wording in the remuneration clause determines not only how much you get paid, but when.

The standard REIQ Form 6 template provides for commission to be payable “upon completion of the sale.” Completion in Queensland conveyancing practice means settlement — the point at which the title transfers and the purchase price is fully paid. However, principals and agents can negotiate and document different triggers, and do so regularly in commercial sales, development projects, and off-the-plan contracts.

Where a Form 6 says commission is payable “when a contract is entered into,” the agent’s entitlement to payment arises on exchange, regardless of whether the contract proceeds to settlement. This is an unusual provision and would give rise to a debt action against the seller if they refused to pay after a failed settlement — not something any agent wants to navigate. Most standard residential Form 6 appointments wisely tie payment to settlement completion.

Where the Form 6 is ambiguous or silent on timing, the default position under standard QLD practice is that commission is payable at settlement. But do not rely on default positions — specify the payment trigger clearly, every time.

When a Seller Disputes the Commission at Settlement

This scenario is uncommon but not rare, and it can catch an unprepared agent completely off guard. A seller, dissatisfied with the achieved price, the agent’s conduct, or simply looking for leverage, instructs their solicitor not to include the commission in the settlement statement or to withhold payment pending resolution of a dispute.

The first point to understand: a genuine commission dispute does not stop settlement proceeding. Settlement is between the buyer and the seller. The agent is not a party to the Contract of Sale. A seller can instruct their solicitor to exclude the agent’s commission from the settlement disbursements, and settlement can still complete on time, with the buyer and seller both closing out. The agent simply is not paid.

What rights does the agent have at that point?

The agent holds a contractual right to commission based on the Form 6 appointment and the fact of the sale. Where an agent is found to have been the effective cause of sale, the agent is entitled to recover and keep the commissions payable under the appointment. That right is enforced through litigation if the seller refuses to pay voluntarily. For amounts falling within the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) minor debt jurisdiction — currently up to $25,000 — an agent or their principal can file a minor debt claim. QCAT is designed to handle these disputes without the cost and complexity of the District or Supreme Court.

For commission amounts above $25,000, the matter must proceed in the Magistrates Court (up to $150,000) or the District Court. The practical reality is that many disputed commission amounts — particularly on residential sales below $1.5 million — may sit within or near the QCAT threshold, making that tribunal the first port of call.

Before filing, however, a well-drafted demand letter from the agency’s solicitor, referencing the valid Form 6, the sale price, and the settled transaction, will resolve many disputes without litigation. The cost of defending a legitimate commission claim at QCAT typically exceeds the commission being disputed — sellers’ solicitors know this.

Protecting Yourself Before the Dispute Arises

The best protection against a commission dispute at settlement is documentation accumulated throughout the transaction:

• A signed, correctly completed Form 6 with the commission clearly expressed.
• A file note or email trail documenting your role as the effective cause of introduction.
• The commission invoice issued before settlement.
• Written confirmation from the seller’s solicitor that the invoice has been received and incorporated into the settlement statement.

If a seller raises an objection to commission during the settlement period — not at the last minute on settlement day — engage your principal immediately. An early, direct conversation between principals, without letting the issue sit in solicitors’ inboxes, resolves most problems before they become QCAT filings.

A Concrete Commission Timeline: From Listing to Payment

To make the mechanics concrete, here is a realistic timeline for a standard Queensland residential sale.

Day 1 — Listing signed: Seller executes the Form 6. Commission agreed at 2.5% + GST on a $900,000 asking price. Commission payable at settlement.

Day 14 — Contract signed: Buyer executes the REIQ Contract for Houses and Residential Land. Deposit of $45,000 paid to the agency. Funds banked into the principal’s statutory trust account within one business day.

Day 19 — Contract unconditional: Finance and building and pest conditions satisfied. Commission entitlement crystallised, but payment not yet due under the Form 6 terms.

Day 42 — Commission invoice issued: Agent issues commission invoice to seller’s solicitor for $22,500 + $2,250 GST = $24,750 total. Solicitor confirms receipt and incorporates into draft settlement statement.

Day 44 — Settlement: PEXA workspace settles. Payment direction in PEXA disburses $24,750 to the agency’s bank account. The deposit held in trust ($45,000) is applied as part of the seller’s proceeds, net of the commission.

Day 44 (afternoon) — Funds received: Commission clears to the agency’s account. Principal calculates commission split per internal agreement and pays the selling agent’s commission component per their standard disbursement cycle.

The total elapsed time from contract signing to payment in this scenario is 30 days. Delays to settlement — finance extensions, title issues, buyer default — extend every point from Day 44 onwards proportionally.

What Can Delay or Block Commission Payment

Beyond the seller dispute scenario, several common circumstances create delays or blocks.

Settlement extensions are the most frequent cause of commission delay. Both parties can agree to extend settlement, and buyers may invoke the automatic five-business-day extension available under Clause 6.2 of the REIQ Contract. Queensland’s REIQ contract includes a clause which allows the buyer to extend settlement by up to five business days automatically, without requiring the seller’s permission. Each extension pushes the commission payment date.

Contract termination prior to settlement is a more serious issue. If a contract is terminated — whether by the buyer exercising a cooling-off right, a condition not being satisfied, or the buyer defaulting — the agent’s commission entitlement depends entirely on the Form 6 wording. If commission is tied to settlement and settlement never occurs, there is generally no commission. If the Form 6 contains a clause providing for commission on a contract being entered into (uncommon but present in some forms), a claim exists regardless of whether settlement completes.

Incorrect or missing invoice details create administrative delays. A commission invoice that does not match the Form 6 terms, that contains a different ABN from the agency’s registered details, or that arrives after the settlement statement has been finalised will cause friction and potentially push disbursement to a post-settlement payment — meaning the seller’s solicitor holds and manually remits the funds after settlement day, which can add days or weeks to clearance.

Trust account shortfalls can arise if the deposit amount held in trust is less than the commission owed — for instance, where a partial deposit was taken or where the deposit was released to the seller’s solicitor during the contract period. In those circumstances, the commission must be funded from the PEXA settlement proceeds, which requires the seller’s solicitor to set up an additional payment direction. Confirm this is in place before settlement day, not on it.

What This Means for Queensland Agents

Understanding how Queensland real estate agents get paid commission is not an administrative exercise — it is a direct protection for your income.

Review your Form 6 on every listing. Know whether the commission trigger is settlement or unconditional contract. If your Form 6 template defaults to settlement payment, that is what will happen — do not expect early payment simply because the contract has gone unconditional.

Issue your commission invoice early. Waiting until the morning of settlement to send an invoice to a solicitor is how disbursements get missed or deferred to post-settlement manual processing. Five business days before settlement is the minimum. Ten is better.

Confirm your bank details are correct and on file with the seller’s solicitor. PEXA’s payment direction system is automatic once set up — but it can only be set up with the correct account details. A single digit error means the funds go nowhere or go to the wrong place.

Know your options if a seller disputes. A valid Form 6, a settled transaction, and documented effective cause establish the legal right to commission. QCAT minor debt jurisdiction is accessible and relatively low-cost for amounts up to $25,000. For amounts above that threshold, the Magistrates Court and District Court are the appropriate forums. A formal demand letter before filing resolves the majority of legitimate disputes without tribunal involvement.

Do not confuse an unconditional contract with cash in hand. The unconditional trigger is legally significant — it crystallises the entitlement and removes the risk of conditions failure — but under standard QLD residential contract terms, the money does not move until the keys do.

Over 99% of conveyancing transactions across Queensland now use PEXA, which means settlement day itself is fast, digital, and well-tracked. The risk to your commission is almost never in the settlement mechanics — it is in the documentation and communication in the weeks before settlement day. Control what you can control, and the commission pathway from contract to cleared funds is straightforward.