What Changed in Queensland Property Law in August 2025?
Every property transaction in Queensland changed on 1 August 2025. If you had a listing active on 31 July and a buyer ready to sign the following morning, the rules governing that contract were entirely different from the day before. This was not a minor procedural update — it was the most significant restructuring of Queensland property law in over fifty years.
The Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) and the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld) commenced on 1 August 2025, introducing the most significant changes to property law in Queensland in over 50 years. The Act passed Parliament on 25 October 2023, with the commencement date fixed for 1 August 2025. It replaced the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld) — legislation that had governed Queensland transactions for the entirety of most working agents’ careers.
For practical purposes, 1 August 2025 is the date that defines everything. The new Queensland Property Law Act came into effect on 1 August 2025, and contracts signed on or after that date must comply with the new requirements in full. Every agent managing active listings, negotiating offers, or managing investment properties needed to understand what changed — and why getting it wrong carries real consequences.
The Seller Disclosure Regime: Queensland’s Most Consequential Reform
Before 1 August 2025, Queensland was one of the last jurisdictions in Australia without a mandatory statutory seller disclosure regime. The market operated largely on a buyer-beware basis. That is no longer the case.
The change that has received the most publicity is the introduction of the seller disclosure regime. The new seller disclosure requirements mark a significant shift from the prevailing ‘buyer beware’ position in Queensland. Under the new framework, the obligation to surface critical property information moved squarely onto the seller — and by extension, the seller’s agent.
Under the new laws, a seller must provide a buyer with the following before the buyer signs a contract: a completed and signed Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement; and all prescribed certificates relevant to the property. The disclosure statement must contain the information prescribed by regulation, which must be true at the time the statement is given.
What Must Be Disclosed
The Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement covers a wide range of property particulars. The list of prescribed certificates includes whether the property is affected by the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 or included in the World Heritage List; whether the property is affected by a notice of intention to resume the property (or part of it); and details of the last rent increase if the property was subject to a residential tenancy or rooming accommodation agreement during the last 12 months.
Warnings and statements in Schedule 1 of the Property Law Regulation reference matters relating to encumbrances, land use, buildings and structures, rates and services, and community titles schemes. While these documents do not have to be attached to the disclosure statement or sent simultaneously, it is best practice to annex all the prescribed certificates to the disclosure statement so there is clear evidence that the seller has complied with their requirements.
For community title properties — units, townhouses, and lots within body corporate schemes — the Property Law Act 2023 works in tandem with updated regulations to simplify and standardise body corporate certificates, which are required for selling units in community title schemes. Buyers must receive these documents upfront under the new seller disclosure regime.
Who Prepares the Disclosure Documents
This is the question most agents need to answer clearly at the listing appointment. In Queensland, real estate professionals are permitted to prepare and exchange the disclosure documents on behalf of their client (the seller). The seller can also prepare the Form 2 themselves, instruct their solicitor to do so, or engage a third-party provider.
However, there is a firm boundary agents must respect: a sales agent cannot provide legal advice to a seller about what matters are required to be disclosed or how disclosure is to be made. The practical reality is that disclosure preparation sits at the intersection of agent knowledge and legal advice. If your agency offers to prepare Form 2, ensure the scope of that service is clearly defined — and that the seller has been directed to their solicitor for advice on what each item legally requires.
It is vital that agents and lawyers work together to prepare the disclosure and a contract that will operate within the new law. It is worth noting that some of the information required for disclosure will need searches undertaken, and these may take up to a couple of weeks to obtain, depending on the authority and where the property is located. Agents who try to rush Form 2 at the offer stage will find themselves under pressure. The REIQ’s guidance was clear: prepare disclosure documents at the listing appointment stage, before a buyer appears.
The Buyer’s Termination Right
The consequences of non-compliance with the disclosure regime are significant and cannot be managed away contractually. If you don’t complete the disclosure statement accurately, or fail to include prescribed documents, or don’t give it to the buyer before the contract is signed, the buyer may be able to terminate the contract at any time up to settlement.
If the disclosed information is not accurate or complete in relation to a material matter and the buyer was not aware of that inaccuracy or omission when they signed the contract and would not have signed the contract if they had been aware, the buyer may terminate the contract by notice at any time before settlement under section 104. If a buyer does that, they will be entitled to be refunded any amount that they have paid towards the purchase of the property under the contract under section 105.
The legislation leaves the term ‘material matter’ open for interpretation, with the exception that it excludes information relating to the property’s council and water rates. Given the consumer protection focus of the new regime, it is anticipated that courts will take a buyer-friendly approach when interpreting these provisions.
For agents, this termination right represents a risk that survives the contract-signing stage. A buyer who develops cold feet three weeks before settlement has a powerful lever to pull if the disclosure documents were not compliant. The only remedy available to the buyer is termination — there is no right to compensation. But contract termination at any point before settlement is consequence enough.
Exceptions to the Disclosure Regime
The disclosure regime applies broadly but not universally. Exceptions include transactions where the buyer is the State, Commonwealth or another State, a local government, a statutory body or a listed corporation or subsidiary of a listed corporation; or where the price exceeds $10 million (inclusive of GST) and the buyer gives a notice waiving compliance before signing; or where the seller and buyer are related parties and the buyer gives a compliant waiver notice.
Most exceptions do not apply automatically and must be opted into via a formal waiver, so agents should seek advice before assuming a transaction falls within an exception.
Off-the-plan sales require particular attention. The new PLA disclosure requirements do not apply to ‘proposed lots’ being sold off-the-plan. These transactions remain governed by the disclosure regimes under the Land Sales Act 1984 (Qld) and the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld). The seller disclosure regime can apply to options, but does not apply to off-the-plan sales contracts for land or body corporate units.
New REIQ Contracts: What Changed on the Forms
A new version of the REIQ residential and commercial contracts was released on 1 August 2025. These are not cosmetic revisions — the structural logic of the contracts changed to accommodate the disclosure regime.
The new REIQ contracts (First Edition) combine the residential house and land contract and the community title scheme contract into one new contract. This means agents no longer need to pick the correct contract type for the property being sold — they are now all located in one convenient contract. There are only two new contract forms (compared to four previously), one for residential property and one for commercial property, with each contract covering usual broadacre as well as community title land.
The contract’s treatment of the disclosure statement is embedded in the terms. Clause 7.8 deals with the distinction between rights under the seller disclosure regime and rights under the contract, including termination rights. If the seller disclosure scheme in the PLA applies, clause 7.8 provides that the buyer’s termination rights for a breach of certain seller’s warranties are governed by the PLA.
Agents should not use the old contract forms for transactions where both parties sign on or after 1 August 2025. The contracts are designed for use from 1 August 2025, when the new seller disclosure scheme commenced. These documents should not be used for contracts formed before that date.
A practical timing issue emerged at the transition: if a buyer signs a contract before 1 August but the seller signs it on or after 1 August, the contract is deemed to have been ‘entered into’ on the later date under the regime. If the seller did not provide the required disclosure documents before the buyer signed, the buyer may be entitled to terminate the contract. Agents managing late July exchanges needed to be acutely aware of this timing risk.
Easement Obligations: A Retrospective Change Agents Must Know
One change that has received less attention than the disclosure regime but carries significant practical weight concerns easements — and it applies retrospectively to all registered easements in Queensland.
Under the old law, only negative covenants — for example, “you must not build over this area” — in easements automatically bound future landowners. Under the new law, positive obligations — for example, maintaining a shared driveway or fencing — will also pass with the land unless stated otherwise.
The Act provides that both positive and negative covenants in registered easements will be enforceable against successors of title. This provision applies retrospectively. The retrospective nature of this change is the critical point. This is not just about new easements created after 1 August 2025 — it affects existing registered easements on properties your clients already own or are considering purchasing.
For agents advising on rural properties, acreage, rural residential, and properties with shared infrastructure, this change materially affects the obligations that transfer with the land. Buyers need to understand that the maintenance obligations written into a registered easement — however old — now bind them once they take title. This should be clearly flagged in the disclosure statement and discussed with the conveyancer.
Leasing Reforms: Key Changes for Property Managers and Commercial Agents
The new Act reformed commercial leasing in several areas that affect both property managers and commercial agents. Some provisions apply to all leases from 1 August 2025 regardless of when those leases were originally entered into; others apply only to leases entered into on or after the commencement date.
New Breach and Termination Forms
From 1 August 2025, a new Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach and Form 9 Notice to Terminate Lease must be used. These new forms are similar to but replace the existing Property Law Act 1974 Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach of Covenant and Form 8 Notice to Tenant. Using the old forms after 1 August creates procedural risk. Property management teams should have updated their systems before commencement.
In a commonsense change, it is now no longer a requirement to go through the Form 7 process where the lessor has a reasonable belief that a tenant has given up possession and vacated permanently. This is a practical improvement for landlords dealing with abandoned premises.
Liability on Subsequent Lease Assignments
In leases entered into on and from 1 August 2025, if a tenant assigns a lease to an assignee and the assignee later assigns the lease to a subsequent assignee, the tenant and its guarantors (if any) are released from liability to the lessor for any breach of the lease by the subsequent assignee.
This means that the original tenant (and guarantor) remains liable after the first assignment, but is released following any subsequent assignment. The parties cannot contract out of this release, as it applies despite any agreement to the contrary.
The practical implication for commercial landlords and agents managing leasing transactions is real. Standard leasing documents that purport to keep a guarantor “on the hook” indefinitely need to be reviewed. Any documents that include provisions stating that the tenant and its guarantors are not released on assignment will need to be amended to specify that the clause applies ‘unless the law provides otherwise’ or ‘subject to relevant law’.
Landlord Consent to Assignment
Where a lessee requests consent of the lessor to deal with their lease, including to assign or sublet to another party, the following requirements apply: the lessor will have one month to consider and decide whether to consent; in the event the lessor fails to consent, the lessee may apply to the court, which has been given broad powers to make appropriate orders.
This one-month timeframe is now statutory. Landlords and their agents who previously operated on informal timelines for responding to assignment requests need to understand that failure to respond within this period creates legal exposure.
Instalment Contracts: Protection Against Inadvertent Creation
Instalment contracts are contracts for the sale of land where the buyer makes payments by instalments but only receives title to the land upon the final instalment. The Act safeguards against the unintentional creation of instalment contracts by requiring buyers to make an election that the contract is to be an instalment contract.
This is an important protection for agents structuring deals with delayed settlement or staged payment arrangements. Under the old regime, certain contract structures could unintentionally trigger the complex instalment contract provisions — with consequences neither party anticipated. The new Act requires a positive buyer election before instalment contract treatment applies.
There are a number of changes to the way instalment contracts work, including a requirement for a notice from the buyer before contracts which are potentially instalment contracts become instalment contracts, and removing the buyer’s right to require an early transfer of the property and mortgage back after paying one-third of the purchase price. Under the 2023 PLA, the buyer can settle early by giving the seller at least three months’ notice and paying the required amount.
Changes to Deeds: A Shorter Limitation Period
A technical but important change affects how deeds are used in property transactions. Deeds in Queensland no longer provide the extended limitation period that principals and contractors have historically relied upon. The PLA reduces the limitation period for actions under a deed from 12 years to six years, bringing it into line with ordinary contracts.
The main impact will be in relation to latent defects, which can take years to surface. Deeds were often favoured on large or complex projects for this reason, as they gave principals extra time to bring claims. Going forward, if parties want a longer period to pursue breach of contract claims, they will need to expressly include it in their agreement.
This change applies only to deeds entered into on or after 1 August 2025. There is some uncertainty as to whether the 12-year limitation period for a deed entered into before that date will be preserved if the deed is varied at any time from 1 August 2025. Agents involved in complex commercial transactions or development agreements where deeds are used should ensure their clients take legal advice on this point.
The Perpetuity Period Extended to 125 Years
One reform that primarily affects trust structures and long-term holding arrangements is the extension of the maximum perpetuity period. In Queensland, property cannot be held on trust indefinitely — it must “vest” within a period called the “perpetuity period.” Under the 1974 Act, the perpetuity period was a maximum of 80 years.
The Act implements a fixed perpetuity period of 125 years for a property disposition under trust. Trustees of existing trusts may opt into the longer period. If they have the power to vary the vesting date of the trust, they can do that under section 216.
For agents working with sophisticated investors who hold property through trust structures — a common arrangement for high-net-worth clients in the Queensland market — this change may have estate planning implications worth raising with clients and their advisers.
Electronic Conveyancing and Settlement: Modernisation Formalised
The Act accounts for electronic conveyancing and settlement, and recognises the validity of electronic land contracts and the use of electronic means to enter into deeds and to give notices. In practice, most agents and conveyancers were already operating digitally — the 2023 Act brings the statute into alignment with how transactions actually occur.
Provisions dealing with a delay of settlement due to an adverse event — such as weather, a public health emergency, an act of terrorism, war or similar event — now apply. These provisions largely reflect the current ‘delay event’ provisions in the REIQ Contracts. New provisions also relate to inoperative computer systems for electronic conveyances on the date of settlement, to ensure consistency between paper-based and electronic transactions.
This last point is practically significant. If a bank, land registry, or electronic lodgement network operator experiences system failure on the settlement date, the new provisions provide a clear basis for extension. This removes the ambiguity that previously existed when digital settlement infrastructure failed at a critical moment.
What This Means for Queensland Agents
The Queensland property law changes of August 2025 are not background noise — they have operational consequences for every active agent in the state. Several practical conclusions follow directly from what changed.
The disclosure statement is now a listing task, not an offer task. The REIQ recommends that agents begin preparing disclosure statements for all new listings from early to mid-July 2025 — and the logic holds permanently going forward. By the time a buyer is ready to sign, the Form 2 and all prescribed certificates must already exist and be accurate. Build this into your listing workflow.
Non-compliance gives buyers a settlement-day option to walk. The termination right under section 104 of the Property Law Act 2023 runs all the way to settlement. Mistakes could mean contract terminations, loss of commission, or even legal and financial risks. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure is not a pre-exchange problem — it is a problem that can crystallise at the worst possible moment.
Only use the new REIQ First Edition contracts for post-August 2025 transactions. For contracts signed on or after 1 August 2025, ensure there is a disclosure statement (if required) and use the new version of the REIQ residential and commercial contracts. Using an old edition creates compliance risk that is avoidable.
Property managers must update their breach and termination forms immediately. From 1 August 2025, the new Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach and Form 9 Notice to Terminate Lease must be used. These replace the existing Property Law Act 1974 Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach of Covenant and Form 8 Notice to Tenant. Any commercial property management team still using pre-August forms should correct this immediately.
For commercial agents: the one-month consent timeline for lease assignments is now statutory. Landlord clients need to understand that delays in responding to an assignment request now carry legal consequences. Factor this into your property management service standards and communication with landlords.
Easement obligations run with the land — retrospectively. When conducting due diligence on behalf of buyers, review all registered easements against both negative and positive covenant obligations. This affects every property with shared access, shared infrastructure, or boundary arrangements governed by registered easements.
You need to have the new Act front of mind for real estate deals and the management of real estate assets moving forward — but particularly where you are a seller or landlord. The shift to a disclosure-first framework aligns Queensland with the approach taken in other Australian states. For agents who adapt their listing processes accordingly, the new regime creates an opportunity to demonstrate professional thoroughness at the point of engagement. For those who don’t, the risk is a terminated deal and a damaged relationship — at any point up to settlement.