When Does a Queensland Real Estate Agent Get Paid Their Commission?
You’ve exchanged contracts, the buyer’s finance has been approved, and the deal is unconditional. The question in the back of every agent’s mind — when exactly does that commission land? The answer isn’t simply “at settlement.” It depends on what your Form 6 says, what type of appointment you hold, and what actually happens between exchange and the day the title transfers.
Understanding the precise mechanics of when a Queensland real estate agent gets paid commission is not just useful — it protects your income. The framework governing payment timing sits squarely in the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld) (the POA), and getting it wrong costs agents real money.
The Form 6 Sets the Trigger — And That Trigger Is Everything
Your Form 6 sets out the exact event that “earns” the commission. This could be on formation of an unconditional contract, on settlement, or another clear milestone.
This is the most consequential clause in the appointment, and it is one that many agents fill in by habit rather than by careful thought. Section 104 of the POA sets out the requirements which must be satisfied for an appointment to be valid and enforceable. In terms of commission payable, this section provides that the appointment must include a statement about the fees, charges and any commission payable for the service, and when the fees, charges and any commission for the service become payable. The appointment is ineffective from the time it is made if it does not comply with section 104 of the Act.
That is not a technicality to wave away. An ineffective appointment means no enforceable right to commission — regardless of how hard you worked the listing or how clean the deal was. An agent needs a properly completed and signed Form 6 before performing the services. If there was no valid appointment at the relevant time, the agent cannot legally charge commission — even if a sale occurs.
The two most common commission triggers used in Queensland are: commission becomes payable on the formation of an unconditional contract, or commission becomes payable at settlement. Each has real-world implications that agents need to understand before they sign a seller up.
Commission on Unconditional Contract vs Commission at Settlement
The Unconditional Contract Trigger
When the Form 6 specifies that commission is payable on the formation of an unconditional contract, the agent’s entitlement crystallises the moment all conditions have been satisfied or waived. For a standard residential sale, this typically occurs when finance is approved (or waived), building and pest inspections are accepted (or waived), and the cooling-off period has expired or been waived in writing.
Timing can also be influenced by the cooling-off regime for residential private treaty sales in Queensland. Buyers generally have a 5 business day cooling-off period (auctions are a common exception). If your Form 6 says commission is earned on an unconditional contract, be aware of when a contract becomes unconditional in light of cooling-off and special conditions.
The advantage of this trigger for agents is obvious — it separates commission entitlement from the mechanics of conveyancing, which can stretch out for weeks or months beyond unconditional date. However, it introduces a risk: if settlement subsequently fails because the buyer cannot complete, the agent has an earned commission but must pursue the seller for payment.
The Settlement Trigger
When commission is specified as payable at settlement, the agent waits until the title actually transfers and the sale price is paid. This is the more conservative approach from the seller’s perspective, and it is also the more straightforward approach to recovery — commission is typically drawn from the settlement funds and paid directly to the agent.
It is important that agents send an invoice for their commission to both parties’ conveyancing solicitors well in advance of the settlement date for the contract of sale so that a cheque can be drawn at settlement for the agent’s commission. This is practical, standard practice. Commission is deducted from the proceeds paid to the seller. No invoice, no cheque — the funds flow to the seller and the agent is left chasing.
Split Commission Arrangements
Some commercial and development appointments split commission between the two milestones. In Podium Project Marketing Pty Ltd v B Global (Aust) Pty Ltd [2024] QDC 219, the Form 6 appointments provided that 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. This structure is increasingly common in off-the-plan and land subdivision work, where the gap between unconditional contract and settlement can span years.
What Happens When the Contract Falls Over
This is where many agents — particularly those newer to the profession — encounter a genuinely uncomfortable position. A contract collapses before settlement. Does the agent still get paid?
The answer depends entirely on what the Form 6 says and at what point the contract collapsed.
Depending upon the terms of your appointment with the selling agent, you may also have to pay the agent their full commission even where the settlement of the sale never occurs because the buyer cannot complete the transaction. If you sign the form and it contains provision for the agent to be paid their commission even if the sale does not settle, you will be contractually bound to make that payment.
If the Form 6 sets commission as payable on the formation of an unconditional contract, and the contract becomes unconditional before later collapsing due to buyer default, the agent’s entitlement is already established. The commission is owed even if the settlement never occurs. In practice, the agent may have to pursue recovery — especially if the seller has retained the deposit and has no other funds readily available. The deposit does not automatically satisfy the commission obligation; the two claims are legally distinct.
If, on the other hand, the contract falls over while still conditional — for example, the buyer terminates validly under a finance condition — no unconditional contract was ever formed, and no commission is generally payable under that particular contract.
Be sure you understand the timing — this can matter a lot if a contract collapses before settlement.
When Queensland Agents Get Paid Commission Under Different Agency Types
Exclusive Agency
An exclusive appointment is a common arrangement in Queensland where a seller appoints a single agent to handle the sale of the property. Under this arrangement, the seller is generally liable to pay commission to the agent if a sale occurs during the exclusive agency period, even if the sale is made by the seller or another party.
For residential exclusive and sole agency appointments, the law caps the term at 90 days. This is a hard statutory maximum under the POA. An agent cannot simply roll over an exclusive appointment without a fresh signed reappointment. If the property sells during the exclusive period — regardless of who introduced the buyer — the agent holding the exclusive appointment is entitled to commission.
Even after the exclusive agency period has expired, an agent may still be entitled to commission if they were the effective cause of the sale. This occurs when the agent introduces a buyer who eventually purchases the property after the agency period ends. Courts in Queensland have upheld agents’ claims for commission in such cases, provided they can prove that their efforts directly contributed to the sale.
Open Listing
Under an open listing, the commission calculus is more demanding. Commission is normally payable only to the agent who was the “effective cause of sale” — the agent whose actions brought about the sale. An agent holding an open listing gets paid when they can demonstrate their conduct was an effective cause of the buyer’s decision to purchase. Simply being one of several agents with access to the listing is not sufficient.
If multiple agents claim to have introduced the buyer, disputes can arise — which is why clear terms and good records matter. Double commission disputes often turn on whether an exclusive appointment was still in force and who was the effective cause of sale.
When a Buyer Returns After a Failed Contract
If a buyer validly terminates under the finance condition, then a few months later, being in a better financial position, approaches the seller directly and a new contract is formed without the agent’s assistance — the agent may still be entitled to charge their commission on settlement, as they were the ones to introduce the buyer initially. Whether the agent will be entitled to commission in these circumstances will depend on the particular circumstances, including what actions the agent has taken and the type of appointment.
The Practical Settlement Process: How Payment Actually Moves
Understanding the entitlement is one thing. Understanding the logistics of how commission is physically paid is equally important.
The practical sequence in a standard Queensland residential sale looks like this: once a contract is unconditional and settlement is booked, the selling agency issues a commission invoice to the seller’s conveyancing solicitor and, as a matter of good practice, copies the buyer’s solicitor. The solicitor then ensures commission is included as a disbursement in the settlement statement. At settlement — which in Queensland is overwhelmingly conducted through the PEXA electronic platform — the funds are distributed and commission is transferred to the agency trust account or nominated account at the moment of settlement.
Commission is paid to the agency (the principal licence holder), not to the individual salesperson. Distribution from agency to salesperson follows whatever internal arrangement the agency operates under — whether that is a wage structure, a commission split, or an independent contractor arrangement. Salespersons registered under an agency have no direct claim at law against the seller; their entitlement flows through their employment or contractual relationship with their principal.
Importantly, the property agent must not claim commission worked out on an amount more than the actual sale price of the property. This is a compliance obligation under the POA, reinforced by penalty provisions. Commission must be calculated on the actual achieved sale price — not the listed price, not the estimated price stated in the Form 6.
When Commission Payment Is Disputed
Commission disputes are a recurring feature of Queensland real estate. Real estate commission disputes are not uncommon in Queensland, particularly when multiple agents are involved in a sale or when sellers challenge the validity of commission claims. These disputes often arise due to the structure of commission agreements, the effectiveness of agents in securing sales, and compliance with legal requirements such as the proper use of Form 6.
If a client refuses to pay, the first step is direct negotiation. If a seller client refuses to pay commission owing, agents should first explore conflict resolution through negotiation and discussion with their client at an early stage, in order to avoid litigation and potentially incurring significant legal costs.
Where negotiation fails, there are formal avenues for recovery. If the matter cannot be resolved at an early stage, agents may commence a minor debt claim to recover commission through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), depending on the value of the commission sought. QCAT can hear minor debt claims up to $25,000. For commission amounts above that threshold, the appropriate avenue is the Magistrates Court, District Court, or Supreme Court depending on quantum.
The Queensland Court of Appeal decision in Trappando Pty Ltd v Sunshine Group Australia Pty Ltd [2023] is instructive. In that case, the client terminated the contract and forfeited the deposit, and the agent sought to recover commission. The Form 6 contained some discrepancies. The court ultimately found in favour of the agent, but not without the agent paying significant legal costs which could have been avoided. The case shows the importance of preparing your Form 6 correctly.
The cost of litigation to recover commission — even a successful recovery — frequently erodes the commission itself. Getting the Form 6 right before the listing launches is always the cheaper option.
GST, Commission Rates, and What Goes Into the Form 6
The cap on commission for agents has been removed under the POA, meaning Queensland agents are free to negotiate any commission rate with their clients. The commonly quoted tiered structure — 5% on the first $18,000, then 2.5% on the balance — persists in the market as a benchmark but is not mandated. Industry data suggests the average QLD commission sits at around 2.45% of the sale price (inclusive or exclusive of GST depending on how it is quoted).
Agent services attract 10% GST. Your Form 6 should clearly state the rate and specify whether GST is included or excluded. Ambiguity on this point creates friction at settlement and occasionally generates disputes with sellers who assumed they were looking at an all-inclusive figure.
An agent cannot recover more than what is specified in the Form 6. A person is not entitled to sue for, recover or retain a reward or expenses that are more than the reward or expenses stated in the appointment form and, in the case of expenses, actually expended. If the Form 6 states a rate lower than what the agent believes was agreed verbally, the Form 6 figure governs.
What This Means for Queensland Agents
The single most controllable factor determining when — and whether — a Queensland real estate agent gets paid their commission is the quality of the Form 6 at the time of listing. Every ambiguity in that document is a potential dispute later.
On commission timing: Decide consciously whether your Form 6 specifies an unconditional contract trigger or a settlement trigger. For standard residential sales with short settlement periods, settlement is the cleaner option for clients and tends to generate less friction. For off-the-plan or development work with extended settlement timelines, a split arrangement — part on unconditional, part at settlement — protects the agent against the risk of long delays before payment.
On protecting your entitlement through exclusive appointments: The 90-day residential exclusive cap is statutory. Diarise the end date and reappoint in writing if the listing continues. An expired exclusive appointment does not automatically mean you lose commission on a buyer you introduced during the exclusive period — effective cause arguments can survive the appointment period — but your position is always stronger with a current, valid appointment.
On the settlement mechanics: Send your commission invoice to the seller’s conveyancer well before the settlement date. Do not assume the conveyancer will raise it independently. A missed invoice means commission is not included in the settlement statement, and recovering commission after settlement from a seller who has already received their proceeds is genuinely difficult.
On failed contracts: Understand what your Form 6 says about entitlement when a contract does not complete. If the commission trigger is unconditional formation, your entitlement survives a post-unconditional buyer default. If the contract never went unconditional, it generally does not. Review your Form 6 precedent and seek independent legal advice if you are unsure how your standard wording operates in edge-case scenarios.
On disputes: It is critical that both agents and sellers ensure that commission agreements are clear, legally compliant, and understood by all parties to avoid costly and time-consuming disputes. The court system will ultimately enforce a well-drafted Form 6. The cost is whether you get there by negotiation or by litigation.
Commission is the income a Queensland agent earns for months of market knowledge, negotiation skill, and managed process. The legal framework that protects it is robust — but only for agents who use it correctly from the first conversation with a new client.