What Is Private Treaty in Queensland Real Estate? Definition and Agent Guide
A buyer walks through an open home on a Saturday morning, calls you on Sunday, and wants to make an offer before the week is out. No auction date to anchor the conversation, no competing bidders standing in a room — just two parties, a price, and a negotiation you need to manage. That scenario plays out across Queensland hundreds of times every week, and the mechanism driving it is private treaty: the standard method of selling property through negotiation between buyer and seller, conducted via their agents, as opposed to a public auction process.
Private treaty is the dominant sale method in Queensland real estate. Understanding its mechanics, its legal framework, and its practical demands is not optional for a working agent — it is foundational. Every element of a private treaty sale, from the listing appointment through to the signed contract and settlement, carries obligations and risks that a competent agent must navigate with precision.
How Private Treaty Works in Queensland Real Estate
There are two common methods for selling a home in Queensland: private treaty and auction sale. In a private treaty sale, the property is advertised for sale and is sold by private negotiation with prospective buyers. There is no auctioneer, no public bidding, and no hammer falling at a fixed time. Price and terms are reached through a back-and-forth between the listing agent and prospective buyers, with the seller’s authority guiding the acceptable range.
The process begins before a single buyer walks through the door. The agent must hold a valid written appointment — the Form 6 — before undertaking any work for the seller. 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. This is not a technicality to be sorted out after the fact; it is the starting point.
Under the listing appointment, the agent and seller agree on the type of agency. The only difference between an exclusive agency and a sole agency is the extent of the entitlement of the selling agent to receive an agreed commission on the sale of the property. Under an exclusive agency, the agent will be entitled to the commission agreed, whether or not the agent is the effective cause of the sale. Where the agency is a sole agency, the agent would not be entitled to the commission if the seller is the effective cause of the sale. A third option, open listing, permits multiple agents to work the property simultaneously, but only the agent who is the effective cause of sale can claim commission. For residential property sales, any exclusive or sole agency appointment is subject to a statutory maximum of 90 days.
Once listed, the agent markets the property and receives offers. An offer is typically documented on the standard contract form. The REIQ Contract is a standard form of contract used for the sale and purchase of real estate in Queensland, jointly prepared and endorsed by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) and the Queensland Law Society (QLS). This partnership ensures the contracts are legally compliant, balanced, and reflect the latest changes in property law and legislation. As of 1 August 2025, QLS and the REIQ prepared the new Contract for Sale and Purchase of Residential Real Estate (1st edition).
In Queensland, both the buyer and seller sign the REIQ sales contract once negotiations are concluded. The contract is created initially by the seller’s representative, such as a conveyancer or real estate agent. This is a meaningful distinction from other Australian states: in New South Wales, this process is known as an “exchange” of contracts, while in Queensland it is called placing a property “under contract”. Queensland agents typically prepare and execute the contract directly, which places greater practical and legal responsibility on the agent at the point of signing.
The Reference Schedule within the REIQ contract captures the core commercial terms. The standard REIQ contract contains a Reference Schedule in which all pieces of information relevant to the sale are set out, including the details of the property, the purchase price, deposit and settlement date. Conditions — finance, building and pest inspection, or others — are recorded in the same document. If the contract is dependent on finance, the finance section of the contract should specify a deadline for meeting the financial requirement, usually within 14 or 21 days after all parties sign the contract.
Why Private Treaty Matters for Queensland Agents
Private treaty is the context in which most agents spend most of their professional lives. Auction campaigns represent a fraction of the Queensland residential market by volume, concentrated in specific metro markets and property types. Private treaty is where the day-to-day skill of negotiation, price positioning, and contract management is tested continuously.
From the listing side, the private treaty format demands a disciplined pricing conversation. Unlike an auction, where the market determines the price in a public forum on a fixed day, private treaty allows a seller to anchor expectations — sometimes helpfully, sometimes stubbornly. An agent’s ability to guide a seller toward a realistic price range, while maintaining campaign momentum, directly affects days on market and ultimately the outcome. An overpriced private treaty listing bleeds time and can erode buyer confidence in the property as it sits unsold.
From the buyer management side, private treaty creates a different dynamic to auction. Buyers can negotiate conditions into the contract — finance, building and pest inspection, and other due diligence clauses — and can take more time to consider their position. This flexibility is one reason many buyers and sellers prefer the method. It is also why the role of the agent as a skilled facilitator, rather than a presiding auctioneer, is central to the process. The agent must manage the pace of negotiations, handle counteroffers, and keep both parties moving toward a binding outcome without the artificial pressure of a bidding clock.
The statutory cooling-off period, which applies exclusively to private treaty sales of residential property, adds another layer to the agent’s responsibilities. Under Section 166 of the Property Occupations Act 2014, a buyer who enters into a contract for the sale of residential property that is not a sale at auction is entitled to a five business day cooling-off period, beginning the day they or their lawyer receives a signed copy of the contract. Cooling-off periods generally apply to private treaty sales of residential property and do not apply when the property is purchased at auction. The existence of this right has real commercial consequences for a seller whose property is under contract — the deal is not fully secure until the period expires or is waived in writing.
Legal Requirements and Agent Obligations in a Private Treaty Sale
The Property Occupations Act 2014
The governing legislative framework for private treaty residential sales in Queensland is the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld) (POA). The POA commenced on 1 December 2014 and is one of the four Acts that replaced the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 (PAMDA). The thrust of these changes was to streamline key property law legislation in Queensland, simplifying the contract formation process and reducing incidents of contract termination and dispute due to non-compliance with the rigid requirements of the previous legislation.
The POA applies to “relevant contracts” signed on or after 1 December 2014. The definition of “relevant contract” means a contract for the sale of residential property. Critically, a relevant contract excludes contracts formed on a sale by auction. This carve-out is the legislative line that separates private treaty from auction, and it carries direct practical implications — most importantly for the cooling-off regime.
Agents must ensure the REIQ contract used in a private treaty sale includes the required cooling-off warning statement immediately above the buyer’s signature. Under the POA, a proposed relevant contract must include, on the same page and immediately above the place in the contract where the buyer signs, the prescribed wording confirming that the contract may be subject to a five business day statutory cooling-off period, and that a termination penalty of 0.25% of the purchase price applies if the buyer terminates during the cooling-off period.
The Cooling-Off Period in Detail
The five business day cooling-off period is among the most practically significant features of private treaty residential sales in Queensland. The cooling-off period runs for five business days, starting on the day the buyer receives a copy of the contract signed by both parties. A “business day” is any day that is not a weekend or public holiday. The cooling-off period ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. The buyer must give notice to the seller in writing prior to this deadline if they wish to cancel the contract.
If a buyer exercises the right to terminate during the cooling-off period, the financial consequence is modest but real. In Queensland, the termination fee is 0.25% of the sale price — on a one million dollar contract, this is a payment of $2,500 from the buyer. The seller retains this amount from the deposit, with the balance refunded to the buyer. It is worth noting that this penalty is calculated on the purchase price, not on the deposit amount paid.
The cooling-off period can be waived or shortened. A Form 32a (under the old PAMDA regime) is no longer required for the waiving or shortening of the cooling-off period; rather, the buyer can effect this change by issuing written notice to the seller. The buyer can waive the cooling-off period before or after the contract is formed by giving a simple notice to that effect, which does not need to be signed by a solicitor. Agents in competitive markets often encounter buyers who waive voluntarily to signal commitment. Even in private treaty sales, sellers or agents may request a buyer to sign a waiver or shorten the cooling-off window as part of negotiations. Once waived or shortened, the cooling-off right is gone. There is no reinstatement.
Agents must not conflate the cooling-off period with conditional clauses in the contract. The cooling-off period is not a substitute for a finance condition. If a contract is not subject to finance and the buyer fails to obtain lending approval after the cooling-off period expires, the buyer cannot simply terminate and walk away. This is a critical misunderstanding that regularly causes difficulties for buyers — and reflects on the agent who did not explain the distinction clearly at signing.
The Post-Auction Exception
The auction exemption from the cooling-off regime has a direct connection to private treaty practice that agents must understand. The auction exemption for cooling-off periods is extended to cover contracts entered into by 5:00pm on the second business day after the auction, but only to registered bidders at the auction and not companies. In practical terms, this means a property passed in at auction can be sold to a registered bidder in the days immediately following — without a cooling-off period applying — so long as that buyer was registered at the auction. Any subsequent private treaty sale beyond that window, or to a non-registered buyer, reactivates the standard cooling-off provisions.
The Form 6 Appointment
In Queensland, listing agreements are governed by Section 102 of the Property Occupations Act. Under the law, agents must make sure they are duly appointed by the vendor as the proper agent in writing by completing and signing what is known as a Form 6. There have been cases where an improperly completed Form 6 has caused massive headaches for agents, including significant legal costs and forfeiture of commission. The Form 6 must specify the agency type, the term, the commission rate and trigger, and any approved marketing expenditure. The specific trigger that entitles the agent to commission must be clearly defined — for example, when an unconditional contract is formed, at settlement, or another clearly defined milestone.
Special Conditions
Private treaty contracts in Queensland frequently include special conditions beyond the standard REIQ terms. The contract allows for the inclusion of any special conditions — such as early access to the property — which cannot be written by an agent in Queensland and must be prepared by a legal practitioner. An agent who drafts or substantially modifies special conditions without legal authority risks acting outside their licence and potentially creating an invalid or disputed contractual provision. Buyers should be particularly wary of special conditions added to the contract. In some instances, sellers may delete certain provisions of the standard terms without explaining the full significance of those deletions to the buyer.
What Queensland Agents Need to Know About Private Treaty
The practical mastery of private treaty is not just about knowing the legislation — it is about the dozens of decisions made between listing appointment and unconditional contract that either protect your client or expose them.
Price Guidance and the Listing Obligation
Unlike an auction, where a vendor’s reserve price is set privately, private treaty requires you to advertise at a price or price range. Queensland’s Property Occupations Act prohibits misleading price representations. Agents may disclose that a residential property proposed for auction has a reserve price, but not disclose the reserve price itself or provide price guides. In private treaty, the listing price is public — and the REIQ’s professional conduct standards require that agents give vendors genuine market appraisals grounded in comparable sales evidence, not aspirational figures designed to secure the listing.
Negotiation Discipline
Every private treaty negotiation is a three-party exercise: you, your seller, and the buyer (often with their own agent). The agent’s fiduciary duty runs to the seller. That means presenting all offers promptly, providing honest advice on market reception, and not positioning yourself as an obstacle between buyer and seller to prolong your own involvement. Equally, it means managing a buyer’s expectations with professionalism — not revealing your seller’s floor price, and not making representations you cannot support.
When multiple offers arrive simultaneously, the process must be managed with care. There is no equivalent of the auction room’s transparency. Only one commission should be payable for the same sale. Avoid overlapping exclusive appointments and keep good records to resolve “effective cause of sale” questions. If two agents claim to have introduced the same buyer through an open listing arrangement, the agent who can demonstrate they were the operative cause of the transaction — not merely the first to make contact — carries the stronger claim.
Contract Preparation
In Queensland, the listing agent typically prepares the REIQ contract for signature. In Queensland, the agent usually prepares the contract and signs up the buyers directly with the cooling-off period in place. This is a significant responsibility. The Reference Schedule must accurately reflect what was negotiated: full legal names, correct lot and plan numbers, the agreed purchase price, the deposit amount and due date, settlement date, and any conditions. The REIQ contract’s “time is of the essence” clause means that strict time limits apply. If a party does not comply by the date stated in the contract, they may be in breach and lose their rights under the contract — consequences of which can include forfeiting the deposit.
What to Tell Buyers at Signing
It is important that you advise buyers of the five-day cooling-off period and when it starts, as well as the 0.25% penalty payable — and that this percentage is of the sale price, not the deposit. This single piece of advice prevents a significant proportion of post-contract misunderstandings. Beyond the cooling-off explanation, buyers should understand when their risk for the property attaches. The property is at the buyer’s risk from 5:00pm on the first business day after the contract date. Buyers should ensure they take out a cover note for insurance immediately upon signing the contract.
Interstate and Overseas Buyers
Queensland agents regularly work with buyers from New South Wales, Victoria, and overseas who are unfamiliar with how private treaty operates here. The absence of a formal “exchange” process as used in NSW is a common source of confusion. When it comes to purchasing real estate in Queensland, there is no contract exchange process as seen in Victoria and New South Wales. Both the buyer and seller sign the REIQ sales contract once negotiations are concluded. International investors and interstate buyers also need clear guidance on the cooling-off period, the role of the agent in contract preparation, and the timeline from signed contract to settlement.
What This Means for Queensland Agents
Private treaty is the default context of Queensland real estate practice. Handled competently, it is an efficient and flexible method that serves both sellers and buyers well. Handled carelessly, it generates disputes, failed contracts, commission claims, and complaints to the Office of Fair Trading.
The non-negotiables are clear. A valid Form 6 must exist before any work begins. The REIQ contract must be correctly completed, with all relevant details accurately recorded in the Reference Schedule. The cooling-off warning statement must appear immediately above the buyer’s signature line. Buyers must be informed of their five-day right, when it begins, and what it costs to exercise it. Special conditions must be prepared by a legal practitioner, not drafted by the agent. And any price representations made during the marketing campaign must be capable of substantiation.
Beyond compliance, the quality of a private treaty sale comes down to negotiation skill and client management. Price setting, offer presentation, managing competing interest, handling conditional periods, and keeping a transaction on track through to settlement — these are the practical competencies that separate an average agent from a trusted one. The legislative framework, from the Property Occupations Act 2014 through to the joint REIQ/QLS contract suite, provides the structure. What happens inside that structure is your professional responsibility.