What Is a Sunset Clause in Queensland Real Estate? Definition and Agent Guide
A sunset clause in a Queensland off-the-plan contract is a provision allowing either the buyer or the seller to terminate the agreement if a specified milestone — typically registration of a plan of subdivision or practical completion of a building — has not occurred by a nominated date, known as the sunset date. A sunset clause is a contract term that allows either party, usually the seller or developer, to terminate the contract if settlement hasn’t occurred by a specific date. For Queensland agents working in project marketing or selling developer stock, understanding this clause is not optional — it directly shapes what you can represent to a buyer, how you manage expectations across a multi-year sale cycle, and where your professional obligations sit when things don’t go to plan.
How a Sunset Clause Works in Queensland Off-the-Plan Contracts
The Basic Mechanics
Sunset clauses in off-the-plan contracts allow either party to terminate the contract if the completion of the property and registration of the plan does not happen by the sunset date. The clause effectively puts an expiry date on the contract and allows either party to terminate if the building isn’t completed by the due date or building costs increase dramatically — the clauses in the contracts are fairly extensive and vary between projects.
The sunset date is negotiated and drafted into the contract at the time of sale. The sunset clause sets the final date by which the plan of subdivision must be registered or the building completed. If that date passes without the triggering event occurring, the right to terminate crystallises — though, critically, who can exercise that right and under what conditions has changed substantially under Queensland law since late 2023.
Off-the-plan sales typically use custom, non-standard contracts, as the properties are yet to be registered or built, and the standard REIQ contract just doesn’t cut it. That means every sunset clause you encounter in a developer’s contract is bespoke. Time frames, triggering events, notice requirements and the consequences of termination will all vary. As the agent, you need to read what is actually in the contract — not assume a standard position.
Statutory Time Limits by Property Type
Queensland law draws a sharp distinction between vacant land and community title scheme purchases, and that distinction drives the applicable sunset period.
For vacant land, the statutory sunset date under the Land Sales Act 1984 is 18 months from the contract date. This is a statutory floor: the Land Sales Act doesn’t give sellers the right to terminate an off-the-plan contract after 18 months; however, they can build this right into the sales contract through sunset clauses.
For community titles schemes (CTS), such as apartments, townhouses and units, the statutory sunset period is up to 5.5 years in accordance with section 217B of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. In practice, this period is often shorter — closer to the three-year mark — to allow events like construction to be completed, council approvals to be obtained, establishment of the body corporate, and then registration of the plan at the Titles Office to create the lots.
What Triggers the Right to Terminate
The purpose of a sunset clause is to allow an event, or multiple events, to take place before settlement can occur — failing which the matter can be ended, usually without penalty. Common triggering events include registration of the plan of subdivision, practical completion of the building, issue of an occupancy certificate, or the establishment of the body corporate. The contract will define which event (or combination of events) must occur before the sunset date, and what happens if it doesn’t.
Both buyers and sellers theoretically hold this right, though in practice the litigation and legislative reform of recent years has been almost entirely about sellers — specifically developers — exercising it unilaterally.
Why the Sunset Clause Matters for Queensland Agents
The History of Misuse That Changed the Law
Historically, developers could misuse this clause to unilaterally terminate a contract if property values increased, refund the buyer’s deposit, and re-sell the property at a higher market price. This was not a theoretical risk. The Queensland Attorney-General’s department acknowledged that the building industry had been facing supply chain issues, labour shortages, and increased costs since the COVID-19 pandemic — following these challenging market conditions, there were several reports of developers invoking a sunset clause to terminate an off-the-plan contract, allegedly in order to re-list and sell the proposed lot for a much higher price.
The Gold Coast was a particular flashpoint. A couple reported losing their Coomera townhouse contract, while buyers in a 39-storey Main Beach tower were told to accept a 37.5% price increase or face termination. In Carrara, some buyers were asked to pay up to $1 million more to retain their apartments — again under the threat of sunset clause termination.
While buyers would receive their deposit back upon termination of the contract, changing market conditions and rising house prices would make it difficult to afford another similar property. For the agents involved in those original sales — and for the buyers’ agents on the other side — this created significant professional and reputational exposure. Understanding the clause isn’t just legal literacy: it’s risk management.
The 2023 Legislative Response
The Body Corporate and Community Management and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 was passed by the Queensland Government on 22 November 2023, limiting sellers from invoking sunset clauses to terminate off-the-plan contracts. Previously there were no limitations under the Land Sales Act 1984 on a seller’s use of a sunset clause to terminate an off-the-plan contract.
The reforms apply broadly. These reforms apply to all off-the-plan contracts not settled by 22 November 2023, not just contracts signed after that date. That retrospective reach was deliberate — it closed the window on developers with existing contracts who might otherwise have moved to invoke sunset clauses before the new rules took effect.
The Ongoing Gap: Apartments and Community Title Schemes
The 2023 reforms do not apply uniformly across all off-the-plan product. These protections currently apply only to off-the-plan land sales — not automatically to apartments, units, or townhouses in community-titles schemes. Buyers of off-the-plan lots in a community title scheme for apartments or townhouses remain exposed to the same risks the government sought to eliminate in land sales.
This is a material gap that any agent selling or advising on off-the-plan apartments in Queensland must understand and communicate clearly. The Queensland Law Society’s Proctor magazine notes that apartment buyers remain exposed to weaker safeguards and has called for broader reform. Between 1 September and 10 October 2025, consumers and property sellers were invited to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the 2023 sunset clause reforms; public consultation closed on Friday 10 October 2025 and responses are being considered. Further legislative change in the apartment space remains a live prospect.
Legal Framework: What Queensland Law Now Requires
The Seller’s Restricted Path to Termination
Under the reformed Land Sales Act 1984 (Qld), a seller of off-the-plan land can now only invoke a sunset clause in three circumstances.
Sellers can only use the sunset clause to terminate off-the-plan contracts for the sale of land in the following situations: with written consent of the buyer of the land; under an order of the Supreme Court; or in other limited scenarios prescribed by regulation.
The written consent pathway requires procedural compliance. A seller must issue a Sunset Clause Notice at least 28 days before the sunset date, outlining their reasons and seeking consent. Critically, the buyer’s failure to respond does not constitute consent. This is an important protection: silence from the buyer cannot be characterised as agreement to termination.
Where a buyer withholds consent, the seller’s only remaining avenue is the Supreme Court. The developer can apply to the Supreme Court for an order, which the Court will grant if it is satisfied that the termination is just and equitable. The Court will consider the reason for the delay, whether the seller acted reasonably, and the increase in market value. That last factor — market value increase — is significant. A seller attempting to terminate in a rising market in order to re-list at a higher price faces real scrutiny under this test.
Contracting Out Is Void
Developers cannot draft around these protections. Contracting out of these reforms is prohibited, and any clauses to that effect will be void under section 22 of the Act. If an agent or a buyer’s solicitor identifies a clause in a developer’s contract that purports to grant broader termination rights, that clause has no legal force — but it still needs to be identified.
Deposit Protections
The 2023 reforms also tightened trust account rules. Deposits paid under off-the-plan contracts can only be released from a trust account to sellers at the time of settlement or if the contract otherwise finalises and the seller is entitled to the deposit. Sellers cannot access deposits before settlement. Deposits remain in trust and are only released once the contract is finalised or settled. For agents holding or dealing with trust monies in the context of off-the-plan sales, this is an ongoing compliance obligation.
Buyer’s Statutory Right to Exit After 18 Months
The Land Sales Act 1984 requires the seller of a proposed lot to settle the contract of sale no later than 18 months after the parties enter the contract. If the seller fails to settle within 18 months — other than because the buyer has defaulted — the buyer may terminate the contract by giving the seller written notice before the contract is settled. This is a statutory right that exists independently of any contractual sunset clause. Buyers frequently don’t know they hold it; agents who understand it can add genuine value in managing a client’s position.
The House-and-Land Exemption
The reforms don’t apply to sunset clauses in linked or single house-and-land contracts. This is a distinction agents working in growth corridors around South East Queensland — where house-and-land packages are common — need to be clear on. A land-only off-the-plan contract carries the new protections; a combined house-and-land contract does not.
What Queensland Agents Need to Know About Sunset Clause Obligations
Know the Contract Type Before You Know Anything Else
The first question in any off-the-plan situation is simple: what type of lot is this? An off-the-plan residential property sales contract covers a proposed lot, which could be land that’s not registered yet — for example, a block in a new housing estate — or a lot in a community titles scheme that hasn’t been built or is being built, such as an apartment in a multi-storey building under construction. The answer determines which legislative regime applies, what sunset period is permissible, and what protections your buyer actually has.
Agents selling developer stock — whether as project marketers, conjuncting agents, or buyer’s agents — should not rely on the developer’s own description of the contract type. Read the contract. Identify the sunset date. Note the triggering events. If the contract is hundreds of pages of bespoke developer drafting, contain bespoke terms drafted by the developer’s solicitor, making independent legal advice essential. Your role is to direct your client to that advice promptly, and to ensure nothing you say creates a false impression about what the contract provides.
Representing the Sunset Date Accurately
Agents cannot misrepresent any material term of a contract, and the sunset date is unquestionably material. Where a developer’s marketing materials refer to an expected completion date that differs from the contractual sunset date, you need to understand the difference between the two and communicate it honestly. The expected completion date is an aspiration; the sunset date is the contractual deadline. Conflating them — or allowing a buyer to conflate them without correction — exposes you to misrepresentation risk under the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld).
If a developer asks you to represent a sunset clause as a routine formality or to downplay its significance, that is a conversation to have carefully. Your duty under the Property Occupations Act 2014 runs to both your client and to general obligations of honesty and transparency in the transaction. Understand where your duties sit before you begin marketing.
Managing the Gap for Apartment Buyers
For agents selling off-the-plan apartments or townhouses in community title schemes, the legal landscape is materially different. The critical protection from the 2023 reforms stops short of where it is arguably needed most. Off-the-plan apartment sales were exempted from these reforms, and buyers of off-the-plan lots in a community title scheme remain exposed to the same risks the government sought to eliminate in land sales.
This means a developer selling apartments retains broader rights — within the scheme’s contractual terms — to invoke a sunset clause without the procedural restrictions that now apply to land sales. You don’t have to look far to find media reports where developers have invoked sunset clauses to cancel property contracts only to re-sell the same properties at significantly higher prices in a rising market. When you are selling in this space, you have a professional obligation to ensure buyers understand this risk and obtain independent legal advice before signing.
When a Developer Issues a Sunset Clause Notice
If you are acting in a conjunction arrangement and your developer principal issues a sunset clause notice to buyers, you need to understand what is happening procedurally. The notice must be issued at least 28 days before the sunset date, must state the reasons for seeking termination, and must seek the buyer’s written consent. The buyer’s non-response is not consent. If the buyer refuses consent, the developer must go to the Supreme Court — they cannot proceed directly to termination.
Where your client is the buyer and receives such a notice, they have real options. If a buyer refuses to consent, the developer must convince the Supreme Court that ending the contract is fair. That is a meaningful procedural hurdle — not a rubber stamp. Buyers should be directed immediately to legal advice upon receiving any sunset clause notice, and agents acting for buyers should not encourage a client to sign a consent to termination without understanding what they are giving up.
Developer Due Diligence as Part of Your Professional Practice
The contractual protections now in place are stronger than they were pre-2023, but they do not eliminate risk entirely, particularly in the apartment sector. Agents and buyers should research the developer’s track record, including past projects, financial stability, and reputation for finishing on time and on budget. For agents building long-term project marketing relationships, this is sound professional practice — not just for buyer protection, but for your own reputation. A developer who has previously invoked sunset clauses opportunistically is a meaningful data point.
What This Means for Queensland Agents
The sunset clause in a Queensland off-the-plan contract was once a provision that could work entirely in a developer’s favour — a unilateral exit in a rising market, with the buyer left holding nothing but a refunded deposit in a price environment where that deposit no longer gets them equivalent property. The Queensland Government addressed this misuse by amending the Land Sales Act 1984 in November 2023, with the new laws severely restricting a seller’s ability to terminate an off-the-plan land contract under a sunset clause.
That shift matters practically for every agent operating in the off-the-plan space. For vacant land contracts, the seller’s power to terminate unilaterally is gone. For apartment contracts, it remains — and that gap is live, contested, and actively under review.
Your role in every off-the-plan transaction involving a sunset clause is threefold: understand the contract type and the legislative regime that governs it; represent the sunset date and its implications honestly to both parties; and ensure buyers are directed to independent legal advice before they sign. Anyone considering buying a residential property is encouraged to get independent legal advice before signing a contract, especially when buying off the plan or if a contract includes added conditions like a sunset clause.
Sellers and buyers should be aware that the 2023 Amendments Act applies retrospectively — all off-the-plan contracts regulated under the Land Sales Act 1984 that had not been settled are subject to the new amendments. If you inherited a project marketing arrangement with pre-existing contracts, those contracts are already governed by the new rules. There is no grandfathering of the old position for agents or developers.
The Queensland Law Society, the Department of Justice, and the government itself are all actively engaged in whether the apartment exemption is sustainable. The Queensland government will continue to review the recent changes to find out if there are additional reforms needed for proposed community titles and proposed off-the-plan lots for apartments and townhouses. Agents who understand the current framework — and who are watching for further legislative change — are better positioned to serve clients accurately in a market where off-the-plan transactions remain a significant segment of new residential supply.