From 1 August 2025, sellers of Queensland property will be legally required to provide buyers with a signed disclosure statement, together with certain prescribed certificates and information, before the buyer signs the contract.

Failure to comply with these requirements may give the buyer the right to terminate the contract at any time up until settlement.

A few limited exemptions will apply, such as transfers between related parties, court-ordered sales, and when the purchase price exceeds $10 million.

What happens on 1 August 2025

  • Any contracts not signed by both parties before 1 August will need the new disclosure. Sellers will need to prepare and issue new disclosure statements and re-issue contract documents to buyers after 1 August to be compliant.
  • Sellers must give each buyer a Form 2 Disclosure Statement before signing a contract. This document outlines important details about the property.
  • Sellers, real estate agents and lawyers will all be learning the new forms and processes. The changes mean updated paperwork and procedures for everyone involved in the sales.
  • Selling a property is likely to become more expensive. Sellers should expect higher costs for property searches, services, and legal fees.
  • Only two standard REIQ contracts. Going forward, the REIQ have combined their residential house and land and units contracts into the one Residential contract, and they done the same for commercial properties, so the result is there will be only two standard contracts for most property sales which is great news – one for Residential and one for Commercial.

What Must Be Disclosed

The disclosure statement must be in the approved form and include information, certificates, warnings and other statements prescribed by regulation. Some simple information that must be included is:

  • Seller’s name and the property address,
  • Whether the property is part of a community titles scheme,
  • Prescribed certificates and information, including:
    • Current title search,
    • Registered plan,
    • Pool Compliance Certificate for any pool;
    • Community Management Statement for sale of a unit;
    • Council rates and water charges.

Some required disclosures will be more complex, requiring:

  • Land contamination,
  • Unregistered encumbrances, and
  • Zoning.

Given the technical nature of some of this information, we strongly recommended that both buyers and sellers seek legal advice to understand their rights and obligations.

While disclosure documents don’t need to be provided all at once, coordinating multiple documents from various sources—and in different formats—can present practical challenges. There may be delays in listing or completing a sale as sellers wait to collect the necessary paperwork. Additionally, if documents are prepared too early, they may become outdated and need to be updated, leading to extra time and costs. Some documents can also take weeks to obtain—for example, a body corporate has up to five business days to issue a certificate.

You can view the approved disclosure form here:

Seller disclosure statement (form 2) – Property Law Act 2023 forms (valid from 1 August 2025) – Publications | Queensland Government
To see the list of items that must be included in the disclosure statement (16 in total), visit:

Property Law Regulation 2024 – Queensland Legislation – Queensland Government

For a list of the prescribed certificates required to occupy the disclosure, see:

Property Law Regulation 2024 – Queensland Legislation – Queensland Government

Termination Rights for Buyers

If the seller fails to provide the disclosure, the buyer has the right to terminate the contract at any time up until settlement.

Where the seller provides a disclosure statement, but it contains inaccurate information, the buyer may only terminate the contract if:

  1. the buyer was not aware of the inaccuracy at the time of signing, and
  2. had the buyer been aware of the correct information, they would not have entered into the contract.

A seller’s failure to provide any of the prescribed certificates—such as a copy of the Title Search or Community Management Statement (CMS) may also give rise to a termination right.

Buyers are not entitled to compensation under the new legislation for a failure to disclose. However, they may still have rights to compensation under the contract or under other legislation.

Conclusion

With the commencement of the new seller disclosure obligations on 1 August 2025, Queensland property transactions will undergo a significant shift in legal compliance and procedural expectations. Sellers must now take a more proactive and thorough approach to disclosure, ensuring that all required documents and information are provided before a contract is signed.

To avoid costly delays or potential contract termination, it is crucial for sellers to understand these new requirements. Early preparation, legal advice, and detailed record-keeping will be key to complying with the legislation and ensuring a smooth property sale. Don’t be caught out—start planning for these changes now – contact Pacific Law at info@pacificlaw.com.au or on 1300 151 651