Seller’s Disclosure Preparation

From 1 August 2025, Queensland real property sellers have been required to provide disclosures regarding the properties that they are selling.  Disclosure must be made prior to the contract (or option agreement) being entered into.  The obligation applies to most contracts (and options) in respect of Queensland property from that date.  The disclosures are quite extensive, and if not completed correctly can result in the termination of the contract and other exposure to loss.  

The legislation

While the requirement for the disclosure has been brought in by the new Property Law Act 2024 (which contains some other disclosure requirements independent of this, and consequences for non-compliance), the terms of disclosure are set out in the Regulation.  The disclosures include the completion of a disclosure statement which contains “prescribed information”, and the provision of “prescribed certificates”.   The Property Law Regulation 2024 sets out what is required, in particular for “prescribed certificates” see section 5 https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/sl-2024-0211#sec.5 and for the contents of the actual disclosure statement see section 8 https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/sl-2024-0211#sec.8.  The State Government has produced a form for the disclosure statement which is here https://www.publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/property-law-act-2023-forms/resource/7a1be178-d2d5-4744-9147-9699c04ee8d8

The new disclosure system is a fundamental change to Queensland conveyancing law which has traditionally put the onus and risk on the buyer.  While the Seller has had the obligation to disclose many of the things, those obligations were scattered throughout various items of legislation or within the fine print of the document itself..  The new disclosure system (I am avoiding using the word regime even though it is more appropriate, for no reason other than I don’t like it) puts many of those obligations into the one place, and to that extent it benefits both the seller and the buyer.

Preparing for the disclosure process

Information required to be disclosed and produced includes (in short hand):

8(1)

(a) Name of seller;

(b) address of the lot;

(c) lot on plan description;

(d) is the lot in a CMS or BUGTA scheme;

(e) details of any unregistered encumbrance – for example a water supply line crossing part of the property to benefit another lot;

(f) zoning;

(g) contamination and environmental protection matters;

(h) tree dispute matters;

(i) transport infrastructure requirements (eg possible resumption or placing infrastructure on the lot);

(j) Heritage or World Heritage List matters;

(k) any potential resumption;

(l) is there a relevant pool on the land;

(m) total payable for rates and charges in the most recent rates notice;

(n) water charges in the most recent notice;

(o) last rental increase for any tenancy within the past 12 months;

(p) last rent increase for any rooming agreement within the past 12 months.

Documents required to be provided include (in short hand):

5(1)

(a) title search;

(b) plan of survey for the lot;

(c) if there was an owner builder within the previous 6 years, a notice under sec 47 QBCC Act;

(d) certain notices under the Building Act and Planning Act, generally show cause and enforcement notices;

(e) any notice from an authority requiring work to be done or money spent which is in effect;

(f) any notice required to be given to a buyer under the Environmental Protection Act;

(g) documents concerning tree dispute, transport requirement, and Heritage matters;

(h) pool compliance certificate or notice under Building Act that there is none in effect;

(i) if the lot is in a community title scheme, the most recent recorded CMS and a body corporate certificate (subject to some exceptions under regulation 6 in which case an explanatory statement is to be given);

(j) if the lot is in a body corporate under BUGTA, the body corporate certificate (subject to some exceptions under regulation 7 in which case an explanatory statement is to be given).

Will the disclosure process add to the cost of the conveyance?

In many cases yes it will, although lawyers complying with the Queensland conveyancing protocols would usually be obtaining a lot of the information from sellers regardless, so it may be that the additional cost at the beginning of the conveyance has benefits in costs and efficiencies later in the conveyance, assuming that the conveyance is done by the same lawyer who prepared the disclosure statement.

Will the disclosure process delay the conveyance?

If the disclosure material is not ready when a buyer offers to buy, then there will potentially be a delay until it is done.  If the contract is signed without it having been done, in most cases there will be a termination right on the part of the buyer, at any time until the contract settles.  Sellers can help with having the material assembled quickly by identifying the answers to the questions and assembling the documents required.

Our role

QBM Lawyers comply with the Queensland conveyancing protocols and can assist in preparation of disclosure material if we are engaged to act in the proposed conveyance.  We will not prepare the material if we are not engaged to act in the conveyance that follows.  For assistance with property transactions, please contact Jessica Murray at jessicam@qbmlaw.com.au