Queensland at a glance
- When are you generally bound?
- When both you and the seller have signed the contract of sale.
- Cooling-off period
- Five business days, generally beginning on the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties. It ends at 5pm on the fifth business day.
- Cost to cool off
- The seller may deduct a penalty of up to 0.25% of the purchase price from your deposit.
- When does cooling off not apply?
- It does not apply when buying at auction. It may also not apply to certain purchases following an unsuccessful auction or involving an option contract. The cooling-off period can be shortened or waived in writing.
- Key documents
- The contract of sale sets out the price, deposit, settlement date and any agreed conditions. The seller must also provide a Form 2 seller disclosure statement and the prescribed certificates before you sign. Have your solicitor review everything first.
- Can your offer include conditions?
- Yes—but they must be negotiated and written into the contract. Common conditions include finance approval, a satisfactory building and pest inspection or the sale of your existing property. Your right to terminate will depend on the exact wording and meeting all required deadlines.
- Buying at auction
- There is no cooling-off period and the successful bidder must sign an unconditional contract. Have the contract and disclosure documents reviewed, complete your due diligence and confirm your finance position before you bid.
Here is the general playbook for making an offer in Queensland and dealing with agents along the way. Read it once before you start inspecting seriously, then come back to it when you find the right property.
The most important update to know: from 1 August 2025, under the Property Law Act 2023, sellers must give you a Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement, plus any prescribed certificates and a body corporate certificate where relevant, before you sign the contract. This is a genuine shift away from the old pure “buyer beware” approach, and it puts more information in your hands earlier than before.
That said, do not relax on due diligence. The Form 2 does not cover flooding history, structural soundness, pest issues, asbestos, or building approvals. Those gaps are exactly where your own checks still carry the weight.
Get ready before you offer
Because you now receive the Form 2 before signing, use it properly rather than skimming it. Read it alongside your solicitor or conveyancer, and treat anything it does not mention as something you need to check yourself.
Have your pre-approval in place before you start looking seriously. It tells you your ceiling and signals to the vendor that you can move quickly. If you have not had that conversation with us yet, now is a good time.
Ask us for a Cotality Property Profile Report on any property you like and we will send one over. Use it alongside comparable sales to understand genuine value. Then go further than the Form 2: check flood maps, since flood risk is significant in many Queensland areas and is explicitly excluded from the disclosure statement, look at easements on the title, and arrange a building and pest inspection before you sign, rather than relying on cooling-off to catch problems later.
How to structure your offer
The commonly used residential contract is prepared by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland and Queensland Law Society. Your solicitor should review the actual contract presented for the property, including every special condition, before you sign.
State your price clearly, and include the key terms:
Your preferred settlement date
Commonly 4–6 weeks after both parties sign, generally within a 30–90 day range.
Finance approval
Usually allowing 14 to 21 days.
Satisfactory building and pest inspection
Satisfactory body corporate or strata report for units and townhouses
Given what the Form 2 leaves out, a building and pest condition is strongly recommended unless your solicitor and qualified inspector advise that a different approach is appropriate.
Deposit and the Form 2 disclosure timeline
Queensland deposits are often paid in two parts. A small initial or holding deposit is paid on signing, with the balance, bringing the total to the agreed amount, commonly 5 to 10 percent, due within a few business days as specified in the contract. This two-part structure catches interstate buyers off guard sometimes, so check the dates carefully with your conveyancer and make sure the funds are ready.
Remember that the Form 2, along with any prescribed certificates and a body corporate certificate (Form 33 or 34) where relevant, must be given to you before you sign, not after. If you sign without having received it, you may have grounds to terminate, but the better approach is simply not to sign until you have had the chance to review it properly.
The cooling-off period in Queensland
Queensland provides a five-business-day cooling-off period on private treaty sales. The period starts on the day you receive a copy of the signed contract and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. To use it, you give written notice to the seller or agent before that deadline. The withdrawal cost beside the five-day rule: the seller may deduct up to 0.25% of the purchase price, with the balance of the deposit refunded.
There is no cooling-off period for properties sold at auction, or for a registered bidder who buys immediately after an auction in a post-auction follow-up sale. Option contracts may also be excluded.
Even with the Form 2 now in place, do not treat cooling-off as your safety net for due diligence. Get your building and pest inspection, flood map check and title review done before you sign, since the disclosure statement will not tell you about any of those things.
Dealing with the agent in Queensland
Queensland agents are working to secure the best price and certainty for the vendor, so keep it professional rather than personal, even when the pace picks up.
Keep communication tight and follow a phone call with a written email confirming what was said. A paper trail protects you if there is ever a dispute about timing or terms, particularly around when the Form 2 was actually provided.
For the full playbook on reading the agent, structuring your offer and setting your walk-away price, see How much should I offer for a property? And for exactly what to ask them - and what the answers really tell you - see Questions to ask the selling agent.
Frequently asked questions
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It provides prescribed information about matters such as title, encumbrances, zoning and certain notices. It is not a complete due-diligence report and does not replace your own checks. For example, the scheme does not require disclosure of structural soundness, flooding history or previous building and development approvals.
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No. The Form 2 is a disclosure document, not an inspection report. Arrange appropriate building, pest, flood, approval and other property checks before you become unconditional.
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A finance condition is commonly negotiated, but its protection depends on the exact wording and strict compliance with its deadlines and notice requirements. Whether you can terminate and recover the deposit if finance is not approved is a legal question for your solicitor, who should manage the clause and deadline with you.
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A successful auction purchase is generally unconditional, with no cooling-off or finance condition. Complete your legal, finance, inspection and flood checks before bidding.
This is a lot to digest, so keep this page as a guide for when the moment comes. Chat with our team to get your pre-approval in place before your next inspection. Being finance ready in Queensland can be the difference between securing a property and missing out.
Ready to make an offer?
Reach out to your Black & White Finance broker or broker support manager for a tailored offer template.
Have your solicitor or conveyancer approve the terms before you sign a contract or transfer a deposit.
This page provides general information only and does not constitute credit, financial, legal or tax advice. Speak with a licensed solicitor or conveyancer for advice specific to your situation. Your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. Credit Representative Number 494872 is authorised under Australian Credit License Number 389328.