Queensland’s New Property Law Act 2023 will commence on 1 August 2025: What this means for Buyers and Sellers

For those eagerly awaiting the announcement of the commencement date of the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) and the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld), you need not wait any longer. The commencement date has been fixed for 1 August 2025.

In our previous article, we detailed one of the major reforms of the Act, which is the introduction of the new seller disclosure regime for property sales.

The Act will be supported by the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld). However, significant reforms are also being introduced through the Body Corporate and Community Management (Body Corporate Certificates) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (Qld). These Regulations will commence with the Act on 1 August 2025.

Below, we have summarised the key aspects of these Regulations.

Property Law Regulation

The key provisions of the Property Law Regulation include:

1. the list of prescribed certificates that a seller must give to a buyer, which include (to the extent applicable to the transaction):

• 1. a title search and plan;
  2. notice containing details of any building work;
  3. any current show cause notices or enforcement notices issued under the Building Act 1975 (Qld) or Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld);
  4. any current work order or notice from an authority;
  5. any notices required to be given to the buyer under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld), including notice of contamination of the property;
  6. any document given to a seller in relation to the property being affected by an application or order under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld);
  7. any document given to the seller from a government entity about a transport infrastructure proposal;
  8. any documents given to the seller from any entity in relation to an intention to resume the property (or part of the property);
  9. if there is a pool, pool compliance certificate (or notice that there is no pool safety certificate);
  10. if the property is included in a community titles scheme, the community management statement; and
  11. if the property is included in a community titles scheme or Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld) scheme, a body corporate certificate (or explanatory statement if the body corporate certificate cannot be obtained).

2. the prescribed information to be included in the seller’s disclosure statement, including:

• 1. seller’s details;
  2. title description and address;
  3. whether the property is included in a community titles scheme or Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld) scheme;
  4. details of any unregistered encumbrances;
  5. zoning of the property;
  6. information relating to contamination and environmental protection;
  7. whether the property is affected by an application or order under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld);
  8. whether the property is affected by a notice from a government entity about a transport infrastructure proposal;
  9. whether the property is affected by the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 (Qld) or included in the World Heritage List;
  10. whether the property is affected by a notice of intention to resume the property (or part of the property);
  11. whether there is a pool on the property;
  12. information relating to rates and water services; and
  13. details of the last rent increase if the property was subject to a residential tenancy agreement or rooming accommodation agreement during the last 12 months.

3. warnings and other statements to be included in the seller’s disclosure statement (contained in Schedule 1 of the Property Law Regulation). These warnings and statements reference matters relating to encumbrances, land use, buildings and structures, rates and services, and community titles schemes and Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld) scheme.
4. explanation of what is regarded as a prescribed mortgage under the Act.

Body Corporate Regulation

To the extent that the property sale is for a lot within a community titles scheme, the Body Corporate Regulation identifies the prescribed information that must be included in the body corporate certificate

Generally, the information to be included in the body corporate certificate is mostly identical in its application for the various modules with some slight nuances.

This information typically includes:

1. lot number and plan and details of the type of plan of subdivision;
2. scheme details (including whether the scheme is a layered arrangement of community titles schemes);
3. details of the annual contributions and special contributions fixed by the body corporate and whether any discounts or penalties apply to the payment of contributions;
4. amounts payable or owed to the body corporate;
5. interest schedule lot entitlement and contribution schedule lot entitlement;
6. the body corporate’s sinking fund balance;
7. insurance held by the body corporate;
8. engagement of a caretaking service contractor or authorisation for a person to conduct a letting agent business;
9. application of a building management statement;
10. improvements on the common property that the owner of a lot is responsible for maintaining;
11. details of body corporate assets;
12. any arrangement to supply electricity in the scheme through an embedded electricity network; and
13. the most recent statement of accounts.

What’s next?

The Queensland Government has previously produced drafts of the seller’s disclosure statement and body corporate certificate. These drafts are still yet to be settled in their approved form.

We will publish a more detailed summary of the changes to expect with the commencement of the Property Law Act in 2025.

For more information, please contact Sarah Roettgers and Faye Winterflood.