Commencing 1 August 2025, The Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) introduces a mandatory Seller Disclosure Scheme. The non-negotiable scheme applies broadly across residential and non-residential land transactions. The scheme imposes strict disclosure obligations for sellers of registered Lots in Queensland.

What’s changing on 1 August 2025?

Under the new Property Law Act 2023 (QLD), sellers must provide a completed Form 2 to a buyer, before they can sign a contract. If they don’t, contracts may be terminated by buyers at any time prior to settlement.

What is a Form 2?

A legally required document disclosing key property info (e.g. zoning, encumbrances, disputes and notices). If it’s inaccurate or incomplete, buyers can walk away — making a Form 2 the new most important contractual document in Queensland real estate.

What are the risks for Agents or Sellers who prepare Form 2 themselves?

Possible huge financial risks: losing commission, refunding VPA, paying both the buyer and seller’s legal costs and/or having to cover the difference in sale price. Just one error could be costly.

1. Scope of Application

• Applies to the sale of registered lots in Queensland, including via:

• Standard contracts of sale; and

• Put, call, and put-and-call options.

• Applies to both residential and commercial properties; and

• Does not apply to off-the-plan sales (unregistered lots).

(Ref: s 95, PLA 2023)

2. Exemptions to Disclosure Obligation

Disclosure is not required if:

• Buyer and seller are related and the buyer waives disclosure;

• Buyer is a government body, statutory authority, or listed company;

• Sale is between co-owners or adjoining owners adjusting boundaries;

• Sale arises from court orders, family law agreements, or deceased estates;

• Sale is a Council-enforced rates sale (Acquisition of Land Act);

• Sale is a follow-on from an option contract where earlier disclosure occurred; or

• Sale price exceeds $10 million incl. GST, and buyer waives disclosure (s 99 PLA 2023).

(Ref: s 100, PLA 2023)

3. Seller Obligations

Sellers must provide the following prior to the contract being signed by the buyer:

• A Form 2 Disclosure Statement, in the approved format, signed and accurate;

• Prescribed certificates and searches under the Regulations must be annexed;

• For a Body Corporate transaction, a Form 33 or Form 34 as well as the prescribed

Body Corporate certificates must be annexed; and

• Disclosure must reflect the state of affairs as at the date of issue (not the date it is

signed).   (Ref: s 95, PLA 2023)

4. Buyer Termination Rights

Buyers have a statutory right to terminate before settlement if:

• No disclosure statement or required certificates are provided before the contract was signed;

• Disclosure is materially inaccurate or incomplete and the buyer:

• Was unaware of the true position; AND

• Would not have signed had they known about the true position.

Important:

• Termination is the only remedy for the buyer

– there is no right to compensation for a buyer.

(Ref: s 99, PLA 2023)

5. Required Searches & Body Corporate Documents to attached to Contract.

The disclosure statement (Form 2) must be accompanied by prescribed searches and

documents, including but not limited to:

• Title search;

• Survey plan and plan image;

• Property risk certificates (if there is a disclosable notice) e.g. heritage, contaminated land.

• A financial summary of the Local Government rates and water notices

• Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) notices

• For Body Corporate properties, sellers must also attach:

• Form 33 (Disclosure Statement – Community Titles Scheme) or Form 34 (Disclosure Statement – Two-Lot Schemes)

• Body Corporate certificates, including:

• Exclusive use by-laws or allocations of common property;

• Details of current levies and financial accounts;

• Insurance certificates;

• Body Corporate by-laws;

• Body Corporate Asset register;

• A list of improvements that an Owner is responsible for.

Summary:

From 1 August 2025, Queensland’s property sale landscape fundamentally changes.

Sellers must comply with a rigid disclosure framework or risk losing the sale. Agents,

lawyers and sellers must adopt new workflows to avoid delays, terminations or legal missteps.

July 2025

The post Major Change for Seller Disclosure Statements as of 1 August 2025 appeared first on MON Legal.

Recently the Supreme Court of Queensland was tasked with interpreting a special condition for an REIQ Contract for the sale of a house (16th Edition) which was sold at auction with a balance purchase price of $1,853,807.71 payable at Settlement.

The special condition was:-

3. SELLER TO PROVIDE POOL SAFETY CERTIFICATE
   1. Notwithstanding anything else in the Contract, the Seller agrees to provide a Pool Safety Certificate to the Buyer 7 days prior to Settlement. The parties agree that this is an essential term of the Contract.”

The parties agreed that the day which was “7 days prior to Settlement” was 15 April 2020.

At 5:03pm on the 15th of April the Buyer’s solicitor wrote to the Seller’s solicitor terminating the contract due to a failure of the Seller’s solicitor to provide a copy of the Pool Safety Certificate. The Seller’s solicitor provided the Pool Safety Certificate at 6:31pm on the 15 April 2020.

The Seller, left with no other recourse, made an application to the Supreme Court for the Buyer to be ordered to follow through with the purchase.

The Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether the special condition fell within the realm of a notice for the purpose of clause 10.4 of the REIQ contract, which provides at clause 10.4(5) that notices given after 5pm on a Business Day are treated as being delivered at 9am the next day.

The Court discussed at length the definition of a Notice for the purposes of the REIQ Contract and determined that a “notice” was the conveying of information and not the providing of a tangible thing like a Pool Safety Certificate.

The Supreme Court held that the Pool Safety Certificate did not fit the definition of a “notice” and was therefore not subject to the time limitations of clause 10.4(5).  Technically the Pool Safety Certificate in this instance was able to be provided to the Buyer’s solicitor right up until 11:59pm on the 15 April 2020. The Buyer was ordered to proceed with the purchase and to pay the Seller’s legal costs on an indemnity basis.

The importance of proper drafting of special conditions

In Queensland it is not uncommon for Agents or even parties to the Contract of sale to insert their own special conditions to a Contract. What Latimore Pty Ltd v Lloyd highlights is the pitfalls of not having a special condition drafted in a way that minimises the risk of a dispute arising at a later date and costing the parties significant amounts of money in legal costs.

The best Contracts of sale are the ones that are uncontroversial and the parties are fully advised and aware of their rights and obligations prior to signing the Contract. That is why it is critical that when considering special conditions that parties and/or their agents consult with a professional to assist in drafting the condition or at the very least alert the drafter to the appropriate things to consider when drafting the condition. Had this been done for the client’s in the above matter they would have been spared the significant expense of going to the Supreme Court.

MacGregor O’Reilly Nash Solicitors are happy to take calls from Agents or Clients who have any questions regarding special conditions.

We hope the above information gives you some food for thought, and as always if you have any questions feel free to get in touch.

The post Case Study: Latimore Pty Ltd v Lloyd [2020] QSC 136 appeared first on MON Legal.

Your Will and Enduring Power of Attorney are some of the most important legal documents you will sign during your lifetime. Some of the benefits include:

• You can choose who will receive your assets and who will care for your minor children;
• You can appoint a person to wind up your affairs and manage your Estate; and
• Your financial, health and lifestyle matters will be managed by someone who you trust in the event of your ill health.

Contact Us

The team at MacGregor O’Reilly Nash Solicitors are committed to providing quality advice in Wills and Estate Planning. Our primary goal is to ensure the safety and peace of mind of our clients.

Contact our Wills and Estates team today to talk about how we can assist you with your Estate Plan.

The post COVID-19 – Do you have an Estate Plan? appeared first on MON Legal.

Yesterday the Federal Government released the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct (the “Code”), which provides some much needed clarification with respect to the obligations of landlords and tenants when negotiating temporary amendments to commercial tenancies as a result of the impact and commercial disruption caused by the economic impacts of industry and government responses to the declared Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic.

With so much competing information being published, we will seek to shed some light on our clients’ most frequently asked questions.

What is the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct?

The Code is a set of good faith leasing principles that have been released by the Federal Government to guide temporary amendment negotiations between landlords and tenants with respect to commercial tenancies during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Do I need to follow the Code of Conduct?

The Code will come into effect in all states and territories from a date following 3 April 2020. While we are still waiting for the Queensland Government to enact legislation implementing the Code in Queensland, it is possible that the Queensland Government will apply the legislation retrospectively to 3 April 2020, meaning that any actions taken or negotiations conducted between landlords and tenants from 3 April 2020 onwards would be governed by the new legislation. It is therefore recommended that landlords and tenants adhere to the Code in all dealings.

Who does the Code of Conduct apply to?

The Code applies to all commercial tenancies that are suffering financial stress or hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A tenant is considered to be suffering from financial stress and hardship when the tenant is unable to generate sufficient revenue as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic (including government-mandated trading restrictions) which causes the tenant to be unable to meet its financial and/or contractual (including retail leasing) commitments.

Tenants which are eligible for the federal government’s JobKeeper payment are automatically considered to be in financial distress under the Code.

How should landlords and tenants approach negotiation?

 Landlords and tenants are required to discuss relevant issues, to negotiate appropriate temporary leasing arrangements and to work towards achieving mutually satisfactory outcomes, and the negotiations must be carried out in good faith.

Tenants have an obligation to provide their landlord with sufficient and accurate information during negotiations to work toward achieving mutually satisfactory outcomes (including information generated from an accounting system and/or from a financial institution).

Keep in mind that both parties are likely to be suffering financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and that the aim of these temporary arrangements is to reach an agreement that provides an outcome that is satisfactory to both parties whilst seeking to appropriately balance the interest of the tenant and the landlord.

What happens to the payment of rent?

There is no blanket requirement for a landlord to offer rent free periods to tenants during the COVID-19 period. More importantly, tenants should not arbitrarily request a rent waiver without providing sufficient and accurate financial information about their loss of turnover, as this would be contrary to their obligation to act in good faith and not be in the spirit of the Code, which is to share, in a proportionate manner, the financial risk and cashflow impact

When provided with suitable financial justification and/or evidence, landlords must reduce the tenant’s rent payable in proportion with the tenant’s reduction in trade during the COVID-19 pandemic period and a subsequent reasonable recovery period through a combination of waivers of rent and deferrals of rent.

Waivers of rent must account for at least than 50% of the total reduction in the rent and deferrals must be covered over a period of 24 months or the balance of the lease term, whichever is greater.

For example:

The monthly rent payable under a commercial lease is $10,000.00. The lease expires on 1 April 2021.

 The tenant has experienced a 40% downturn in trade and has provided the landlord with evidence of their financial position.

The landlord agrees to provide the tenant with a 40% discount ($4,000.00) on their monthly payment of rent to be reviewed on a monthly basis.

 Under the Code the landlord must waive at least50% of the discount, so the landlord will waive $2,000.00 per month. The remaining $2,000.00 per month will be paid back to the landlord once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.

The COVID-19 pandemic period lasts for three months and it takes two months for the tenant to recover financially (5 months in total). The tenant now owes the landlord $10,000.00 in deferred rent ($2,000.00 x 5 months). This $10,000.00 will be repaid to the landlord in equal monthly installments over the next 24 months.

What if the landlord feels they are unable to waive 50% or more of the rent? 

Regard must also be had to the Landlord’s financial ability to provide such waivers and the tenant may waive the requirement for a 50% minimum waiver by agreement.

What are the landlord’s rights against the tenant for non-payment of rent?

Landlords must not terminate the Lease for non-payment of rent and they must not draw on a tenant’s security due to non-payment of rent during the COVID-19 pandemic period (or reasonable subsequent recovery period).

Nevertheless, tenants must remain committed to the terms of their lease, subject to any amendments to their rental agreement negotiated under the Code of Conduct. Any material failure by a tenant to abide by substantive terms of their lease will result in a forfeit of any protections provided to the tenant under the Code. This article mentions your favorite at super low prices. Choose from same-day delivery, drive-up delivery or order pickup.

What happens if the landlord and tenant are unable to reach an agreement?

If a landlord and tenant are unable to reach an agreement on temporary arrangements, these arrangements will be overseen by a binding mediation process run by the states and territories, including Small Business Commissioners/Champions/Ombudsmen where applicable.

What other obligations do the landlords have under the Code?

1. Any reduction in statutory charges (e.g. land tax, council rates) or insurance must be passed on to the tenant. Where appropriate, the landlord should seek to waive recovery of any other expenses or payment of outgoings from the tenant during any period that the tenant is unable to trade;
2. Landlords should provide tenants with an opportunity to extend their lease for an equivalent period of the rent waiver and/or deferral period granted to provide the tenant additional time to trade, on existing lease terms, during the recovery period after the COVID-19 pandemic concludes. For example, if you waive/defer rental payments for three months during the lease term, you should provide tenants with the opportunity to extend their lease term for an additional three months;
3. Landlords must freeze rent increases (except for retail leases based on turnover rent) for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and a reasonable subsequent recovery period, notwithstanding any arrangements between the landlord and the tenant.
4. Landlords may not apply any prohibition or levy any penalties if tenants reduce opening hours or cease to trade due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

What obligations do the tenants have when negotiating commercial tenancies?

Tenants have an obligation to provide their landlord with sufficient and accurate information to work toward achieving mutually satisfactory outcomes including:

• BAS statements;
• information generated from an accounting system;
• information from a financial institution; and
•   details of relief received from:
  • their financial institution;
  • the Government;
  • utility providers; and
  • the Australian Taxation Office.

Further, as mentioned above, Tenants must abide by the terms of their lease, subject to any temporary amendments negotiated with the Landlord under the Code. A failure to do so will result in the loss of any protections that the Tenant had under the Code.

Moving forward

Watch this space as we continue to update this page with the latest updates on this matter.

If you have any questions regarding the contents of this article, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

The post COVID-19 UPDATE COMMERCIAL LEASING – INFORMATION FOR LANDLORDS AND TENANTS appeared first on MON Legal.