The Queensland conveyancing process: step by step from Form 2 disclosure to settlement
Conveyancing in Queensland runs through a distinctive sequence, and since 1 August 2025 it starts even earlier than it used to. Before you sign a contract at all, the seller must give you a signed Form 2 seller disclosure statement, so the key facts about the property land while you can still walk away. This guide follows a standard Queensland purchase from that statement through to settlement, flagging where the private treaty and auction paths part, and where Queensland's solicitor-only rule changes who does the work.
What makes the Queensland process different
The defining feature of Queensland conveyancing today is the timing of disclosure. Under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), which introduced the seller disclosure scheme from 1 August 2025, the seller must give you a signed Seller disclosure statement (Form 2) and prescribed certificates before you sign the contract. It covers the property's title and encumbrances, zoning and planning notices, environmental and resumption notices, pool safety and community titles scheme details, and more. Because it comes first, you and your solicitor read the most important facts about the property while you are still free to say no. Each disclosure category is broken down in the Form 2 seller disclosure statement guide.
This is a genuinely new sequence for Queensland: before 1 August 2025 there was no general mandatory seller disclosure statement of this kind. In practice it shifts the centre of gravity of a Queensland purchase to the moment before signing, similar to how Victoria's Section 32 works, though the two schemes cover different content and sit under different legislation.
Who can do your conveyancing
Queensland has no independently licensed conveyancer. Conveyancing work must be carried out by, or under the direct supervision of, a solicitor holding a current Queensland Law Society practising certificate. In practice this usually means a law firm where an experienced conveyancing team handles the day-to-day paperwork under a solicitor's oversight, rather than a standalone licensed conveyancer operating independently the way you would find in NSW, Victoria or Western Australia. This does not necessarily make Queensland conveyancing more expensive (see the conveyancing cost Queensland guide for the real market range), but it does mean the professional you engage is always accountable through a solicitor's practising certificate.
Private treaty versus auction
Queensland residential property sells two ways, and the process diverges between them at the point of commitment:
- Private treaty: you negotiate with the seller through the agent, then sign the contract. A private treaty sale carries a statutory cooling-off period of 5 business days, running from when you receive the fully signed contract.
- Auction: if you are the successful bidder you sign the contract on the spot and there is no cooling-off period. Everything, including reviewing the Form 2 disclosure statement and arranging finance and inspections, must be done before you bid.
The steps below describe a private treaty sale, the more common path and the one where the cooling-off period applies. Where an auction changes a step, it is called out.
Step 1: Form 2 disclosure and contract review, before you sign
The first substantive step is obtaining the seller's Form 2 disclosure statement and the proposed contract from the agent, and having your solicitor review both. This is where problems surface: an unregistered easement, a zoning notice that limits what you can build, a pool without a current safety certificate, or a community titles scheme with a large upcoming levy. On a private treaty sale you can use what you find to negotiate or to walk away; at an auction you must have done this review before bidding, because there is no window afterwards.
Engage your solicitor at this stage, not after signing. Their review of the Form 2 statement is one of the single most valuable things they do for a buyer, and it only has full effect while you are still free to act on it.
Step 2: Signing the contract
When you and the seller agree, you sign the contract of sale, which the seller then also signs. You pay the deposit as required by the contract, commonly up to 10% of the price, usually held in the agent's or solicitor's trust account until settlement. Both parties signing is what makes the contract binding, but note the next step: your cooling-off clock does not start on this day, it starts once you actually receive a copy signed by both of you.
Step 3: The cooling-off period
On a private treaty sale you then have 5 business days to cool off. The starting point is the detail that catches out buyers used to other states:
- The clock starts when you receive the contract, meaning a copy signed by both the buyer and the seller, not the day either of you signs.
- Weekend or public holiday receipt pushes the start to the next business day, and the period ends at 5pm on the fifth business day.
If you withdraw within the period, the penalty is up to 0.25% of the purchase price, and the rest of any money paid is refunded within 14 days. There is no cooling-off period at an auction. The mechanics, the full list of exceptions and the penalty worked through at real prices are in the cooling-off period Queensland guide.
Step 4: Between contract and settlement
Once the cooling-off period passes, both sides prepare for settlement. In this phase your solicitor typically:
- Assesses transfer duty: Queensland's transfer duty (its name for stamp duty) is calculated on the greater of the price or unencumbered value, along with the home concession or first home concession you may be entitled to. Duty is administered by the Queensland Revenue Office and is payable at settlement. See the transfer duty Queensland guide.
- Runs final searches: confirming title is clear and nothing new has been registered against the property since the Form 2 statement was prepared.
- Coordinates finance and figures: liaising with your lender so the loan funds are ready, and calculating settlement adjustments for council rates and water charges paid in advance or arrears.
- Books settlement: agreeing the date and time in the electronic settlement workspace.
You should also arrange a pre-settlement inspection to confirm the property is in the condition it was in when you signed.
Step 5: Settlement day
Settlement is the day ownership passes to you. Most Queensland settlements now complete electronically through the PEXA platform, rather than parties meeting in person. On the day, both solicitors are in the PEXA workspace with the agreed figures and documents, your lender releases the loan funds, and at the settlement time the platform simultaneously transfers the price to the seller (after discharging their mortgage), pays the transfer duty and other amounts, and lodges the transfer with Titles Queensland. When settlement confirms, the agent releases the keys.
After settlement
After settlement, Titles Queensland registers the transfer and the title is updated to show you as owner, the Queensland Revenue Office records the duty as paid, and your lender registers its mortgage if you borrowed. Your solicitor confirms completion and you arrange to transfer utility and council accounts into your name.
How long the Queensland conveyancing process takes
There is no fixed statutory settlement period in Queensland; the timeframe is whatever the contract specifies, negotiated between buyer and seller. A settlement period of 30 to 60 days is common for an established home, with the exact date written into the contract, while off-the-plan purchases can run much longer because settlement waits on the building being completed. Because the period is set by agreement rather than by a legal default, confirm the date in your own contract with your solicitor rather than assuming a standard length.
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Conveyancing Explained provides general information about property transactions in Australia. It is not legal advice and does not create a client relationship. For advice on your situation, engage a licensed conveyancer, settlement agent, or property solicitor in your state or territory.