Since 1 August 2025, a Queensland seller must give the buyer a disclosure statement and prescribed certificates before the contract is signed. The scheme sits in the Property Law Act 2023 and applies to commercial sales as well as residential, with limited exceptions.
What the statement covers
Title and encumbrances: easements, covenants, leases registered on title
Planning and land use notices
Environmental and heritage listings
Building notices and other government orders
Council rates information
Tenancy information
What it leaves out
The physical condition of the building
Natural hazards such as flood
Whether the leases work for you: rent reviews, options, make-good, outgoings recovery
Tenant quality, arrears and trading
Capital works due in the next five years
Fire safety and other compliance beyond any notice issued
For a commercial buyer, the second list is where the value sits.
If the statement is wrong
If the statement is incomplete or inaccurate, the buyer may be able to terminate the contract at any time before settlement. For a seller, this is a risk across the whole contract period. For a buyer, it is a right, not a substitute for due diligence.
What we see one year on
Some sellers disclose too little. Others attach hundreds of pages, which buries what matters.
Buyers often pay for the same searches the seller already ordered, to verify them.
Body corporate certificates still slow down strata sales.
What to do as a buyer
Read the statement before you sign, not after.
Check every lease against the tenancy information disclosed.
Order a building and pest report and a fire and essential services review.
Check zoning against how you plan to use or lease the building.
Ask for the last two years of outgoings and arrears reports.
We run this review on every purchase. See our commercial buyers agent service in Brisbane.
General information only. Not legal advice. Your solicitor should review the statement and contract.