# Buying off the plan in Queensland: deposits, disclosure and sunset clauses A plain guide to Queensland's off-the-plan rules: how much deposit can be asked, what the seller must disclose, how long settlement can take and when a contract can end. --- Buying off the plan means signing a contract for a home or a block of land that does not legally exist yet. The apartment has not been built, or the lot has not been registered, and the title the buyer is paying for will only be created at the end. Months or years can pass between the signature and the keys. That gap is what makes this kind of purchase different from any other, and it is why Queensland has a separate set of rules for it. The rules deal with four questions buyers keep asking. How much deposit can a seller ask for, and who holds it? What must the seller disclose before the contract is signed? How long can the seller take to settle? And can the seller walk away if the project runs late? This guide answers each in turn, using the Queensland Government's own guidance, last updated on 13 April 2026, and explainers published by Queensland property law firms. It covers Queensland only. Other states have their own rules, and several of them differ on exactly these points.
20%largest deposit usually taken off the plan
18 monthstime limit to settle a proposed land lot
5.5 yearslongest sunset date for a proposed unit

Queensland Government guidance on buying off the plan, updated 13 April 2026; Queensland law firm explainers on the Land Sales Act 1984 and the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997.

## Two kinds of purchase, two sets of rules The first thing to establish is which law applies, because Queensland treats two kinds of off-the-plan purchase differently. The first kind is a proposed lot of land in a subdivision: a block in a new estate, sold before the plan of subdivision is registered. These sales fall under the Land Sales Act 1984. The second kind is a proposed lot in a community titles scheme: an apartment, a townhouse or a duplex that will have a body corporate. Since reforms made in 2014, the disclosure rules for these sit in the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, as the law firm HopgoodGanim explained when the changes were introduced. The two regimes look alike in outline and differ in the detail that matters most to a buyer.
Which rules apply to which purchaseQueensland, as described in the sources named below
QuestionProposed land lotProposed unit or townhouse
Main ActLand Sales Act 1984Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997
Disclosure sectionSection 10Section 213
Time to settle18 months from the contractThe sunset date in the contract, up to 5.5 years; 3.5 years if none is stated
Limits on seller using a sunset clauseYes, since 22 November 2023Not extended to these lots

Queensland Government guidance, updated 13 April 2026; MK Lawyers explainer, 22 April 2026; ABKJ Lawyers and HopgoodGanim explainers on settlement periods.

One exemption is worth knowing. The Land Sales Act disclosure rules do not apply to a small subdivision that creates five lots or fewer and has no body corporate, according to an explainer published by MK Lawyers on 22 April 2026. A house-and-land package can involve both a land contract and a separate building contract. The rules in this guide concern the contract for the lot. The building contract is governed by different legislation and is outside its scope. ## How much deposit can be asked In an ordinary Queensland sale of an existing home, a deposit of more than 10 per cent can turn the contract into what the law calls an instalment contract, which brings restrictions the seller will want to avoid. Off the plan, the threshold is higher. A deposit of up to 20 per cent of the price can be paid without that consequence. HopgoodGanim described the change when it was introduced in 2014, and ABKJ Lawyers' guide for buyers puts it the same way: 10 per cent is the standard deposit, and 20 per cent is the most that can be taken. The practical result is that off-the-plan contracts usually ask for 10 per cent, and some ask for more, up to 20 per cent. Nothing in the rules requires a buyer to agree to the higher figure. It is a matter for negotiation before signing. A worked example shows the scale. On an illustrative price of $700,000, a 10 per cent deposit is $70,000 and a 20 per cent deposit is $140,000. On a contract that may not settle for three years, the difference is $70,000 committed for that whole period. Some sellers accept a deposit bond or a bank guarantee in place of cash. Whether they do is a term of the individual contract. The sources used for this guide do not describe a statutory right to pay that way. ## Who holds the deposit Whatever its size, the deposit does not go to the developer when it is paid. The Queensland Government's guidance is direct on the point: deposits paid under off-the-plan contracts can only be released from a trust account to the seller at settlement, or if the contract otherwise comes to an end and the seller is entitled to the money. The law firm Chamberlains, in its explainer on Queensland off-the-plan contracts, adds that deposits and instalments must be held in trust by a law practice or an agent. This protection was tightened in the same package of reforms that dealt with sunset clauses. API Magazine reported on 4 December 2023 that the amendments prevent sellers from getting early access to deposits under residential property contracts.
Worth knowing

The deposit stays in trust until settlement

A developer cannot use an off-the-plan deposit to fund construction. It is held in a trust account and released only when the sale settles, or when the contract ends and one side is entitled to it. The contract names the deposit holder.

## What the seller must disclose Because the buyer cannot inspect what is being bought, the law requires the seller to describe it on paper before the contract is signed. For a proposed land lot, the Queensland Government's guidance lists what the disclosure statement must contain: the seller's name and address; the buyer's name and address; a clear identification of the land; any claim or promise about the future certificate of title; the proposed lot number, its total area and its orientation, in a part completed by a surveyor; and details of any earth-moving or other intended works. The buyer signs and dates the statement to confirm it has been read and understood. MK Lawyers' explainer adds that under section 10 of the Land Sales Act the statement gives the sunset date and the status of the development approvals for the subdivision and its operational works, and is accompanied by a disclosure plan. For a proposed unit or townhouse, the statement required by section 213 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act is longer, because the buyer is also joining a body corporate that does not exist yet. According to the same explainer it covers: - the identification of the proposed lot - the sunset date - the estimated body corporate levies for the first year - the terms and cost of any body corporate manager's engagement - the terms of any management rights or letting authorisation - a list of body corporate assets - the regulation module that will apply to the scheme Chamberlains notes that the disclosure material also includes the proposed plan prepared by a cadastral surveyor, the proposed community management statement and by-laws, and a schedule of finishes. One document buyers may have heard of is not part of this. Queensland's general seller disclosure regime, which requires a prescribed disclosure statement known as Form 2 for most sales, does not apply to off-the-plan sales, MK Lawyers says. It applies again once the plan is registered, to any lots the developer still has left to sell. ## When the details change Projects change between contract and completion. A floor plan is adjusted, a levy estimate is revised, an easement moves. The law does not forbid this. It requires the seller to tell the buyer, and gives the buyer a way out if the change is serious. When disclosed information becomes inaccurate, the seller must give a further statement correcting it. MK Lawyers says it must be issued at least 21 days before settlement. The buyer's right to terminate depends on a test called material prejudice, which the Queensland Government's guidance explains as a significant disadvantage. A small change that makes no real difference to the buyer does not meet it. The time limit for acting differs between the two regimes, and the sources reflect that. For land, the Queensland Government's guidance says the buyer may terminate within 30 days of being notified, or before the title is transferred, whichever is sooner. For community titles lots, HopgoodGanim and ABKJ Lawyers describe a 21-day window after the further statement is received. A buyer who receives a further statement should establish quickly which period applies, because both are short. What counts as material prejudice is decided case by case. A reduction in floor area or a lost car space is more likely to qualify than a change of tile. This is one of the points on which the answer depends on the individual contract and the individual change. ## How long the seller has to settle Every off-the-plan contract has an outer limit, and the law sets the longest it can be. For a proposed land lot, the limit is firm. The Queensland Government's guidance says the Land Sales Act requires the seller to settle no later than 18 months after the buyer enters the contract. If the seller fails to do so, and the delay is not the buyer's fault, the buyer may terminate by written notice. For a proposed unit or townhouse, the period is longer, because buildings take longer than subdivisions. ABKJ Lawyers summarises it this way: where the contract specifies a sunset date, it can be up to five and a half years after the contract; where it specifies none, the period is three and a half years. HopgoodGanim's 2014 explainer records the extension from three and a half years to five and a half. Within that outer limit, settlement itself comes quickly once the title exists. For land, MK Lawyers says section 14 of the Land Sales Act requires the seller to give the buyer the registered survey plan and a surveyor's confirmation at least 14 days before settlement. ABKJ Lawyers describes written notice of 14 days, sometimes 21, once the title is created.
The life of an off-the-plan contract
  1. DisclosureThe seller gives the disclosure statement and plan. The buyer reads and signs it before the contract.
  2. Contract and depositThe contract is signed. The deposit, usually 10 per cent and at most 20, goes into trust.
  3. ConstructionThe project is built. If disclosed details change, the seller issues a further statement.
  4. RegistrationThe plan is registered and the title is created. The seller gives notice, commonly 14 days.
  5. SettlementThe balance is paid, the deposit is released from trust and the title transfers.
The short notice at the end deserves attention. A buyer may wait three years and then have two weeks to produce the balance. Finance approved at the time of contract will almost certainly have lapsed by then, and the lender will value the property at settlement, not at the contract date. ## Sunset clauses and who can use them A sunset clause sets a date by which the lot must be created and the sale settled. If the date passes, the clause allows the contract to be ended and the deposit returned. For buyers, the clause is a protection: nobody is tied indefinitely to a project that never finishes. The difficulty arose when it was used the other way. When the Queensland Government introduced reforms in 2023, Redland Bayside News reported on 31 August that year, it pointed to reports of developers invoking sunset clauses to end contracts and resell at higher prices. The result was a change to the Land Sales Act that took effect on 22 November 2023. Under it, the Queensland Government's guidance says, a seller may use a sunset clause to terminate an off-the-plan contract for land only: 1. with the written consent of the buyer 2. under an order of the Supreme Court 3. in another situation prescribed by regulation The change was not limited to new contracts. The guidance says it applies to contracts that had been signed but not settled on that date, as well as to those signed afterwards.
Mind the gap

The sunset clause limits cover land, not apartments

The 2023 restrictions on sellers apply to off-the-plan land. The Queensland Government's guidance says they do not extend to community titles lots such as apartments and townhouses. For those, what a seller may do when the sunset date passes still depends on the wording of the contract.

That distinction is the single most important thing for an apartment buyer to take from this guide. When the reforms were made, API Magazine reported that the Government planned a staged approach, with a review after one to two years to decide whether to extend the protection to community titles lots. The Queensland Government's guidance, as updated on 13 April 2026, still describes the limits as applying to land contracts. For a unit or townhouse, then, the sunset clause should be read closely before signing. The questions are simple to ask. What is the sunset date? Can the seller extend it, and for what reasons? If it passes, can only the buyer terminate, or can the seller as well? ## Cooling-off and the days after signing Off-the-plan contracts for residential property carry the same cooling-off period as other Queensland residential contracts. Chamberlains' explainer says a statutory cooling-off window of five business days applies to most residential off-the-plan sales. Five business days is not long for a contract that may run for years and a long set of disclosure documents. The Queensland Government's guidance strongly recommends independent legal advice before signing, which in practice means having the documents reviewed before the contract is signed, and not relying on the cooling-off period to do it afterwards. ## What the rules do not protect against The legal protections are about the contract: the deposit is safe, the disclosure must be accurate, and there is an end date. They do not remove the commercial risks of buying something unbuilt, and the Queensland Government's guidance lists those plainly. A buyer cannot see the final result until after committing. The building process can be delayed. The market price can change between the contract and settlement. And the contract may contain clauses that allow it to be cancelled. The price risk runs in both directions. If values rise during construction, the buyer settles at the old price. If they fall, the buyer is still bound to pay the contract price, and a lender's valuation at settlement may come in below it, leaving a gap to be covered from savings. None of this argues for or against buying off the plan. Many buyers do so successfully, and for new apartments it is often the only way to secure a particular home. The rules described here set the frame. What matters within it is the individual contract, which is why each of the questions in this guide is best put to a Queensland solicitor or conveyancer with the documents in hand. > The deposit is protected and the disclosure is prescribed. The sunset clause, for an apartment, is still whatever the contract says it is.