In this article
Kooky
Builder of Shaka, the payment router that pays every agent their commission on closing date.
About Kooky and Shaka →Most sellers choose an agency the way they choose a tradesperson: a recommendation, a sign in the street, a good first meeting. Those are reasonable ways to draw up a shortlist. They say little about the business that will hold the buyer's deposit, sign the advertising orders and be bound by the appointment.
A good deal about that business is on the public record or must be shown on request. This guide goes through what a Queensland seller or landlord can check about an agency before signing anything: whether it is licensed and in whose name, who is in charge of the office, what kind of network it belongs to, what its awards mean, what the appointment form must say and what protections sit behind it. It is descriptive. It does not rank agencies or recommend any, and the right choice depends on the property and the owner.
Sources: Office of Fair Trading guidance on checking a licence and on property industry forms; Queensland Government guidance on appointing a property agent.
Start with the licence, not the logo
Every business that sells or manages property for others in Queensland must be licensed under the Property Occupations Act 2014. The licence is issued by the Office of Fair Trading to a person or a company, and that licensed name is the party a seller is really dealing with.
The Office keeps a public register of all licensed property agents, salespeople and corporations, and its guidance says the register can be searched online for free. A search shows whether a licence exists and whether it is current.
The name to search is not always the name on the signboard. Many offices trade under a network brand and a suburb, while the licence is held by a company with a different name. The licensed name appears on the appointment form, and an agency asked for it should be able to give it at once. The Office of Fair Trading's rules about holding a licence require a licensee to show a client a copy of their licence, the corporate licence and any employee's licence or registration, and to keep copies at the premises.
Related readRay White Queensland keeps its one-in-four target after a split yearFor anyone who needs a formal record, the Office will issue an official extract from the register for a fee. Its guidance says the extract arrives within 10 working days and sets out the licence holder's name, the registered business name and place of business, the licence number and class, and the status of the licence.
| Status | What it tells a client |
|---|---|
| Current | The business is licensed to act today |
| Expired | The licence has lapsed and has not been renewed |
| Suspended | The licence is on hold and the holder may not act under it |
| Cancelled | The licence has been taken away |
| Refused | An application for the licence was not granted |
Status categories as listed by the Office of Fair Trading. The online search is for information only; an extract is the formal record.
Who is in charge of the office
The second thing worth knowing is who runs the office, because the law attaches responsibility to a named person.
Office of Fair Trading guidance says the principal licensee must be in charge of the business at its registered office. Any other place of business must have its own licensed person in charge, or in limited circumstances a registered salesperson, and that person cannot be in charge of more than one place. A branch office therefore has someone specific who answers for it.
It is reasonable to ask who that person is and whether they will have any involvement in the sale. In a small agency the principal may be the listing agent. In a large one the principal may never meet the seller, and the question becomes who supervises the agent who does.
The distinction between a licensed agent and a registered salesperson is also public. A salesperson holds a registration certificate and works under a licensed agent. Both can list and sell a home. Only the licensed agent can run an agency or take charge of its registered office. Neither can conduct an auction unless they also hold an auctioneer licence, which is a separate class under the Act.
Related readFive Darling Downs offices take one name as office groups growWhat kind of business the agency is
Queensland agencies come in several forms, and the form affects where decisions are made.
An independent agency is owned and run locally under its own name. It sets its own marketing, fees and systems. A franchise office is also locally owned, but trades under a network's brand and pays the network for the name, training and technology. A co-operative is a group of independently owned agencies that share a brand and services they collectively own. Some agencies belong to groups in which one owner or partnership runs several offices.
None of these is better for a seller as a matter of principle. A network can bring a larger buyer database and more consistent marketing. An independent can bring an owner who is personally accountable for every listing. What matters is that in every case the appointment is made with the local licensed business, not with the national brand. If something goes wrong, the seller's agreement is with the office.
Where the office is a franchise, some information about the franchise system is public. The Franchise Disclosure Register, hosted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, is described as a free public register on which franchisors publish information about their systems. It is written for people thinking of buying a franchise, but it lets anyone see who the franchisor is. The Commonwealth notes that it does not check or endorse what franchisors upload.
Reading awards and rankings
Agency windows and proposals are full of awards. They are real, and they are worth understanding before being weighed.
Related readREMAX has a new owner: what the Real merger means for local officesMost awards are given by the network to its own offices, so they rank an office against others under the same brand, not against the market. They also measure different things. Some rank by the number of sales. Some rank by the total commission earned, which favours offices in dearer suburbs. Some recognise growth, property management or community work. An office that is first in its network by number of sales is a busy office. An office that is first by commission may have sold fewer, more expensive homes.
Other awards come from industry bodies or trade publications and are decided by entry and judging. Those depend on a submission written by the agency.
The useful questions are plain ones: who gave the award, what it measured, over what period, and whether it was for the office or for an individual who may or may not be the person handling the sale. An agency that has earned its recognition will be glad to explain it.
Statements about market share deserve the same care. A claim to sell the most homes in a suburb is a count the agency has made from its own records and a market total. The period and the boundary make a large difference, and both can be asked for.
The appointment form and what it must say
No Queensland agent may act for a seller or landlord on a handshake. The Office of Fair Trading's guidance on property industry forms says a completed appointment form must be given to the client before any property agent services are performed. For houses, units and residential land it is Form 6, "Residential agent appointment or reappointment". For commercial property it is Form 6A.
Related readWhat a rent roll is, how it is valued and why agencies trade themQueensland Government guidance on appointing a property agent lists what the appointment has to set out: how much the agent will charge for their services, any other costs the agent could incur on the client's behalf, such as advertising, when payments to the agent are due, and what services the agent will provide and how.
That list is a checklist for comparing agencies. Two proposals can only be compared when each of those four things is written down. A commission rate means little without the marketing budget beside it, and a marketing budget means little without knowing when it has to be paid and whether it is payable if the property does not sell.
| Item | What to look for |
|---|---|
| The agent's charge | The commission or fee, and how it is calculated |
| Other costs | Advertising and any other expense incurred for the client |
| When payment is due | At settlement, in advance, or in stages |
| The services | What the agent will do and how it will be done |
Source: Queensland Government, "Appointing a property agent".
Commission in Queensland is not fixed by law. It is whatever the client and the agency agree, and it is negotiable. The appointment also records the type of appointment and its term, which decide whether the seller can deal with any other agency during that time.
How an appointment ends
How to get out of an agreement is best understood before getting in. The rules differ between a sale and a management.
For a rental management, Queensland Government guidance says either party may end the appointment by giving written notice, with a minimum of 30 days' notice, or less if both sides agree. The same guidance warns of the risk of liability if a new agent is appointed before the current appointment has ended. A landlord who signs with a second agency while the first is still appointed may owe fees to both.
Related readThe agency licence in Queensland: company, person in charge, officeFor a sale, the term written on Form 6 governs. An appointment that gives one agency the sole or exclusive right to sell binds the seller for its term, and appointing or selling through someone else in that time can leave the seller owing commission to the first agency. The term and the type of appointment are therefore as important as the rate.
Two appointments at once can mean two fees
Queensland Government guidance warns that an owner who appoints a new agent before the existing appointment has ended risks being liable to both. Check the end date and the notice required before signing with anyone else.
How the agency handles money
A selling agency will usually hold the buyer's deposit, and a managing agency collects rent. Both are trust money, held under the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 in a trust account that is separate from the agency's own funds. The Office of Fair Trading's guidance for agencies covers how trust accounts are opened, how money is handled and how accounts are audited.
A client can ask simple questions here too. Is the deposit to be paid into a trust account in the agency's name? Will a receipt be issued? For a managed rental, how often are statements and payments sent? An agency used to handling trust money answers these without difficulty.
Behind the trust account stands a claim fund. The Office of Fair Trading describes it as protection for consumers who suffer financial loss because of an agent's misconduct. It is a last resort, and it covers the conduct of licensed agents and their staff, which is one more reason the licence check comes first.
One further obligation is about to arrive. From 1 July 2026, agencies that sell property come under the federal anti-money-laundering law supervised by AUSTRAC, and will have to verify the identity of the people they act for. A seller appointing an agency after that date can expect to be asked for identification as part of the listing process. That is a legal requirement on the agency and not a sign of distrust.
Related readBundaberg, Childers, Mackay: agency networks move into the regionsComplaints, discipline and training
How a business deals with problems is harder to see from outside, but some of it is visible.
Queensland Government guidance on appointing a property agent says an agent must have a procedure for handling complaints and must comply with it. A client is entitled to ask what that procedure is before signing. An agency that can describe it in a sentence has one.
The Office of Fair Trading also publishes the kinds of breach it acts on in the property industry. Its list covers offences relating to appointments, auditing, commission, inspections, licences and registration, premises, trust accounts, unlicensed operation, and warnings and disclosure. Court action is one outcome. Another is an enforceable undertaking, which the Office describes as an alternative to court: a legally binding agreement by the business to stop the conduct and not repeat it. The Office issues public statements about some of the actions it takes.
Training is now compulsory. Since June 2025, Queensland property licensees and registered salespeople have had to complete continuing professional development each year to keep their licence or registration. That requirement applies to everyone in the office who lists or sells, and to the principal.
Putting the checks in order
The checks above take less time than a second appraisal, and they follow a natural sequence.
- Get the licensed nameAsk which person or company holds the licence, and note it from the draft appointment form.
- Search the registerLook the name up on the Office of Fair Trading's free register and confirm the licence is current.
- Ask who is in chargeFind out who is in charge of the office and who will supervise the sale.
- Compare the written termsSet the fee, other costs, payment timing and services side by side for each agency.
- Read the term and the exitCheck the type of appointment, its end date and how it can be ended.
None of these steps measures how well an agent negotiates, how accurately they price or how hard they work. Those things are judged from recent sales nearby, from the quality of the appraisal and from what past clients say. What the checks do is confirm that the business is what it says it is, and that the agreement says what was discussed.
What the checks cannot tell a seller
A current licence shows that a business is allowed to act. It does not show that it is the best fit for a particular home. A network brand shows how an office is supplied with marketing and systems. It does not show how the individual agent performs.
Price is the area where checking helps least and judgment matters most. Appraisals from different agencies will differ, and the highest is not evidence of the best result. Agencies are bound by rules on how a price may be represented in advertising, and the figure a seller writes on the appointment form has consequences for how the home can be marketed. A seller comparing appraisals is entitled to see the recent sales each one is based on.
The decision in the end is a personal one, made between the owner and the people who will do the work. The public record does not make that decision. It removes the avoidable risks from it, so that what is left to weigh is the thing that actually differs between good agencies: the agent, the plan and the fit.
Kooky, from Shaka
Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.
