Money
How a deal is settled and paid, from contract to keys.
Mortgage hardship: what a lender must do when repayments get too hard
A borrower who cannot keep up with a home loan has a legal right to ask for changed repayments, and the lender has 21 days to answer. How the request, the reply and the next steps work.
Property management fees in Queensland: letting and management commission
What a Queensland rental owner pays a managing agent: letting commission, commission on rent and supervision charges, how each is calculated, and what the appointment has to list.
Draft law puts a 30% tax floor under family trusts that hold property
Treasury's exposure draft of 3 September sets a 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trust income from July 2028. What it means for a Queensland rental held in trust.
Land banking and option deeds: testing a Queensland land offer
How land banking schemes sell lots and options over land not yet approved for housing, what ASIC's court actions record, and how a Queensland buyer checks planning status.
Suncorp Bank tells 1.2 million customers their banking moves to ANZ
Suncorp Bank began writing to customers and brokers on 7 September: products, services and digital platforms shift to ANZ by June 2027. What is known for home loan customers, and what is not.
Ruling on settlement network fees slips a month, to 30 October
The final report on what electronic settlement networks may charge is now due on 30 October 2026. The draft would cut the transfer fee paid by buyers and sellers by 36.6%.
AUSTRAC sends formal notices to agencies that have not enrolled
A month after the enrolment deadline, AUSTRAC has begun issuing statutory notices to real estate and other businesses it believes should be on its roll.
Queensland has the lowest home loan arrears of the large states: S&P
S&P Global Ratings puts Queensland's prime mortgage arrears at 0.55 per cent in June against 0.85 per cent nationally, with borrowers paying loans out early at a faster rate.
Commission-only agents: how the award's pay rules work in real estate
Who may be employed on commission alone under the Real Estate Industry Award, the $72,938 income test, the 31.5 per cent minimum share, and when commission must be paid.
Four in ten home buyers now feel able to spot a settlement scam
A national survey of recent and intending buyers finds confidence in spotting a false payment request has dropped to 41 per cent, as a bank stops a $1.2 million transfer.
The ATO clearance certificate every Queensland seller now needs
Without a clearance certificate, a buyer must withhold 15 per cent of the price for the ATO, even from an Australian seller. Who applies, when, and what goes wrong.
August minutes: a fourth rate rise was weighed as loan demand dropped
The minutes of the August meeting, published on 25 August, show a Board that weighed a fourth rate rise, saw home loan demand drop sharply and expects repayments to take more of income.
Paying out the seller's mortgage at settlement: how the funds line up
On settlement day the buyer's money arrives from several places and leaves for several more, with the seller's lender paid first. This guide traces every dollar of that exchange.
Refinancing a home loan: the steps, the costs and the lender's checks
Switching lender can cut repayments, but it is a new loan application with its own fees, a fresh valuation and a full look at income and spending. A Queensland guide to each stage.
PEXA counts 2.67 million property transfers in a year, expects fewer
The network that carries most Queensland settlements handled 4.2 million transactions in 2025-26. Its operator told the market on 18 August that it expects volumes to fall.
Land tax bills for 2026-27 are going out: who gets one and why
The Queensland Revenue Office began issuing 2026-27 land tax assessments in mid-August. Who is liable, how the bill is worked out and the deadlines printed on it.
Queensland owner-occupiers now borrow $751,000 on average, a record
ABS figures for the June quarter put the average new owner-occupier loan in Queensland $20,000 above the national figure and $88,000 higher than a year earlier, while refinancing eased.
Commonwealth Bank home loan arrears reach 0.73% as applications fall
The country's largest home lender reported its full-year result on 12 August: more borrowers behind, 147,000 payment arrangements and a 15 per cent drop in mortgage applications since May.
Conjunction sales and referral fees: when two agents share a commission
How a conjunction differs from a referral in Queensland, whose agent the second agency is, what the agreement between agencies decides, and what sellers and buyers must be told.
Where the deposit sits until settlement: trust accounts in a sale
A Queensland deposit waits in a trust account run under strict rules. This guide covers who may hold it, how it is recorded, when it can be released and what happens in a dispute.