Auction Rules in QLD: What Buyers Need to Know, From Registration to Passed-In Auctions
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
Auction rules in QLD decide who can bid, what the agent can tell you about the price, when the seller can bid and whether you get a cooling-off period. They are set by the Property Occupations Act 2014 and the Property Occupations Regulation 2014.[1][2] The short version: register before you bid, expect no price guide, and know that a contract signed when the hammer falls has no cooling-off period.[3][4]
This guide takes the rules in the order you meet them, then explains what passed in means and how the two-business-day window after a pass-in works.
Key takeaways
- Only registered bidders can bid. You register with your name, address and proof of identity, such as a photo driver licence, and get a unique bidder number.[2]
- Agents and auctioneers must not give a price guide for a property going to auction, or reveal the reserve.[3]
- The seller can bid only if the conditions of sale reserve that right. Each seller bid must be announced, and none can go above the reserve.[5][2]
- There is no cooling-off period at auction, or for a registered bidder who signs by 5pm on the second clear business day after a pass-in.[1]
- Passed in means the property didn’t sell at the auction. If the bidding didn’t reach the reserve, the seller doesn’t have to sell, and may negotiate with a bidder instead.[6]
Where Queensland’s auction laws come from
Besides the Act and the Regulation, the Office of Fair Trading explains the rules for auctioneers[7] and for buyers,[4] and since 1 August 2025 the seller disclosure scheme under the Property Law Act 2023 has added one more.[8]
Only a person with an auctioneer licence can auction real estate in Queensland. A real estate agent licence doesn’t allow it, although one person can hold both, and you can check a licence free online.[4][9] The auctioneer must display their name in a conspicuous position for the whole auction, or announce it at the start if the weather or the site makes a sign impractical.[10][4] Before the auction, the auctioneer must also take reasonable steps to verify who owns the property, its description and the facts material to the sale.[10]
Before auction day: price guides, the reserve and disclosure
No price guide. For a property going to auction, neither the auctioneer nor the real estate agent may tell anyone outside the seller’s side the reserve price, the price they think will succeed, or a price guide. The maximum penalty is 540 penalty units.[3] The government’s reason is simple: no one can know how high the bidding will go.[4] An agent may give a listing website a price range so the property shows up in price searches, but the website must not display it,[7][3] so the price bracket a property turns up in is a search setting, not a guide.[4]
The comparative market analysis. The auctioneer may give bidders a copy of the comparative market analysis (CMA) prepared for the seller, but only with the seller’s written approval.[3][7] A CMA compares at least 3 properties of a similar standard or condition, sold within 5km in the last 6 months.[7] Ask for it. If it isn’t offered, do your own research on recent sales; our Brisbane suburb reports are a good place to start.
The reserve. The reserve price is the lowest price the seller will accept, and the seller sets it in writing with their agent before the auction. A seller doesn’t have to set one, but without a reserve the property sells for the highest bid.[4][3]
The disclosure statement. Since 1 August 2025, sellers must give buyers a disclosure statement (form 2) and prescribed certificates; at an auction, they must be given or made available before the fall of the hammer.[8] If they aren’t given, or are inaccurate or incomplete in a way that matters, you may be able to end the contract up to settlement.[8] Read them with your solicitor before auction day.
Your own checks. Auction terms usually rule out conditions such as finance or selling another property,[4] so do the work first: finance (the Moreton Bay Finance Broker team works with our clients), a valuation, legal advice on the contract, a title search, building and pest inspections, a land tax clearance search and, if there is a pool, a pool inspection.[4] Ask the agent how much deposit they will want, as a percentage of the winning bid, and how to pay it.[4] Our guide to buying at auction in Brisbane covers preparation and bidding strategy, and our building and pest inspection guide covers what the reports include.
Only registered bidders can bid. The auctioneer must tell people thinking about bidding that only registered bidders’ bids will be accepted, and must check that a bidder is registered before accepting a bid.[2][7] To register, you give the auctioneer:
- your name and address
- satisfactory proof of identity, such as a driver licence with your photo on it
- the name and address of anyone you will bid for on instructions they give you by phone.[2]
The auctioneer records you in a bidder register, which must be kept for at least 5 years, and gives you a unique bidder identifier, such as a numbered card or paddle, to bid with.[2][4] If you registered with the same auctioneer for an earlier auction, that registration can carry over.[2] Before you register, ask whether there have been any late changes to the contract; the auctioneer must also announce the terms at the start of the auction.[4]
Your identity is protected. The auctioneer must not identify any bidder during the auction.[7] Afterwards, your identity can be given only to an inspector or a court, or to the seller or their agent where that is needed to negotiate with you after a pass-in or otherwise to complete the sale.[2]
Conditions of sale. The auctioneer must disclose the conditions of sale, such as the deposit and inspection details, and may do it with the unsigned contract.[7][4]
Seller bids. The seller can bid, or have someone bid for them, only if the conditions of sale notified to bidders include the seller’s right to bid. If a property is sold in breach of that rule, the buyer can void the contract before settlement.[5] Every seller bid must be announced, and the auctioneer can’t accept one above the reserve.[2] Once bidding reaches the reserve, any further seller bid is a false bid, which is illegal. So is a dummy bid: an attempt by the seller, their family or friends, the auctioneer or anyone else planted in the crowd to push the bidding up after the reserve is reached.[4] Our guide to vendor bids explains how to spot one and how to respond.
The reserve and “on the market”. The auctioneer may tell you whether a reserve has been set, but not what it is.[4] When bidding reaches the reserve, the auctioneer may announce that the property is on the market. They don’t have to, but any announcement must be true.[3][4] From that point vendor bids stop and the seller must accept the highest bid; with no reserve, the property is on the market from the first bid.[7] An announced vendor bid also tells you something: a reserve exists and hasn’t been reached yet.[4]
Set a budget before you arrive and stick to it.[4]
A contract made on the fall of the hammer is a contract formed on a sale by auction,[1] and the successful bidder must sign it immediately.[4] There is no cooling-off period. You have to settle even if the house doesn’t pass inspections, you change your mind or you can’t afford it.[4]
If you can’t settle on time, the consequences are serious. Queensland’s guidance says you may be forced to pay the amount of your winning bid whether or not you had the money, the cost of re-auctioning the property, and any shortfall between your bid and the winning bid at the next auction.[4] For the other costs, including transfer duty, see our guide to the costs of buying a house in QLD and our purchase calculator; for cooling-off on private sales, see our cooling-off period guide.
A property is passed in when it doesn’t sell at the auction. If the bidding doesn’t reach the seller’s reserve, the seller doesn’t have to sell, and may choose to negotiate with a bidder instead.[6][4] Under the Act, a sale negotiated after a pass-in is not a sale by auction, even if the buyer was a bidder.[1]
The two-business-day window
The cooling-off rules don’t apply to a contract with a registered bidder for the auction that is signed no later than 5pm on the second clear business day after the property was passed in.[1] After that, a new contract gets the normal cooling-off period: 5 business days, starting on the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties and ending at 5pm on the fifth business day.[11]
Business days don’t include Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, and the day of the auction itself isn’t counted.[12] So for a property passed in on a Saturday, the window normally closes at 5pm on the Tuesday; if the Monday is a public holiday, it runs to 5pm on the Wednesday. Ask your solicitor to confirm the date for your purchase.
The exception only covers registered bidders.[1] A buyer who didn’t register for the auction gets the usual cooling-off period, even inside the window, unless they waive it in writing.[11]
Who gets to negotiate
When a property isn’t sold, the auctioneer records the highest bid and, if known, the highest bidder’s name and address.[10] The auctioneer may also give a bidder’s identity to the seller or the seller’s agent so they can negotiate with that bidder.[2] Nothing in these rules gives the highest bidder the right to negotiate first; the seller may choose to negotiate with a bidder.[6] So if you want the property, tell the agent straight away and put your offer in writing; our guide to making an offer on a house in QLD covers what to include.
A pause is not a pass-in
Negotiation can also happen in the middle of an auction. At a townhouse auction in Mount Coolum on the Sunshine Coast, the seller was pursuing $1.4 million and bidding paused at $1.251 million. It was not passed in. After about 90 minutes of negotiation, our clients agreed at $1.28 million, the auction resumed and the hammer fell on the third call. The Mount Coolum success story has the full account. A sale made when the hammer falls is an auction sale under the Act,[1] with no cooling-off, so a mid-auction negotiation needs the same preparation as the bidding.
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Registration[2] | Only registered bidders can bid. Bring photo ID; you get a bidder number. |
| Price guides[3] | Banned for auction properties, and the reserve stays confidential. |
| Reserve[4] | Set in writing by the seller. The auctioneer may say one exists, not the amount. |
| Seller bids[5][2] | Only if the conditions of sale allow them. Each is announced, and none can go above the reserve. |
| Dummy and false bids[4] | Illegal. |
| Disclosure statement[8] | Given or made available before the hammer falls. |
| Fall of the hammer[4] | Sign immediately. No cooling-off, and usually no conditions. |
| Pass-in window[1] | No cooling-off for a registered bidder who signs by 5pm on the second clear business day. |
| After the window[11] | The normal 5-business-day cooling-off period applies. |
Talk to your solicitor first, because some breaches give you rights under the contract itself. If a seller bid without the right to bid being in the conditions of sale, you can void the contract before settlement.[5] If the disclosure statement wasn’t given, or was materially wrong, you may be able to end the contract up to settlement.[8]
Agents and auctioneers face penalties too: up to 540 penalty units for revealing the reserve or giving a price guide.[3] You can check an auctioneer’s licence on the Office of Fair Trading’s free register.[9] The Office of Fair Trading suggests raising a problem with the business first, and explains how to lodge a complaint if it isn’t resolved.[13]
IPS Buyer’s Agents works only for buyers, and we can bid for you at auction. In September 2023 we handled the bidding for a first home in Upper Mount Gravatt, bought at auction for $987,500; the Upper Mount Gravatt success story tells it. If you have already found a property, we can still bid for you. First we do our own inspection and due diligence, because we want to make sure you aren’t buying a dud. Our FAQ has the price, and our buyer’s agent services and first home buyer page explain the rest of what we do.
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is not legal or financial advice and does not consider your circumstances. The law can change, so check the contract and conditions of sale for your auction with your solicitor or conveyancer before you bid.
If you have an auction coming up and want someone in your corner on the day, book a time with Tim Allen to talk it through.
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), ss 159–160: definitions for part 7, including registered bidder, and the contracts part 7 applies to (reprint current from 1 August 2025, read 9 November 2026)
- Property Occupations Regulation 2014 (Qld), ss 23–25: registration of bidders, bids by the seller, and disclosure of bidder identity (reprint current from 1 July 2022, read 9 November 2026)
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), ss 213–216: representations of price to sellers, and the ban on disclosing the reserve, a likely price or a price guide (reprint current from 1 August 2025, read 9 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Buying property at auction (last updated 14 October 2024)
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), s 229A: disclosure of the seller’s right to bid at auction (reprint current from 1 August 2025, read 9 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Selling by auction (last updated 29 October 2020)
- Office of Fair Trading Queensland — Auctioning a property: legal requirements for a transaction by auction (last updated 1 July 2026)
- Queensland Government — Seller disclosure scheme (last updated 21 July 2025)
- Office of Fair Trading Queensland — Check a licence (read 9 November 2026)
- Property Occupations Regulation 2014 (Qld), ss 9, 11, 19 and 20: display of the auctioneer’s name, the auction contract book, and verifying ownership and material facts (reprint current from 1 July 2022, read 9 November 2026)
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), ss 166–168: the cooling-off period, waiving or shortening it, and terminating during it (reprint current from 1 August 2025, read 9 November 2026)
- Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld), s 38 (reckoning of time) and schedule 1 (definition of business day) (reprint current from 1 February 2024, read 9 November 2026)
- Office of Fair Trading Queensland — Make a consumer complaint (read 9 November 2026)
What does passed in mean at an auction?
A property is passed in when it doesn’t sell at the auction. If the bidding didn’t reach the seller’s reserve price, the seller doesn’t have to sell, and may negotiate with bidders afterwards instead. If you were a registered bidder and sign a contract by 5pm on the second clear business day after the auction, there is no cooling-off period; after that, the normal cooling-off period applies.
Is there a cooling-off period at auction in QLD?
No. A contract made when the hammer falls has no cooling-off period, and auction terms usually rule out conditions such as finance, so you must settle even if you change your mind or can’t afford it. The same applies to a contract with a registered bidder signed by 5pm on the second clear business day after a pass-in. After that, the normal 5-business-day cooling-off period applies.
Can the seller bid at their own auction in Queensland?
Only if the conditions of sale given to bidders include the seller’s right to bid. The auctioneer must announce each seller bid and can’t accept one above the reserve price. Once bidding reaches the reserve, any further seller bid is a false bid, which is illegal. If a property is sold after a seller bid without that condition, the buyer can void the contract before settlement.
Why don’t auction listings in QLD show a price?
Queensland law bans agents and auctioneers from giving a price guide for a property going to auction, or revealing the reserve or the price they think will succeed. An agent can give a listing website a price range so the property appears in price searches, but the site must not display it. With the seller’s written approval, bidders can be given the comparative market analysis instead.
What do I need to register to bid at an auction in QLD?
Your name and address, and satisfactory proof of identity, such as a driver licence with your photo. If you will bid for someone else on instructions they give you by phone, you also give their name and address. The auctioneer records you in the bidder register and gives you a unique bidder identifier, such as a numbered card or paddle. Only registered bidders’ bids can be accepted.
What happens if I win an auction and can’t settle?
You are bound by the contract you signed on the day, and there is no cooling-off period to fall back on. Queensland’s guidance warns that a buyer who can’t settle on time may be forced to pay the amount of the winning bid, the cost of re-auctioning the property, and any shortfall between their bid and the winning bid at the next auction. Arrange finance and legal advice before you bid.