The Cooling-Off Period in QLD: How It Works, What It Costs and When It Doesn’t Apply
The cooling-off period in QLD gives a buyer of residential property five business days to change their mind about a signed contract. It starts on the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both buyer and seller, ends at 5pm on the fifth business day, and ending the contract in that time can cost you up to 0.25% of the purchase price.[1][2]
It applies only to buyers, only to residential property, and not at all to auctions. This guide explains how the five days are counted, how to end a contract properly, what waiving or shortening the period means, and the other ways out of a Queensland contract once the five days are gone. It is based on the current version of the Property Occupations Act 2014, in force from 1 August 2025.[2]
Key takeaways
- Five business days, from the day you receive the contract signed by both parties to 5pm on the fifth business day. Weekends and public holidays do not count.
- To cancel, give the seller or their agent a signed notice of termination before the deadline.
- The seller can keep up to 0.25% of the purchase price from your deposit and must refund the rest within 14 days.[2]
- You can waive the period before you sign, or shorten it after, but only in writing.
- There is no cooling-off period at auction, or for a contract signed with a registered bidder by 5pm on the second business day after a pass-in.
How the cooling-off period works in Queensland
The cooling-off period is a right the law gives buyers, not something the seller offers. Part 7 of the Property Occupations Act 2014 sets it for every “relevant contract”, which is a contract for the sale of residential property, including a contract that grants an option to buy.[2] Residential property means real property used, or intended to be used, for residential purposes, but not property used mainly for industry, commerce or primary production. A house, unit or townhouse bought to live in or to rent out is covered.
It belongs to the buyer alone. The Queensland Government’s guidance describes the cooling-off period as being “for buyers only”, and the Act gives the seller no matching right to change their mind.[1]
The seller must also warn you about it on the contract itself. When a seller first gives you a proposed contract to sign, it must include a statement, immediately above the place where you sign, saying the contract may be subject to a 5 business day statutory cooling-off period and a termination penalty of 0.25% of the purchase price, and recommending an independent valuation and legal advice before you sign.[2] The Queensland Government tells buyers not to sign a private-sale contract unless that statement is there and the five-day cooling-off period is given.[3]
When the cooling-off period starts and ends
Day one is the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties from the seller. If that day is not a business day, day one is the next business day. The period ends at 5pm on the fifth business day.[2] A business day is any day except a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public, special or bank holiday in the place where the relevant act is to be done.[4]
Two details catch buyers out. First, the day you receive the contract counts as day one, even if it arrives late in the afternoon. The Act’s own example: receive it on a Monday, and the period ends at 5pm on the Friday of the same week. Second, if you sign after the seller, you are treated as receiving the contract once you have both signed it and told the seller you accept.[2] A representative who receives the contract on your behalf also starts the clock, and if there is a dispute, the seller or their agent must prove when the contract was delivered.[1]
Here is how the count works for contracts received in late 2026, assuming no public holiday falls inside the five days.
| You receive the contract signed by both parties | Day one | Cooling-off period ends |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 2 November | Monday 2 November | 5pm Friday 6 November |
| Thursday 29 October | Thursday 29 October | 5pm Wednesday 4 November |
| Saturday 31 October | Monday 2 November | 5pm Friday 6 November |
| You sign last and email your acceptance on Sunday 1 November | Monday 2 November | 5pm Friday 6 November |
If a public holiday falls inside the five days, the period runs a day longer. Confirm the count with your solicitor or conveyancer, and put the deadline, date and time, in your calendar on the day you sign.
You end the contract by giving the seller a signed notice of termination before 5pm on the last day. Under the Act, the seller includes the seller’s agent authorised to act for them, so the notice usually goes to the selling agent.[2] The Queensland Government says the written notice can be delivered in person, by email or by fax.[1] A phone call telling the agent you have changed your mind does not end the contract.
- Call your solicitor or conveyancer first. They usually prepare the notice and check who must receive it under your contract.
- Sign the notice. The Act requires a signed notice of termination.[2]
- Deliver it well before 5pm. Email it to the seller’s agent, or hand it over in person, and keep proof that it was sent and received.
- Follow up the deposit. The seller must refund the deposit, less any penalty, within 14 days of the contract ending.[2]
The termination penalty
The termination penalty is 0.25% of the purchase price, and the seller may deduct any amount up to that from the deposit you paid. The Act sets a maximum, not a fixed charge, so a seller can deduct less. If the seller does not refund what is owed, you can recover it as a debt.[2]
As an example, on an $800,000 purchase the most the seller can keep is $2,000, which is 0.25% of the price. If you paid a $40,000 deposit, at least $38,000 must come back to you within 14 days.[2]
The penalty is not your only cost. What you have already spent on inspections, a valuation or legal work is not refunded, so weigh those too. Our list of the costs of buying a house in QLD covers each of them.
The Act lets you give up the cooling-off period entirely or cut it short, in two different ways. Waiving is done by a person who proposes to enter into the contract, by written notice to the seller, so it happens before the contract is made. Shortening is done by a buyer already under the contract, also by written notice to the seller. Once you have waived the period, you cannot end the contract under the cooling-off rules.[2] The Queensland Government says the notice must state that the period is waived entirely, or that it will last until 5pm on a particular day.[1]
Why would a buyer do this? In a competitive campaign, a seller weighing two similar offers may prefer the one that cannot be cancelled for any reason. A waived or shortened period can make your offer stronger without adding to the price. It also means you carry the risk of anything you have not checked.
Before you agree to waive or shorten it:
- have your solicitor or conveyancer read the contract, including the special conditions
- have finance approval in place, or a finance condition in the contract
- know whether the contract still has a building and pest condition and when its date falls (our guide to building and pest inspections in Queensland explains how that condition works)
- check the price against recent sales or with a valuation (see our guide to property valuation in Brisbane)
- read the seller disclosure statement and certificates you were given before signing.
A shortened period is often the middle ground. It gives the seller more certainty and still leaves you time for a solicitor’s review.
These contracts have no cooling-off period:[2]
- a contract formed at auction, on the fall of the hammer
- a contract signed with a registered bidder by 5pm on the second clear business day after the property was passed in at auction
- a contract formed when an option is exercised, if the parties are the same as under the option contract (the contract that grants the option is covered)
- a contract where the buyer is a publicly listed corporation or its subsidiary, the State or a statutory body, or is buying at least 3 lots at the same time.
Auctions are the big one. If you are the successful bidder, the Queensland Government says you must settle even if the house does not pass inspections, you change your mind, or you cannot afford it, and the terms of sale usually require you to bid without conditions such as finance.[5] So the checks you would do in a cooling-off period, you do before auction day. Our guide to buying at auction in Brisbane sets out how to prepare, and our guide to vendor bids at auction explains one of the rules buyers find hardest to read on the day.
The pass-in rule matters too. If a Brisbane auction passes in and you negotiate with the seller afterwards as a registered bidder, a contract signed by 5pm on the second clear business day after the auction has no cooling-off period.[2] The Queensland Government’s guidance puts it simply: reach agreement within 2 days of the auction and you will not get a cooling-off period; reach it more than 2 days after and you will.[5]
The cooling-off period is the only right to walk away for no reason, but it is not the only way out of a Queensland contract. Conditions in the contract and the seller disclosure rules give buyers other rights, each with its own deadline and test.
| Right | How long it lasts | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory cooling-off period | Until 5pm on the fifth business day | No reason; a signed notice to the seller, and a penalty of up to 0.25% of the price[2] |
| Building and pest condition (if the contract has one) | Until the inspection date in the contract | What the condition says; see our building and pest guide |
| Finance condition (if the contract has one) | Until the finance date in the contract | What the condition says; your solicitor confirms the steps |
| Seller disclosure | Up to settlement | Disclosure not given, or inaccurate or incomplete on a material issue you did not know about[6] |
| Auction contract | No cooling-off period | You must settle[5] |
The seller disclosure scheme started on 1 August 2025. Sellers must give you a disclosure statement (form 2) and prescribed certificates before you sign. If they do not, or the information is inaccurate or incomplete, you may be able to end the contract at any time up to settlement. For inaccurate or incomplete disclosure, you must show the issue was material, that you were unaware of it when you signed, and that you would not have signed had you known.[6]
Conditions are only as good as their wording and dates. A subject-to-sale condition works differently again, as we explain in our post on upgrading with a subject-to-sale offer. Missing the date in a condition can leave you bound to buy, so put every contract date in your calendar on the day you sign.
Five business days goes quickly. Most buyers use the time to confirm a decision they have already made, so plan the checks before you sign and start them the same day.
- Legal review. Your solicitor or conveyancer reads the contract, the special conditions, the disclosure statement and the certificates.
- Finance. Send your broker or lender the contract and its dates on the day you sign.
- Flooding. The seller’s disclosure statement does not have to include flooding history.[6] In Brisbane, download the council’s FloodWise Property Report, which shows the risk and type of flooding at a property.[7] In the City of Moreton Bay, the council’s flood check property report gives its latest flood information for a property, including the types of flooding it may be exposed to.[8] Other councils publish their own flood information.
- Inspections. Book the building and pest inspection straight away, even if the inspection date in the contract is later.
- Price. Compare recent sales in our Brisbane suburb reports, and run the full cost with stamp duty and fees through our property purchase calculator.
If a check turns up something you cannot accept, talk to your solicitor before 5pm on the last day. After that, you are relying on the contract’s conditions or the disclosure rules.
IPS works only for buyers, never sellers. We attend inspections, negotiate the price and terms, and work with your broker, building and pest inspector and solicitor through to settlement. You can read how that works on our buyer’s agent services page.
On contract timing, that means we line up the checks before you sign, so the five days are for confirming rather than scrambling. If a seller’s agent asks for a waived or shortened cooling-off period, we talk through the trade-off with you and your solicitor before your offer goes in. At auction, where there is no cooling-off period, we make sure the inspections, the contract review and your finance are done before you register to bid. Our Moreton Bay buyer’s agent page explains how we work across Brisbane’s north and the Moreton Bay region.
The Queensland cooling-off period is five business days, from the day you receive the contract signed by both parties to 5pm on the fifth business day. You can end the contract for any reason with a signed notice, at a cost of up to 0.25% of the price.[2] It does not apply at auction or soon after a pass-in, and it can be waived or shortened in writing. Treat it as a safety net: do the checks before you sign, and use the five days to confirm them.
This article is general information only, current at October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not consider your circumstances. Contracts and their conditions vary, so check your cooling-off rights and deadlines with your solicitor or conveyancer before you sign.
If you would like help timing an offer, the checks and the contract on your next purchase, book a time with Tim Allen.
- Queensland Government — Cooling-off period for residential property contracts (for buyers only)
- Queensland Legislation — Property Occupations Act 2014, part 7 (reprint current from 1 August 2025)
- Queensland Government — Buying privately
- Queensland Legislation — Acts Interpretation Act 1954, schedule 1 (business day)
- Queensland Government — Buying property at auction
- Queensland Government — Seller disclosure scheme
- Brisbane City Council — FloodWise Property Report
- City of Moreton Bay — Flood check property report
Is the cooling-off period in Queensland 5 days or 5 business days?
It is five business days. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays do not count. The period starts on the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties, or the next business day if you receive it on a weekend or holiday, and it ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. Count it with your solicitor and note the deadline as soon as you sign.
Can the seller cool off on a house sale in Queensland?
No. The statutory cooling-off period in Queensland is for buyers only. Once the contract is signed by both parties, the seller cannot end it simply because they have changed their mind. Any right a seller has to end the contract comes from the contract’s own terms, for example if the buyer misses a deadline in a condition or does not pay the deposit on time.
Do I lose my deposit if I cancel during the cooling-off period?
Not all of it. The seller may keep a termination penalty of up to a quarter of one per cent of the purchase price from the deposit you paid, and must refund the rest within 14 days of the contract ending. The Act sets that amount as a maximum, so some sellers deduct less. Money you spent on inspections, a valuation or legal work is not refunded.
What happens if I miss the 5pm deadline?
After 5pm on the fifth business day, the cooling-off right is gone and you are bound by the contract, subject to its conditions. You may still be able to end it under a finance or building and pest condition, or under the seller disclosure rules, but only on the terms those rights set. You can no longer end it just because you have changed your mind.
Do I need a lawyer to waive the cooling-off period in Queensland?
The Property Occupations Act 2014 only requires written notice to the seller to waive or shorten the period. It does not require a lawyer’s certificate. Even so, have your solicitor or conveyancer review the contract before you give the period up, because once it is waived you cannot end the contract for a change of mind, and a shortened period still ends at 5pm on the day you choose.
Is there a cooling-off period if I buy after a property passes in at auction?
It depends on timing. If you were a registered bidder and you sign a contract with the seller by 5pm on the second clear business day after the auction, there is no cooling-off period. If you sign after that, the usual five business days apply. Ask the agent which you are being offered, and have the contract reviewed before you sign.