We are seeking your views on apublic exposure draft of the Property Law Bill 2022(the Bill).

The currentProperty Law Act 1974governs many aspects of Queensland’s property law, including:

• general rules affecting property
• the creation and disposition of interests in land
• co-ownership
• deeds
• covenants
• mortgages
• leases
• the rule against perpetuities
• old system land.

The Bill has been developed in line with the recommendations of the Commercial and Property Law Research Centre of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as set out in theirFinal report: Property Law Act 1974. The final report followed a broad-ranging, independent review of Queensland’s property laws.

In line with the recommendations in the QUT final report, the Bill will repeal the currentProperty Law Act 1974and replace it with a new Act. The Bill will modernise Queensland’s property law by redrafting provisions in contemporary language that reflects current commercial practice, and repeals outdated provisions.

Submissions on the draft Bill are invited from the public and stakeholders to inform policy options in settling the Bill.

To assist in considering the Bill, the accompanyingconsultation papernotes areas where the Bill differs from QUT’s recommendations and where policy positions have been presented in consultation with stakeholders to date which differ from the QUT recommendation reflected in the Bill. Submitters with views on these issues may wish to comment.

Seller disclosure scheme—flood history information

We recently consulted on theExposure draft of the Bill for implementing a statutory seller disclosure scheme in Queenslandand the associated forms, with consultation closing on 31 August 2022.

Subject to consideration of the results of consultation, it is expected that the provisions for the implementation of the seller disclosure scheme will be incorporated as part of the Property Law Bill 2022.

Consistent with QUT’s recommendations, the draft disclosure statement does not require flooding history information to be disclosed but rather warns the buyer to make their own enquiries.

Further consideration is being given to whether flooding history information should also be included in the seller disclosure statement.

Accordingly, the consultation paper also seeks the views of the public and interested stakeholders to inform this consideration.

Have your say

You are invited to provide a written submission in response to thedraft Property Law Billand further consultation on whether flood history information should be included in the seller disclosure scheme.

If you would like to provide a submission, please either:

• email your submission to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or
• post your submission to:
  Property Law Act Review
  Strategic Policy and Legal Services
  Department of Justice and Attorney-General
  GPO Box 149
  BRISBANE  QLD  4001

The consultation is now open and the closing date for written submissions is 5pm on 21 October 2022.

Your privacy

The Queensland Government is bound by the Information Privacy Act 2009. Find out more by reading our privacy statement. We may contact you for further information on the issues your raise in your submission. Information in your submission will be used to inform this consultation process. Your submission may also be published on our website. If you would like your submission—or any part of it—to be treated as confidential, please indicate this clearly. Please note however that all submissions may be subject to disclosure under the Right to Information Act 2009.

Contact

Please email the Property Law Act Review team on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.if you would like to find out more about this consultation.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence The Honourable Shannon Fentiman

DRAFT PROPERTY LAW BILL RELEASED FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK

Draft legislation intended to replace Queensland’s outdated property laws has been made publicly available for community feedback. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman said the Bill had been developed to modernise property laws in the state with contemporary language that reflected current commercial practice. “Owning and dealing with property, establishing co-ownership arrangements, signing and enforcing lease agreements and managing mortgages are major concerns that affect Queenslanders everywhere, so it is essential that our property laws are modern and robust,” Minister Fentiman said. “The currentProperty Law Act 1974has generally served our state well for nearly 50 years, but it’s time for it to be repealed and replaced with modern legislation. “Before we introduce the Bill to the Parliament, we want to hear from stakeholders and interested Queenslanders to better inform policy options that need settling in the Bill. “This is legislation that will most likely effect everyone in our State at some stage of their lives, so all Queenslanders deserve the chance to have their say.” Minister Fentiman said the Bill had been developed based largely on the recommendations of the Commercial and Property Law Research Centre at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), following its broad-ranging, independent review of current legislation from 2013 – 18. “QUT’s final report made 232 recommendations, the bulk of which are for the repeal of outdated provisions or the redrafting of existing provisions in modern language,” she said. “While QUT’s recommendations have generally been adopted in the Bill, some property industry, legal and academic stakeholders expressed disagreement in certain areas during recent targeted consultation. “To assist the public in considering and commenting on the draft Bill, areas of disagreement have been highlighted in the Consultation Paper so that submissions can been well-informed.” Minister Fentiman said the Department of Justice and Attorney-General had also recently consulted on a draft Bill for implementing a statutory seller disclosure scheme in Queensland. “The results of that consultation are currently being considered, and it is expected that a new seller disclosure scheme will be incorporated as part of the Property Law Bill 2022,” Minister Fentiman said. “However, further consideration needs to be given to whether flooding history information should be included in the seller disclosure statement, so this new consultation will also seek views on that matter as well.” Written submissions in response to the draft Property Law Bill can be emailed toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The closing date for written submissions is5pm on 21 October 2022. Further information is available athttps://www.justice.qld.gov.au/community-engagement/community-consultation/current.