In 2023, during Sandy’s time on the Parliamentary Legal Affairs and Safety Committee, they conducted an inquiry into the Property Law Bill 2023, when it was introduced to Parliament. This piece of legislation intended to replace the older Property Law Act 1974 to modernise it based on recommendations in the 2018 report on the Act, completed by the Commercial and Property Law Research Centre at QUT. Through the inquiry, it was apparent that there was very broad support for the changes, however there were also specific concerns raised including regarding what isn’t included in seller disclosures. These statements provide information about a property being sold and is meant to help buyers make informed decisions about the property and avoid being misled.

The following in italics is an extract from Sandy’s Parliamentary debate speech from 24 October 2023 on the Property Law Bill 2023, which outlines the specifics:

The Unit Owners Association of Queensland raised an important issue that the seller disclosure should contain a simple statement of the lawful use of the land and the building drawn from the development approval given by local government under the Planning Act 2016. This is extremely relevant given the short-term accommodation issues being experienced, including in my own community, with buildings approved for residential use being used unlawfully for short-term stays.

The department’s response was not to support this, with the argument that the recording of development approvals has varied over time, hence obtaining a full development approval document is likely to be difficult, time consuming and expensive in many cases. In addition, it would be difficult to outline the lawful use of a lot in a development approval in a short and simple way that may be easily understood by buyers, particularly given the complexities of the regulation of planning and lawful usage under the various applicable planning laws. The third argument was that planning is enforced by local government and disclosing planning approvals would not provide any additional pathways for enforcement. 

These three points are as succinct a summary of the failures in the planning scheme as you are likely to get, and they are outlined in my statement of reservation. They demonstrate a system that is failing to achieve its own objectives and should be acknowledged as such. What is the point of a planning scheme if it does not, and seemingly cannot, achieve the goal of ensuring buildings and lands are used for the lawful purpose for which they were approved? Queensland deserves and should expect a planning system that works. A principle set out in the review QUT undertook for the seller disclosure scheme states:

Information to be provided by the seller to the buyer pre-contract should be within the seller’s knowledge or readily available by search at reasonable cost to the seller. 

Apparently, it is not. Ultimately it needs to be provided, and I do appreciate that the Attorney-General has referred this to the Deputy Premier to look at because it is so important.

The full speech can be viewed at https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/speeches/spk2023/Sandy_Bolton-Noosa-20231024-637886910526.pdf. Sandy’s statement of reservation that she references can be read at www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Tabled-Papers/docs/5723t449/5723t449-62bc.pdf#page=30.

As the Attorney General referred this to the Deputy Premier, Sandy followed this up during the 2023 Estimate Hearings, where she asked the below Question on Notice (QON), with the Minister providing a response on 26 October 2023:

Sandy’s QON:

With the Budget committing $71m in 2023-24 for “Better Planning for Queensland” (SDS, p 9) will the Minister commit to reviewing and improving the planning scheme so that the lawful use of a property is known, communicated and enforced over the lifetime of the property and consistently across Queensland?

The Deputy Premier’s response:

I am advised that local governments are responsible for preparing planning schemes that regulate where and how development can occur, for ensuring land uses are lawful and for undertaking any necessary enforcement action for unlawful uses. Local governments have a range of online services for the public to access information about building and planning approvals, zoning and other information that applies to properties, examples are the Noosa Shire Council’s application tracker, property enquiry tool and interactive map tool.

Following the 2024 State Election with a new Government established, Sandy wrote to the new Attorney General regarding this. Below was provided recently in response:

I note that you have suggested that buyers should be made aware of whether a property or a body corporate complex is authorised for short term accommodation. As you will appreciate, whether a property can be lawfully used for short-term accommodation is a complex issue that may depend on complex interaction of laws, including zoning and planning controls under local government requirements.

It would not be appropriate for a seller to be required to provide information to a buyer about whether the property can be lawfully used for short term accommodation, as this could result in the seller giving legal advice to the buyer. A buyer who is concerned about whether or not a property can be lawfully used for short-term letting should make their own inquiries.

The Property Law Act 2023 (New PLA) will commence on 1 August 2025, and will implement a statutory seller disclosure scheme in Queensland. Subject to some exceptions, sellers of real property will be required to provide the buyer of that property with a disclosure statement, in the approved form, setting out particular information.

The approved form for the disclosure statement includes the following warning to the buyer:

WARNING TO BUYER — You may not have any rights if the current or proposed use of the property is not lawful under the local planning scheme. You can obtain further information about any planning and development restrictions applicable to the lot, including in relation to short-term letting, from the relevant local government.

This warning statement makes it clear that a buyer should obtain independent legal advice about any planning and development restrictions that may apply to the property, including in relation to short-term letting.

Further, sellers of a lot in a community titles scheme under the BCCM Act and or a lot in a plan under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1997 (BUGT Act) will also be required to provide the buyer of the lot with a body corporate certificate, in the approved form.

The approved form for the body corporate certificate provides a clear warning to buyers that the certificate does not include information about the lawful use of lots and information about how a buyer may find out what a lot can be used for.

To inform her advocacy going forward regarding seller disclosures, Sandy would appreciate Noosa Electorate resident feedback on the above information. This can be sent to us via email to noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.

Further information

To contact the relevant Ministers, email the following:

Please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward us any response you receive.

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