Off-the-plan purchases
Land in a new estate, or a unit or townhouse not yet built.
Buying off the plan means signing today for a lot or a building that does not exist yet. Settlement may be months or years away, and a lot can change in between: the plan, the size of the lot, the finishes, the body corporate budget and your own finance. The contract and disclosure documents decide who carries those risks.
Land in a new estate
- Draft plan of subdivision and lot size
- Building covenants and design approval
- Time limits to start and finish building
- Estate works, roads and services connection
- Fencing, retaining and earthworks
Unit or townhouse
- Proposed community management statement and by-laws
- First-year body corporate budget and levies
- Plans, floor area, finishes and inclusions
- Car parks, storage and exclusive use areas
- Caretaking, letting and service agreements
The developer must give you a disclosure statement and the proposed plan before you sign. It is the baseline for checking any later changes.
If the developer changes the plan or disclosure, they must notify you. If the change materially prejudices you, you may be able to terminate — but only within a short, strict time after the notice.
If the plan is not registered by the sunset date, the contract can usually be ended. Watch for requests to extend it and for clauses that let the developer extend.
Your deposit should be held in trust until settlement. Check who holds it, whether a deposit bond is allowed and when it can be released.
Your loan is approved near settlement, not when you sign. If values or rates move, the bank may lend less, and you must make up the difference.
For new residential property, the buyer must usually withhold GST from the price and pay it to the ATO at settlement.
First home buyers of eligible new homes and vacant land may pay no transfer duty. Foreign buyers pay additional foreign acquirer duty and usually need FIRB approval.
Check the builder’s licence and QBCC home warranty insurance, the defects period and how defects are reported.
- Missing the deadline to terminate after a variation notice
- Lot size or floor area smaller than shown in the brochure
- Body corporate levies much higher than the original budget
- Agreeing to extend the sunset date without advice
- Finance falling short at settlement
- Not budgeting for GST withholding or duty
- Building covenants that clash with your house plans
- Developer insolvency or long construction delays
- Finishes and inclusions substituted
- Short settlement period after plan registration
How we help — our difference
We read the disclosure statement, the draft plan and the contract together, and tell you where the risk sits before you sign. We then track every notice and deadline until settlement. Your matter is handled personally by an experienced solicitor.
- Contract and disclosure reviewed before signing
- Variation notices assessed quickly against your rights
- Sunset date and extension requests handled
- Finance and settlement timing planned early
- Residential and commercial off-the-plan
- Clear, fixed quoted fees
Considering an off-the-plan contract? Talk to us first.
A short first phone call is free. Detailed advice on your situation is given at a paid consultation, by appointment.
General information only, current as at October 2026 — not legal advice for your situation. Laws, fees and duty rates change, so we confirm the current position before advising you. Official information: Queensland seller disclosure · Queensland Revenue Office.