Selling or Buying Property With a Resumption Notice in Queensland

A property resumption notice can catch you by surprise, and for many owners, buyers and investors who didn’t have a heads up that their site was in line to be acquired by the Government, this creates a big question:

What happens when a property caught up in a resumption process needs to be sold or purchased?

Disclosure makes up a big part of the answer. Here’s an explanation of what you need to know when exchanging a piece of land that is set to be resumed in Queensland.

Key takeaways

• A resumption notice does not automatically make a property unsaleable. Transactions can and do proceed, but both parties need to understand what the notice means for the property’s future.
• Sellers in Queensland now have mandatory disclosure obligations. Under the Property Law Act 2023, effective from August 2025, sellers must disclose resumption notices and transport infrastructure proposals on a Form 2 Disclosure Statement before a contract is signed.
• Buyers who receive a Form 2 disclosing a resumption notice have specific rights, including the ability to terminate the contract in certain circumstances if the disclosure was not made correctly.
• Discovering a notice mid-transaction changes the picture. Whether you are a seller, buyer, or investor, the steps you take immediately after discovering a notice are important.
• Legal advice at the earliest possible stage protects your position. The intersection of compulsory acquisition law and property transaction law is technical, and the consequences of getting it wrong are real.

What the Property Law Act 2023 means for sellers

Queensland’s Property Law Act 2023 brought in some of the biggest changes to property transactions the state has seen in decades. From 1 August 2025, sellers must give buyers a formal Disclosure Statement, called a Form 2, before a contract of sale is signed.

This requires sellers to disclose a range of matters affecting the property, including whether the property is subject to a resumption notice or a transport infrastructure proposal.

This is not a discretionary disclosure. If a notice exists and it is not disclosed, the buyer may have grounds to terminate the contract and recover their deposit, even after exchange.

For sellers who are aware that their property is affected by a resumption notice, the obligation is clear: disclose it accurately and completely before the contract is signed.

The practical question is not whether to disclose but how to present that information in a way that gives the transaction the best chance of proceeding on fair terms.

It is also worth understanding that a resumption notice does not necessarily mean the acquisition will proceed on the original timeline or scope. In some cases, notices are issued years before any physical works begin. A seller who understands the status of their particular notice, and can communicate that clearly to a buyer, is in a stronger position than one who leaves the buyer to draw their own conclusions from a disclosure notice alone.

What buyers need to understand about a resumption notice

A resumption notice affects the property’s future and, in some cases, its current value and use. It means a government authority has identified the property, or part of it, as required for a public purpose. That could mean a road corridor, a rail alignment, a water infrastructure project, or any number of other uses. The scope of what is proposed and the likely timing will vary significantly depending on the project involved.

As a buyer, if you have your eye on a piece of property but Form 2 clarifies that that land is in line for resumption, you are entitled to ask questions before you commit:

• What part of the property is affected?
• Is the acquisition of the whole lot proposed, or a partial take?
• What is the current status of the project?
• Has any compensation been agreed on?

These are not unreasonable questions, and a seller who cannot answer them should prompt you to seek independent advice before proceeding with the purchase.

Understanding what a resumption notice means for a property also requires some familiarity with compulsory acquisition rights in Queensland and what the process typically involves. A property encumbered by a resumption notice is not necessarily a poor investment, but it is a different kind of investment and buying it with open eyes is very different from buying it without adequate information.

When a resumption notice is discovered mid-transaction

The most stressful version of this situation is when a resumption notice is discovered after a contract has been signed, either because the seller was unaware of it, because it was issued after exchange, or because it was not disclosed correctly.

• For sellers in this situation, what happens next will depend on the requirements under the Property Law Act 2023 and the terms of the contract. Getting legal advice straight away from a lawyer who has experience in property resumption is essential. If there has been a disclosure issue, the consequences can be serious, including the risk that the buyer may be able to terminate the contract and recover their deposit.
• For buyers who discover a notice after exchange, the key question is what that non-disclosure means for you. It may give you grounds to terminate, it may lead to renegotiated terms or it may turn out that the notice does not materially affect your plans for the property. If you have been made aware of the resumption before the contract is finalised, you may wish to renegotiate the terms or rethink your decision to buy.
• If you’re buying as an investor and you find out mid-transaction that a notice has been issued over a property, the first step is to understand exactly what the proposal covers. From there, you need to assess any likely compensation entitlement and get advice on whether to continue with your planned purchase and deal directly with the acquiring authority with the help of your lawyer.

Note: It is also worth checking whether any other property encumbrances are relevant to the transaction, beyond the resumption notice itself. This is especially important where only part of the property is being acquired and the remaining land may still be affected by other restrictions or conditions.

Exchanging property under a resumption notice in Queensland

Property transactions involving resumption notices are not uncommon, and they are not inherently unworkable. What they require is clarity about:

• The status of the notice
• The likely timeline of the acquisition
• The expected compensation and where the current owner is at when it comes to negotiations
• The actual obligations and entitlements of each party.

If the seller understands their disclosure obligations, the buyer knows what questions to ask, and both parties work with legal advisors who understand the intersection of property transaction law and compulsory acquisition law, all parties will be far better placed to reach a transaction that works for everyone.