Queensland Title Search: What It Shows and What It Misses

Quick answer: A Queensland title search costs $25.71, returns in seconds, and tells you who owns the land and every interest registered over it. It does not tell you where your boundary is, whether someone holds a lease of three years or less, whether an easement was left off the register, or whether the land tax and council rates are paid. Those last four bind you anyway.

Most buyers treat the title search as a clean bill of health. It is not. It is a very reliable answer to a fairly narrow question, and the trouble starts when people assume the question was broader than it was.

Here is exactly what is on it, and exactly what is not.

What is a Queensland title search?

Queensland keeps a freehold land register under the Land Title Act 1994. The record for your block is its indefeasible title, and a current title search is a snapshot of that record at the moment you ask for it. Registry operations are run by Titles Queensland, though the Registrar of Titles remains a statutory office.

Two products matter. A current title search ($25.71) shows the position today. A historical title search ($37.88) shows dealings registered since the automated system began in 1994. Both are statutory fees, they are not subject to GST, and they index every 1 July.

What appears on a Queensland title search?

Every current search has the same sections, in the same order.

Registered owner. Names, dealing number, and the tenancy. There is a trap worth knowing here: under section 56 of the Land Title Act, if the transfer does not specify how co-owners hold the property, Queensland’s statutory default is tenants in common, not joint tenants. Most people assume the reverse, and the difference decides what happens to the share when one owner dies.

Estate and land. Usually “Estate in Fee Simple”, then the lot on plan description, then the local government area.

Easements, encumbrances and interests. Mortgages, easements, leases, caveats, writs of execution, building management statements, statutory covenants and Crown reservations. Note the warning printed at the foot of every search: charges do not necessarily appear in order of priority.

Administrative advices. A separate section, and not the same thing as an encumbrance. This is where a contaminated land notation, a State heritage listing, an owner-builder permit, a vegetation notice or a notice of intention to resume will sit. Most buyers skip it. Do not.

Unregistered dealings. Instruments lodged but not yet registered. Often “NIL”, and always worth a look when it is not.

Two Queensland quirks in that list. A writ of execution does not bind registered land until it is registered, and then only if it is executed and put into force within six months of lodgement. And Queensland only registers a statutory covenant where the covenantee is the State, a State entity or a local government, so private restrictive covenants do not work here the way they do in some other states.

What people wrongly assume is missing

Four things do appear, and buyers regularly either pay for a search they did not need or walk straight past a notation sitting in front of them.

• Contaminated Land Register entries do appear, as “CONTAM LAND”. The Environmental Management Register does not, and the EMR is the one that catches properties with a service station or dry cleaner in their history. Different register, separate search.
• State heritage listings do appear, as “HERITAGE SITE”. Local heritage listing under a council planning scheme does not.
• A formal notice of intention to resume does appear, as “NOTC INT RES”. An earlier-stage transport corridor or land requirement does not, and needs a separate Transport and Main Roads property search.
• Vegetation management and restoration notices do appear. The underlying regulated vegetation mapping does not.

What does a Queensland title search not show?

This is the list that costs people money.

Where your boundary is. You get a lot on a plan. No dimensions, no bearings, no area, and nothing at all about whether the fence, retaining wall or eaves are where they should be. The survey plan is a separate $27.56 product, and even that is a legal record rather than proof of what is physically on the ground. Only an identification survey by a cadastral surveyor answers that question.

A lease of three years or less. Section 185 of the Land Title Act makes a short lease an exception to indefeasibility. Note the Queensland wording: three years or less, and unlike New South Wales there is no requirement that the tenant be in possession. Someone can hold a tenancy you cannot see, and it binds you.

An easement left off the register. Section 185 again. An easement whose particulars were omitted or misdescribed still binds you. A clean encumbrances section is not proof there is no easement, which is the best reason to read our guide to encumbrances on a Queensland title before you sign.

Unpaid land tax. Section 60 of the Land Tax Act 2010 makes unpaid land tax a first charge on the land, ranking ahead of every other encumbrance whether registered or not, and expressly despite the indefeasibility provisions of the Land Title Act. You are protected only by obtaining a land tax clearance certificate.

Overdue council rates. Section 95 of the Local Government Act 2009 makes overdue rates a charge on the land automatically. The council may register that charge. It is not required to.

Flooding. Not on the title, and not required in the seller’s Form 2 disclosure either. Council flood mapping is your only source.

The rest of the search pack. Building and development approvals, unapproved structures, QCAT tree orders, pool safety compliance, unpaid body corporate levies, EMR status. None of it is on the title.

Does the Form 2 seller disclosure cover the gaps?

Partly, and the way it is drafted makes the point better than we can.

Since 1 August 2025 the Property Law Act 2023 has required a seller to give a Form 2 disclosure statement before the buyer signs, together with a set of prescribed certificates. A title search is prescribed certificate number one.

The regulation then requires the seller to disclose, in their own words, precisely the things the title search cannot tell you: unregistered encumbrances, zoning, EMR and CLR status, tree orders, transport infrastructure notices, heritage, resumption notices, pool safety, rates and water charges. The regime is effectively a legislative admission that a title search alone is not enough.

If disclosure is not given, or is inaccurate or incomplete on a material matter and the buyer would not have signed had they known, the buyer can terminate at any time before settlement, and the seller must refund everything with interest within 14 days. There is no innocent error defence.

And it still does not cover flooding, structural soundness, or previous building and development approvals. The Queensland Government says so expressly.

So what should a buyer actually do?

Order the title search and treat it as the first document rather than the last. Read the administrative advices, not just the encumbrances. Order the registered dealing and the survey plan if anything about the fences or the shape of the block looks odd. Get the clearance certificates, because land tax and rates outrank your title. And on some properties, have a conversation about title insurance, which exists precisely for the gaps described above.

Frequently asked questions

Buying in Queensland and want someone to actually read the dealings rather than tick a box? See our fixed fees or get in touch.

How much does a title search cost in Queensland?

$25.71 for a current title search and $37.88 for a historical search, both statutory fees. Statutory fees are not subject to GST, so that is what you actually pay. An image of the survey plan is $27.56 and a registered dealing such as an easement or mortgage is $50.16. Fees index on 1 July each year.

How long does a Queensland title search take?

Seconds. It is an electronic search of the freehold land register and the result is available immediately.

What is the difference between a current and a historical title search?

A current search shows who owns the property and what is registered against it today. A historical search shows the dealings registered since the automated titles system began in 1994, which is useful when you are tracing what has happened to a property over time.

Does a title search show property boundaries?

No. It gives you the lot on plan description only. There are no dimensions, no bearings and no indication of where anything physically sits. You need the survey plan for the legal boundary, and an identification survey by a cadastral surveyor to know where it is on the ground.

Does a title search show unpaid rates or land tax?

No. Both are charges on the land that can bind a buyer without appearing on the title. Land tax is a first charge that expressly outranks indefeasibility, and overdue council rates are a charge the council is not obliged to register. Clearance certificates are the only protection.

Is a clean title search enough to buy safely?

No. It is necessary and it is not sufficient. Short leases, omitted easements, rates and land tax arrears, flooding, unapproved building work and tree orders can all affect you without appearing on it.