What Happens on Settlement Day in Queensland: Buyers, Sellers and Timing

Settlement day is the finish line of any Queensland property transaction – the day ownership officially changes hands. For most buyers and sellers, it can feel like a mystery. Here’s exactly what happens, and what your solicitor is doing behind the scenes to make it all go smoothly.

In this blog/video we discuss what we do for our clients on the day of Settlement for conveyancing property transactions.

Prefer to watch/listen? Click here to consume this content via YouTube!

Hi everybody – George Sourris, Empire Legal.

Today’s topic: What happens on Settlement day – Queensland property.

What actually happens on settlement day in QLD?

So,  your big day is finally here, Settlement Day. But what exactly happens? Let’s have a chat, start to finish, about the process of Settlement Day.

This is, of course, only applicable to Empire Legal clients, as I’m explaining our process. The first thing we do is we email our clients an email in the morning, advising them: Happy Settlement Day, and then we copy in the real estate agent on the deal. The email is not only a congratulations to the client, but also contains some important information.

For example, we explain the time that settlement has been set down for, as well as what happens in the event that the settlement doesn’t occur on time.  So, how exactly does that work, you ask?

What time does settlement usually happen?

Well, put simply, we usually aim for an early settlement and propose midday. With PEXA, the electronic settlement system, all parties, i.e. the buyer’s lawyers, the seller’s lawyers, the buyer’s bank and the seller’s bank, all have to sign off on the workspace stating they are “ready” to settle. Once all parties are “ready”, then settlement can go through.

In the event that all parties have not signed off by the agreed time, the settlement automatically rolls over in 30 minute windows. For example, if a 12pm settlement is missed, the new time by default is 12.30pm, then 1.00pm, 1.30pm, etc. This continues until 4pm. In Queensland, 4pm is the last time frame that a property can settle electronically. Even if the parties mutually agree to settle beyond 4pm, it’s not logistically possible in the system. So, 4pm is the hard deadline.

How Empire Legal runs settlement day

At Empire Legal, we’ve engineered a proactive approach, meaning that whilst we always sign off on time, we don’t just sit on our hands and wait for the other parties to perform their obligations. We get on the front foot and push the remaining parties that have outstanding tasks to sign off.

For example, our client’s bank or the other side’s solicitors. We’ll send them emails, we’ll get on the phone and find out why they haven’t signed off on the agreed time and push them to do it. Now, the reason we set down 12pm, is that in the event it does not settle on time, we still have 4 hours to resolve whatever problems might be outstanding.

Other firms might elect for a later settlement time, for example, 3pm.  We see this as not only unnecessary, but also risky, as if the settlement time is missed, there’s only the 3.30pm and the 4pm time slots left to settle.  We know how stressful and emotional buying and selling a property can be, as there are many moving parts in the conveyancing process.

We treat every single client as if they’re family, and we will do whatever we can to get them settled on time on the agreed settlement date.

Other firms rely on the Clause 6.2 Settlement Extension, which allows a settlement extension in the event a settlement is not ready up to 5 business days. We pretend it doesn’t even exist on our end. We don’t accept sloppiness or excuses. We always push on our end to make sure we are never the reason a settlement is delayed.

Your pre-settlement inspection

Also, on another note, it’s really important that you attend the property for your pre-settlement inspection.  Whilst technically you don’t have to attend a pre-settlement, we strongly recommend our purchasing clients check out the property, ideally on the morning of settlement or the day prior, to check it’s in the same condition it was when they put the property under contract.

If there’s any issues, we ask that you call us ASAP so we can negotiate on your behalf and protect your rights BEFORE the settlement goes through. Once the contract is settled, it’s almost always too late.

How you find out settlement has gone through

Now, once settlement has occurred, we have it set up automatically that our clients and the real estate agents get emailed, saying it’s gone through. We’ll then give you a call to deliver the good news ASAP.  Other firms may not tell their clients a matter has settled straight away, which means unnecessary delay for knowing, 1 – that your settlement’s gone through, and 2 – collecting the keys.

We know how important it is for our clients to be notified as soon as possible. Often clients have tradespeople lined up to begin renovations or removal trucks waiting on standby.

When do the keys get released?

On a side note guys, our vendors always want to know how quickly their money will land in their account. Believe it or not, usually within 4 business hours, so same day.

I know when I sold my property last year and it settled on PEXA, within 45 minutes, I had my cash. That was pretty cool. Cleared in my account. Keep in mind, in some instances, it can be up to three business days.

Title registration after settlement

Also, as part of the PEXA settlement process, the Title will transfer from the vendor to the purchaser. From there, the local council and the water utility company will be notified of the new purchaser’s details directly, meaning that future bills will be sent to the new owner.  If it’s a body corporate purchase, then we as the solicitors send a letter to the body corporate advising of the new purchasers contact information.

Bit of a trap, some firms don’t do this and then you don’t get a bill and you miss your pay on time discounts if your body corporate allows it. It’s part of our checklist and our process. We do thousands of deals every year, so we’ve got this down to an art.   Buyers and sellers need to arrange connection or disconnection of their electricity, gas and internet, as this is outside the scope of the conveyance.

Now guys, Settlement Day is always a massive day for all of our clients and it’s always Empire Legal’s top priority to make sure our clients are getting the best experience possible. We want a simple, sunny, smooth sale for our clients every time. Our clients are not just another number, we genuinely care.  You have trusted us to look after you, and that’s exactly what we will do every time. At Empire Legal, we have over 3,000 five star Google reviews, as at January 2025.

By design, we choose to operate only in the Queensland conveyancing space, with our mission being to help everyday Queenslanders have the best buying and selling experience in the Sunshine State.  Buying or selling? Pick a conveyancing team you can trust. Empire Legal.  Pretty cool. Our goal is to reach 1,000. We had over 8,400 people view our content on YouTube  over the last month. So we just need a small fraction of you to subscribe. If you’ve ever learnt anything, it’s all free. We don’t charge a dollar. Help us by subscribing. All that does is helps us reach more people that we can assist with conveyancing!

Thanks guys. That’s it for this week. Hope you learnt about settlement. Please don’t forget, I want to do content that you want. So, if you’ve got a question, flick me an email. I will write a blog on your topic and shout you out. Thanks very much.

What happens on settlement day for the buyer?

From your side it is mostly waiting, and that is by design. On the day:

• Your lender releases the loan funds to your solicitor or into the PEXA workspace
• You contribute any balance of your own funds, which needs to be cleared beforehand, not on the day
• Your solicitor checks the title one final time for anything registered overnight
• Settlement takes place electronically, usually inside a few minutes once everyone is ready
• Transfer duty is paid and the transfer is lodged for registration
• You get the call or the message, and the agent releases the keys

The one thing that is genuinely on you is the pre settlement inspection, and doing it the day before rather than the morning of gives you time to raise a problem while there is still leverage.

What happens on settlement day for the seller?

Your job is to be out and to have nothing outstanding:

• The property must be vacant and in the same condition it was at contract date, fair wear and tear aside
• Your outgoing lender must be ready to release the mortgage, which is the single most common cause of delay
• Rates, water and body corporate levies are adjusted to the settlement date
• Once settlement completes your solicitor authorises the agent to release keys
• Your net proceeds are paid, usually same day for an electronic settlement

Book your bank’s discharge early. A discharge authority that has not been processed is the reason most settlements move, and it is almost always the seller’s side.

How long does settlement take on the day?

An electronic settlement through PEXA is usually done in minutes once all parties are signed and funds are in place. The workspace locks, funds move, and the transfer is lodged automatically.

What takes time is everything before that moment. Realistically, expect the day to run mid morning to mid afternoon, because the parties have to be ready simultaneously and banks work to their own queues. If you are told settlement is booked for 2pm, that is the target time for the workspace, not the start of a process.

How long does a property settlement take from contract to settlement?

In Queensland a standard residential contract commonly runs 30 to 60 days from contract date to settlement, with 30 days being typical and longer settlements negotiated where a seller needs time or a buyer is selling first.

The contract date, not the finance date, starts the clock. Every other date in the contract counts from it.

What can delay settlement?

• The seller’s mortgage discharge is not ready. Number one cause, every time.
• Buyer funds are not cleared. A transfer sitting in a bank’s overnight queue is not cleared funds.
• The pre settlement inspection turns up an issue such as removed chattels, damage, or a tenant still in the property.
• Something registers on title late, such as a caveat or a writ.
• An ATO clearance certificate is missing where the price triggers the withholding rules.
• Pool safety or smoke alarm compliance has been left to the last week.

What happens if settlement does not happen on time?

Time is of the essence in the standard Queensland contract, so a missed settlement is a breach rather than an inconvenience. The party who is ready can issue a notice, claim interest and costs, and in some circumstances terminate and keep or recover the deposit.

In practice most late settlements are resolved by agreement on the same day or the next, but that is a negotiation you enter from a much weaker position if you are the one who is not ready.

We’ve got over 3,048 five-star Google reviews, and all of our pricing is on the website, we are super transparent.

Pick a conveyancing team that you can trust. This is seriously important. You need to pick the right people to look after you. This is all we do. We want to help you.

If you’re a real estate agent, a mortgage broker, or a banker, and you have clients that need help, we want to help these clients. Get in touch with us today.  I hope that helps.

Agents, brokers, bankers – you can also pass this on  to your clients as a nice little bundle of what to look out for at the pre-contract advice stage of buying a property in Queensland.

Thanks guys.

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If you have any questions, you can email me: george@empirelegal.com.au.

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