Queensland Office of Fair Trading Trust Account Complaints

Queensland's approach to conveyancing regulation looks different from most other states, and this catches people out when they go looking for the wrong regulator. Queensland does not license standalone conveyancers the way New South Wales or Western Australia does. Paid conveyancing work in Queensland must be carried out by a law firm, under solicitor supervision, which means complaints about the legal conduct of your conveyancing solicitor go through the legal profession's own complaints system, not the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Where the OFT does step in is trust money held by real estate agents during a property sale, which is a distinct and equally important part of the process. Understanding this split early can save you weeks of chasing the wrong agency with a complaint that was never going to be within its power to resolve.

Two Different Trust Accounts, Two Different Regulators

In a typical Queensland residential sale, a buyer's deposit is usually held in the selling agent's trust account, governed by the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014, and this is squarely within the OFT's jurisdiction. Separately, your solicitor may also operate a trust account for settlement funds and disbursements, but solicitor trust accounts are subject to a different oversight regime administered through the legal profession's regulatory bodies. Knowing which trust account your concern relates to is the first step in working out where to lodge a complaint. If you are unsure, your contract of sale and any trust account statements you have received should identify which party, the agent or the law firm, is actually holding the funds in question.

Why Queensland's Structure Is Different

The Property Occupations Act 2014 governs the licensing of real estate agents in Queensland, and it works alongside the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 to set out how trust money must be received, held, and disbursed. Because conveyancing itself is treated as legal work rather than a separately licensed occupation, the OFT's involvement in a typical purchase or sale is usually limited to the agent's handling of the deposit, rather than the broader conduct of the transaction. This structural difference is worth understanding even if you never need to make a complaint, since it shapes who you should be asking questions of at each stage of your transaction.

What the Office of Fair Trading Investigates

The OFT investigates issues such as an agent failing to notify it when opening a new trust account, using trust money for business or personal expenses, releasing deposit funds early without authority, or failing to reconcile trust accounts on time. These are serious breaches of the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 and can lead to disciplinary action, licence conditions, or in serious cases prosecution. If you believe your deposit has been mishandled by a real estate agent rather than your solicitor, this is the pathway to use.

How to Lodge a Complaint with the OFT

The OFT accepts complaints about trust accounts in the property, motor vehicle, and debt collection industries through its Case Assessment, Response and Trust Accounts Unit. You will generally need to set out what happened, when, who was involved, and what documentation you have, such as the contract of sale, deposit receipts, and any correspondence with the agent about the funds. Be as specific as possible about dates and amounts, since vague complaints are harder for an investigator to act on quickly. It also helps to briefly raise the issue with the agency directly before lodging a formal complaint, since some concerns turn out to be timing or paperwork delays rather than genuine trust account breaches.

If Your Complaint Is Actually About a Solicitor

If your concern is about legal advice, contract preparation, or how your solicitor handled the transaction rather than trust money held by a real estate agent, the OFT is not the right body. Complaints of that nature are directed to the Queensland Law Society or the Legal Services Commission, which regulate solicitor conduct and their trust accounts separately under the state's legal profession legislation. It is worth clarifying this distinction early, since sending a complaint to the wrong regulator simply delays a resolution.

What Happens After You Complain

Once a complaint is lodged, the OFT assesses whether it falls within its jurisdiction and whether there is enough information to investigate. Straightforward administrative issues may be resolved through direct contact with the agency, while more serious allegations can lead to a formal investigation, and potentially referral to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for disciplinary proceedings. As with most regulatory processes, timeframes vary depending on the complexity of the matter and the volume of evidence involved.

Protecting Yourself Before You Transact

The best way to avoid a trust account dispute is to understand upfront how deposit funds will be held during your residential purchase or residential sale, and to ask your solicitor to confirm this in writing before you sign a contract. Reviewing how trust account rules work for conveyancers generally gives useful context even though Queensland's structure differs slightly from other states. It is also reasonable to ask the selling agent directly which financial institution holds their trust account and how quickly they reconcile it, since a confident, specific answer is generally a good sign.

Getting the Right Advice from the Start

Whether you are buying in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, or regional Queensland, choosing a properly supervised legal team for your Queensland conveyancing reduces the chance of ever needing to raise a trust account complaint at all. A clear engagement letter that explains who holds what money, and under which legislation, is a simple safeguard worth insisting on.