The Queensland Government has moved to delay what would have been the automatic commencement of the Property Law Act 2023 on 3 November 2024.
In late 2023, the new Property Law Act was heralded as being the biggest change to property laws in Queensland in 50 years and those changes were anticipated to commence 6-12 months after the passing of the new Act.
Queensland laws provide that legislation that has not commenced within one year after securing the assent of the Governor, will automatically commence on the next day. That would have seen the provisions of the Property Law Act 2023 commence on 3 November 2024. The period before automatic commencement has now been postponed until 2 November 2025.
No firm update has been provided in relation to when the Act is now expected to commence, except to say that the Property Law Working Group has been consulted in relation to fixing a commencement date. The Regulation delaying the commencement of the Act cites the reason for the delay as to ensure that there is "sufficient time for affected legal, financial, property and community titles sector participants to undertake the necessary education and preparation work before the new property laws commence".
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