Agency agreements by state: exclusive vs open listings, the term, cooling-off and how you get out (NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA)

Before an agent can put a signboard up, you sign an agency agreement: a contract that appoints them, fixes the commission and marketing spend, sets the term and says what happens if the property sells some other way. In every state it must be in writing, and in every state the agent who gets it wrong risks losing the commission entirely. Sellers, though, tend to sign it at the kitchen table on the night of the appraisal and read it properly only when they want to leave.

This guide goes through what the law in each of the five largest states requires the agreement to say, how long it can bind you, whether you get a cooling-off period, and the three or four clauses worth negotiating before you sign. It is written from the Acts and regulations themselves, which are listed at the end. It is general information, not legal advice; if you are already in a dispute over commission, a property lawyer or the state consumer regulator is the right next call.

Exclusive, sole and open: the three kinds of listing

The names vary a little between states, but every agency agreement falls into one of three types, and the type decides the question that causes most disputes: do you owe commission if the agent did not find the buyer?

• Exclusive agency. The agent is paid if the property sells during the term, whoever finds the buyer, including you. New South Wales defines it exactly that way: commission is payable "whether or not the agent is the effective cause" and "whether or not the client is the effective cause". This is the standard listing in every state and the one most agents will put in front of you.
• Sole agency. One agent, and commission is payable if any other agent sells, but not if you sell it yourself to someone you found without the agent. NSW writes the distinction into the regulation; Queensland and South Australia use "sole" and "exclusive" as separate labels with the same practical difference.
• Open listing (a "general authority" in Victoria). Several agents can act, and only the one who actually sells is paid. You can normally end it at any time. Agents dislike open listings and market them less energetically, which is why they are rare for houses and common for land and hard-to-sell stock.

The trap is the overlap. If you sign an exclusive agreement with a second agent while the first is still running, both can be entitled to commission on the one sale. NSW requires the agreement to carry a warning saying exactly that, in capitals, and every other state's regulator publishes the same caution. Before you sign anything new, get the old agreement's end date in writing.

What every agreement should contain, whatever the state

The state rules below differ in detail, but the same items turn up in all of them, so this is the checklist to run through with the document in front of you:

1. The type of agency (exclusive, sole or open) and the exact start and end dates.
2. Commission: the rate or fixed fee, whether GST is included, and an example in dollars. Victoria requires the dollar example by law; it is good practice everywhere. Our state commission guides give the typical range: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, WA.
3. When commission is payable. Normally on settlement. Some forms make it payable on exchange of an unconditional contract, so if the buyer later fails to settle you may still owe it; NSW requires a specific warning next to any such clause.
4. Marketing and other expenses: an itemised budget, whether it is payable if the property does not sell (it usually is), and any rebates the agent receives from the suppliers.
5. The agent's estimated selling price, which in NSW, Victoria and South Australia is also the floor under everything they may advertise. See our guide to the reserve price and price guides.
6. How the agreement ends: the expiry date, any notice period, and whether it rolls into an open listing.
7. The tail clause: whether commission is payable if a buyer the agent introduced buys after the agreement ends, and for how long that runs.

New South Wales

The Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 is the strictest of the five on form. Under section 55, an agent is not entitled to commission or expenses unless the services were performed under a written agency agreement, signed by you and the agent, in the approved standard form if there is one, and unless a copy of the signed agreement was served on you within 48 hours of signing. A court or tribunal can relieve the agent of that consequence in limited cases (section 55A), but the starting position is no compliant agreement, no commission.

Before you sign, the agent must have given you the Fair Trading consumer guide, Agency agreements for the sale of residential property, no more than one month earlier (section 56, maximum penalty 40 penalty units, or $4,400). The agreement itself must record whether and when the guide was given.

Cooling-off. NSW is the only one of the five states that gives sellers a statutory cooling-off period on the agency agreement. Under section 59 it starts when the agreement is signed and ends at 5 pm on the next business day or Saturday. It can be extended by the agreement or by the agent in writing. It can be waived only if the agent gave you the proposed agreement and the consumer guide at least one business day before you signed and you then signed the approved waiver form before signing the agreement. The agreement must carry a cooling-off statement close to your signature. If you rescind in time, you owe nothing.

The prescribed terms. Schedule 6 of the Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022 sets the wording for residential sales:

• an exclusive or sole agency agreement must say so in a prominent "IMPORTANT" statement explaining that you may owe commission even if you or another agent sells;
• every agreement must carry the "WARNING" about having signed with another agent and possibly paying two commissions;
• if commission is payable even when the sale does not complete, a warning must sit immediately under that term;
• a fixed term longer than 90 days must let you terminate without penalty on 30 days' written notice at any time after the first 90 days;
• a private-treaty agreement must state the price at which the property is to be offered;
• the agent's sales inspection report forms part of the agreement.

Separately, sections 72A to 73B require the agreement to contain the agent's estimated selling price, as a single figure or a range no wider than 10%, and forbid advertising below it. NSW does not cap the term of an agreement; the 90-day rule only gives you a way out after 90 days. Agents commonly propose 90 to 120 days for an exclusive listing, and the term is negotiable.

Getting out. Inside the cooling-off period, a written notice ends it. After that, you are bound for the fixed term unless the agreement gives a termination right, the agent agrees to release you (ask; many will, especially if you agree to honour the tail clause for buyers they introduced), or the agent has breached the Act in a way that costs them the commission. Fair Trading handles complaints about conduct; disputes over commission itself go to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Victoria

Victoria calls the document a sales authority, and the three types are the exclusive authority, the auction authority and the general authority. The Estate Agents Act 1980 ties the agent's right to be paid to the paperwork: under sections 49A and 50, an agent cannot sue for, recover or retain commission or outgoings unless the authority is in writing, signed by you, states the commission and expenses (as a dollar figure, or a percentage with a dollar example), includes the approved rebate statement and the approved statement on where to complain about commission, and unless you were given a copy of the signed authority. Consumer Affairs Victoria adds that the agent must tell you commission and expenses are negotiable before you sign.

The authority must state the agent's estimated selling price as a single figure or a range of up to 10% (section 47A), and that estimate is the floor under the campaign's statement of information. Under section 48A the agent may not keep any rebate on advertising or other expenses, even if you agree to it; the rebate must be paid to you, and the penalty is up to 60 penalty units ($12,546 at the 2026-27 rate of $209.10).

Term and ending it. Victoria has no statutory maximum term, but a sole or exclusive authority must carry a statement that, unless you agree otherwise, it ends 30 days after the auction date or 60 days after signing for a private sale. In practice the REIV forms let the agent write in a longer period, so read the box rather than assuming the default applies. There is no cooling-off period on a sales authority in Victoria (the three-business-day cooling-off you may have heard of belongs to buyers on the contract of sale). Once signed, you are bound for the stated period unless the authority allows termination or the agent releases you. Complaints about conduct go to Consumer Affairs Victoria; disputes about commission or outgoings can go to VCAT.

Queensland

Queensland regulates the appointment more tightly than any other state, through Part 4 of the Property Occupations Act 2014. The document is the approved Form 6, "Appointment and reappointment of a property agent, resident letting agent or property auctioneer".

• An agent must not act for you until you have appointed them in the approved form, signed and dated by both of you, and given you a copy (sections 102 and 109; maximum penalty 200 penalty units, or $34,540 at the rate applying from 1 July 2026).
• The appointment must state each service, the fees and commission for it and when they become payable, the expenses the agent may incur (including advertising), any rebates the agent may receive and a prominent statement that you should seek independent legal advice before signing (section 104). An appointment missing these is ineffective from the moment it is made (section 112).
• Commission expressed as a percentage must be stated as worked out only on the actual sale price (section 105).
• Before you sign a sole or exclusive appointment, the agent must give you the approved notice about sole and exclusive agencies and discuss with you which type it is, the proposed term, your right to negotiate the term up to a maximum of 90 days, and what happens if someone else sells during the term (section 103). Skipping that step also makes the appointment ineffective.
• A sole or exclusive appointment for a residential sale that runs longer than 90 days is ineffective (section 112). It can be renewed for further terms of up to 90 days, but not earlier than 14 days before the current term ends (section 110), and the renewal must be in the approved form.
• The appointment must state whether it is sole or exclusive and the day it ends, and it may provide that it then continues as an open listing that either side can end at any time (section 108).

Getting out. An open listing can be ended at any time. A sole or exclusive appointment, by contrast, is not one of the appointments the Act lets either party revoke on 30 days' notice (section 114), so unless the Form 6 itself provides an earlier exit it runs to its end date, which is exactly why the 90-day cap exists. There is no cooling-off period on a Form 6. Complaints go to the Office of Fair Trading, which can discipline agents but does not decide private commission disputes; those go to QCAT or a court.

South Australia

South Australia's sales agency agreement is governed by section 20 of the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 and regulation 18 of the 2025 Regulations. It is the most prescriptive on price. The agreement must state, each as a single figure without qualifying words:

• the agent's genuine estimate of the selling price, and
• the selling price sought by or acceptable to you.

The higher of those two figures becomes the "prescribed minimum advertising price": the agent may not market the property below it. For an auction, the agreement cannot later be varied to increase your acceptable price, which stops the guide being set low and lifted at the last minute.

The agreement must also state the manner of sale, the duration (no more than 90 days), your rights to terminate, the services and their charges and when they are payable, any rebates the agent expects, whether it is a sole agency, and whether the agent may accept an offer on your behalf. Before you sign, the agent must give you the Commissioner's written guide to sales agency agreements and the comparable sales and other evidence behind their estimate. You must be given a copy of the signed agreement immediately, or within 48 hours if you agree. Each of these carries a maximum penalty of $5,000, and under section 20(7) and (8) an agent who breaches the section may not demand or keep commission, and commission already paid is recoverable as a debt.

Extension. The agreement can be extended only once, and only if the agent gives you a written notice of expiry no earlier than 14 days before the end date, reminding you of your right to terminate and how extension works. You can then reply that you do not want to extend, in which case it ends on the date; you can agree in writing to an extension of up to 90 days; or, if you do nothing, it is extended by force of the Act for 180 days. During any extension you may terminate at any time by written notice without giving a reason. If the agent never gives the notice of expiry, the agreement simply ends on its date and cannot be extended. There is no cooling-off period. Complaints go to Consumer and Business Services on 131 882.

Western Australia

WA has the lightest statutory framework of the five. Under section 60 of the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, an agent is not entitled to commission unless they were licensed throughout and had been appointed in writing, signed by you, setting out the property, the services and the commission and how it is worked out; and under section 63 they must give you a copy of any document you sign. The Code of Conduct for Agents and Sales Representatives 2016 requires the agent to act fairly and honestly and to give you the information you need to make an informed decision.

There is no statutory maximum term, no cooling-off period and no prescribed form. Almost every agency uses the REIWA Exclusive Selling Agency Authority, in which the term is a blank the agent fills in, and the tail clause typically covers buyers the agent introduced during the term. Because nothing in the Act cuts the term short, the number you write in that box is the number you are bound by. Sixty to ninety days is a normal opening position from a seller; agents will often ask for longer. If you want an exit, add one to the authority before you sign: for example, the right to terminate on 14 or 30 days' written notice after an initial period. Complaints about conduct go to Consumer Protection WA on 1300 30 40 54; disciplinary matters are heard by the State Administrative Tribunal.

Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory

The same principle runs through the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016 (Tas), the Agents Act 2003 (ACT) and the Agents Licensing Act 1979 (NT): the appointment must be in writing before the agent acts, and it must set out the commission and expenses. None of the three has Queensland's or South Australia's 90-day cap, so the term you sign is the term you get, and the negotiating points below matter more, not less. Our commission guides for Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory cover the typical rates.

The five things to change before you sign

The agent's form is a starting offer. These are the clauses sellers most often regret leaving as printed.

1. The term. Ask for the shortest period that fits the campaign: for an auction, the auction date plus two to four weeks; for private treaty, 60 to 90 days. A good agent expects to sell inside that window and a long term protects only the agent who does not. In NSW anything over 90 days must give you a 30-day exit anyway; in Queensland and SA 90 days is the legal ceiling.
2. The tail clause. Limit it to buyers the agent introduced in writing during the term, and to a fixed period afterwards (60 to 90 days is common). Ask for the list of introduced buyers when the agreement ends.
3. The commission trigger. Make sure commission is payable on settlement, not on exchange, so you are not paying for a sale that falls over. NSW forces a warning next to any exchange-triggered clause; in the other states you have to look for it.
4. Marketing. Get an itemised budget with the portal tier named, and agree in writing whether any of it is refundable if you withdraw. Ask whether the agent receives any rebate from the supplier; in Victoria they must pay it to you, and in NSW, Queensland and SA they must disclose it.
5. The rate itself. Commission is negotiable in every state, and a tiered structure (a base rate to a target price, a higher rate above it) aligns the agent's interest with yours better than a flat cut. Our guide to negotiating commission sets out how to do it without souring the relationship.

When you want out early

Read the agreement's termination clause first; it is usually more generous than the statutory position. If it gives you nothing, the practical route in every state is the same: write to the principal of the agency, say why, and ask to be released. Most agencies would rather release an unhappy seller, with the tail clause preserved, than argue about it, because a seller who has stopped cooperating is unsellable anyway. If they refuse, you have three options: wait out the term (in Queensland and SA that is at most 90 days from signing), rely on a breach that disentitles them to commission, or take the dispute to the consumer regulator and then the tribunal. Our guide to changing agents mid-campaign goes through the steps and the double-commission risk in detail, and our page on complaints and red flags covers the Fair Trading route in each state.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell to a friend without paying commission?

Under an exclusive agency, no: you owe commission whoever finds the buyer. Under a sole agency you may, if you found the buyer yourself, but NSW's definition is exact about that and the other states' forms vary, so check the wording. If you already have a likely private buyer, name them in the agreement as an exclusion before you sign; most agents will agree to it.

Is there a cooling-off period on an agency agreement?

Only in NSW, where it runs to 5 pm on the next business day or Saturday after signing and can be waived only with the approved form after you have had the agreement and the consumer guide for a business day. Victoria, Queensland, SA and WA have none. Queensland and SA compensate with a 90-day maximum term.

Do I have to pay the marketing costs if I withdraw?

Usually yes, for whatever has been spent or committed. The agreement will say whether marketing is payable up front, on settlement or on withdrawal. In Victoria and SA the agent must disclose rebates on those costs, and in Victoria must pass them to you.

What happens when the term ends and it has not sold?

In Queensland the appointment may roll into an open listing if the Form 6 says so, and can be renewed for up to 90 days no earlier than 14 days before expiry. In SA it ends unless the agent served a notice of expiry, in which case it extends once, by agreement or by 180 days automatically, and you can terminate at any time during the extension. Elsewhere it ends on the date, subject to the tail clause, and you are free to relist with anyone.

Are online forms and electronic signatures valid?

Yes in all five states; NSW expressly allows the copy to be served electronically. Keep the signed PDF and the email timestamps, because the 48-hour copy rule in NSW and SA, and the copy requirement everywhere else, is one of the most common reasons an agent loses the right to commission.

Where this fits

The agreement is the second decision in a sale, after the choice of agent. Our guide to choosing a selling agent covers the shortlist, and questions to ask a real estate agent gives the interview. If you are weighing whether to use an agent at all, see selling privately. For the campaign itself, start with how to sell a house in Australia.

Sources

• Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (NSW), sections 55, 55A, 56, 59 and 72A to 73B: legislation.nsw.gov.au; Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022 (NSW), Schedule 6: legislation.nsw.gov.au. NSW penalty unit $110.
• NSW Fair Trading, Agency agreements.
• Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), sections 47A, 48A, 49A and 50, authorised version 135: legislation.vic.gov.au; Consumer Affairs Victoria, Authorities, rebates and commission (last updated 12 October 2023). Victorian penalty unit $209.10 for 2026-27.
• Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), Part 4, sections 102 to 114, current as at 1 August 2025: legislation.qld.gov.au. Queensland penalty unit $172.70 from 1 July 2026.
• Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 (SA), section 20, and Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Regulations 2025 (SA), regulation 18: legislation.sa.gov.au.
• Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 (WA), sections 60 and 63, and the Real Estate and Business Agents and Sales Representatives Code of Conduct 2016: legislation.wa.gov.au; Consumer Protection WA, Selling property.
• Typical term lengths, tail-clause periods and the negotiating points are described as market practice, not rules.