In Queensland, anyone who trades in used motor vehicles as part of a business must hold a motor dealer licence or work for a licensed dealer as a registered salesperson; the only exception is a private individual selling outside any business. When a dealer takes a used car from you, whether by buying it or by selling it for you on consignment, the dealer must get a signed and dated statement from you about you and the car.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Motor dealers are licensed by Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading, which keeps a free public register of licensed dealers and salespeople.
5.1Is the business licensed?
The licence covers the things a business buying your car would do: obtaining used vehicles to sell, whole or in parts, selling them, selling on behalf of another person, and negotiating for someone to buy or sell. Operating as a motor dealer without one is an offence, and auctioning vehicles takes a separate chattel auctioneer licence.
The Office of Fair Trading’s online register can be searched for free. It is for information only and cannot be used as evidence in legal proceedings; for a record, you can order an official extract for a fee, which the Office says it can send within 10 working days, showing the licence’s holder, number, class and current status.
5.2Three ways through the trade
The dealer buys the car
You sign the statement described below. No safety certificate is needed for a vehicle traded to a licensed motor dealer. Before reselling, the dealer must guarantee the car has clear title.
The dealer sells it for you
The car stays yours while the dealer finds a buyer. A written appointment comes first, the sale money goes through the dealer’s trust account, and you can withdraw the car at any time.
An auctioneer sells it
The auctioneer either owns the car or acts as your appointed agent, and must ask you to set a reserve price. A buyer’s premium can only be charged with your written consent.
5.3The statement you sign
The same statement is required whether the dealer buys the car or takes it on consignment. It is not needed when the dealer acquires the car from a financier, another motor dealer or a motor vehicle auctioneer.
| Part | What it covers |
|---|---|
| You | Your name, address and driver licence number; an auctioneer also records your reserve price. |
| The car | Make, model and colour. |
| Identifying details | Engine number, identification number, registration number and build date. |
| History | The odometer reading in words and in figures, and whether the odometer or the engine has ever been replaced, with the date of an engine change if known. |
| Money owing | Whether a mortgage or security is attached to the car and, if so, how much is still owing and who the lender is. |
The money owing line matters because of what comes next: a dealer selling the car on must guarantee clear title, which the auction rules describe as a car entirely owned by the seller, legally able to be sold, and free of any mortgage, security or debt.
5.4Consignment, clause by clause
A dealer must not sell on consignment until you have appointed it in writing. The appointment sets out the services, any limits or conditions, and the commission, fees and expenses you will pay; both of you sign and date it before any service is provided, and you get a copy.
How long it runs
A single appointment is for one job and has a fixed term; renewing it takes a new form, signed no more than 14 days before the old one expires. A continuing appointment has no set end date. An appointment ends when a fixed term runs out without renewal, on a date both sides agree, or 30 days after either side gives written notice. You can always withdraw the car from sale.
Commission and expenses
Commission is negotiated as part of the appointment, and the dealer cannot raise it afterwards, keep a commission without a current licence, or take one where it has a beneficial interest. Money you hand over in advance for set purposes, such as advertising, a search or cleaning the car, goes into the trust account, and the dealer may not take commission on expenses.
When the car sells
- The buyer’s money goes into the dealer’s trust account and the buyer gets a trust account receipt.
- Nothing is withdrawn until the transaction is finalised.
- You, and anyone else owed a share, are paid first.
- Only then does the dealer take its commission.
Two side rules: a dealer cannot take a trade-in as part of a consignment sale, though it can buy a vehicle in a separate transaction, and it must tell buyers that consignment vehicles carry no cooling-off period.
5.5If money goes missing
Queensland runs a claim fund for people who lose money because of what a licensed motor dealer, chattel auctioneer or other licensee did or failed to do. The grounds it lists include trust money not handled properly, money or property given to pass on to someone else being stolen or misused, false claims about a vehicle, and a failure to guarantee clear title on a vehicle the dealer sells.
The Office of Fair Trading recommends first trying the business’s own complaints process; if that fails, a written claim goes to the Office, which decides simple claims itself and refers complex ones to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Selling privately instead? The safety certificate and registration transfer guides cover the steps a dealer would otherwise handle.