How to lodge

Fill out the form

Regular claims

These claims apply to property agents, motor dealers, debt collectors and auctioneers.

If you decide to make a claim, you will need to lodge a claim form with the Office of Fair Trading. Give as much information about the agent, dealer, debt collector or auctioneer as possible. There is no fee to lodge a claim against the claim fund.

Download the regular claim against the claim fund form (PDF, 155KB).

Always try to settle the claim with the agent or dealer first. Go through their complaint process. If this doesn’t resolve the dispute, then you can lodge a written claim with us. Don’t leave it too long to make your claim with us, as time limits do apply.

Marketeering claims

These claims only apply to property agents.

You can’t make a claim about marketeering if you still own the property. You must:

• submit a marketeering claim form within 1 year of signing the contract to give us notice of your intention to claim in the future
• sell your property within 6 years of signing the contract
• submit the regular claim form after you sell the property.

Download the Notice of intention to claim for a marketeering contravention form (PDF, 154KB).

Identify the agent

You will need to tell us who you’re claiming against. Be aware that a business name is not a legal entity. You will need to find out the name of the proprietor—this might be a person or a company.

Write the business's name in this format:

• ABC Pty Ltd trading as XYZ Realty (if it is a company)
• John Smith trading as XYZ Realty (if it is a sole trader or partnership).

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains a registry of business names. You can do a basic search for free, but you will need to pay a fee for more detailed information.

Search the ASIC business names register.

Claim within the time limit

You must lodge a claim:

• within 1 year of becoming aware of your loss
• no more than 3 years after the event.

We will decide if you made your claim in time.

If you need more time, you can ask for an extension from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

Legal proceedings

If you’re involved in legal proceedings that relate directly to the event, you can lodge a claim at the end of those proceedings.

This only applies:

• for regular claims
• if the proceedings began during the claim period
• for 3 months after the end of the proceedings.