Cooling off: Queensland
In Queensland, 5 business days — and a slow builder lengthens them. The three things that quietly remove the right are on the main page.
Queensland ties the clock to paperwork rather than to signatures, and that detail works in the homeowner's favour more often than people realise.
The documents start the clock, not the pen
The period begins the day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract — plans and specifications included — and, on contracts of $20,000 or more, the QBCC Consumer Building Guide as well. If the contractor is slow handing those over, the window does not quietly expire. It runs until five business days after you actually receive them.
So the useful question on day six is not “am I too late”. It is “what did I receive, and when”. A contract signed a fortnight ago whose specifications never arrived may still be inside its cooling-off period, and the date on the covering email is the evidence.
Cite the section, in writing
Withdrawal is a signed written notice that states you are withdrawing under the cooling-off provisions in section 35 of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act. Naming the section is part of the form, not a flourish — a vague message saying you have changed your mind is not the same document.
The builder may keep $100 plus out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred before you withdrew. And the right is not available at all if you had a previous contract with them on substantially the same terms for the same site, or if you took formal legal advice before entering this one.
Queensland: the position
- Cooling-off period
- 5 business days
- Clock starts
- The day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract, including plans and specifications
- For contracts of $20,000 or more
- Also the day after you receive the QBCC Consumer Building Guide
- If the contractor is late with those documents
- The window extends — it runs until 5 business days after you receive them
- How to withdraw
- A signed written notice citing section 35 of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act
- What the builder may keep
- $100, plus out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred before you withdrew
- No right to withdraw if
- A previous contract on substantially the same terms for the same site, or you received formal legal advice before entering the contract
Read from QBCC, Cooling-off period on 23 October 2026. We publish the date we read it so you can judge how current it is. the QBCC is the authority on what applies to your contract — and on a deadline measured in days, asking them beats reading us.
Questions about cancelling in Queensland
When does the Queensland cooling-off period start?
The day after you receive a signed copy of the entire contract including plans and specifications — plus, on contracts of $20,000 or more, the QBCC Consumer Building Guide.
The builder never sent me the specifications. Am I out of time?
Possibly not. If the contractor is late providing those documents the window extends: it runs until five business days after you actually receive them. Ask what you received and when — the covering email is the evidence.
How do I withdraw?
A signed written notice stating you are withdrawing under the cooling-off provisions in section 35 of Schedule 1B of the QBCC Act. Naming the section is part of the form, not a flourish.
Is there anything that removes the right?
Yes — a previous contract with the same contractor on substantially the same terms for the same site, or formal legal advice received before you entered the contract.