The Buyer's Agent Agreement: What You Sign, What You Pay, and When

Before a buyer's agent lifts a finger for you, you sign something. Most people skim it. This is what that document is, what it commits you to, when the money actually changes hands, and which parts are set by law rather than by the agency.

Current as at 9 October 2026, with sources listed at the foot of this article. It is general information, not legal advice.

What is a buyer's agent agreement?

A buyer's agent agreement is the written contract that appoints a licensed agent to act for you, the buyer. It sets out the services, the fee and when it falls due, the term and how it ends. In Queensland it is the government's Form 6. In New South Wales a signed written agreement is required before the agent can charge you.

Queensland. The form is the Residential agent appointment or reappointment, known as Form 6. The Queensland Government says it must set out the services the buyer's agent will provide and any limits or conditions on them, all commissions, fees and expenses for their services, and the due date for paying them.^[1] If a Queensland agent starts working for you without a completed Form 6, something is already wrong.

New South Wales. A property agent must prepare a written agency agreement for any services they agree to provide, signed by the licence holder and the client, and a signed copy must be served on you within 48 hours of your signing. If that does not happen, the agent is not entitled to commission or expenses.^[2] The agreement must also disclose any rebates, discounts or commissions the agent may receive from anyone else.^[2] The Real Estate Institute of NSW summarises what has to be in it as the five Ps: parties, property, period, price and payment.^[3]

On the Gold Coast a search often crosses the border without anyone planning it, so an agent working both sides needs a licence in each state and will use the right paperwork for each. Breige holds QLD 4836994 and NSW 20560967.

What to read before you sign

• Scope. Full search, or negotiation only on a property you have found, or auction bidding only. Each is priced differently.
• Area and price range. The brief the agent is appointed to work on. If it changes, the agreement should too.
• Term. How long the appointment runs, and whether it rolls over.
• Exclusivity. Whether a property you find yourself during the term still attracts the fee. Usually it does, and that is reasonable if the agent is doing the due diligence and the negotiation on it, but it should be stated.
• Termination. Notice period, and what is still payable if you end it early.
• Third-party payments. The agreement should say whether the agent receives anything from developers, selling agents or referrers. The Real Estate Buyers Agents Association recommends asking this directly.^[4]

How is a buyer's agent paid?

By you, usually in two parts. A smaller engagement fee or retainer is paid when you sign, and the balance is paid once a property is secured, typically when the contract goes unconditional or at settlement. The balance is a percentage of the price or a fixed amount, plus GST. Retainers are often not refundable, so ask before you sign.

The published guides describe the same shape. Aussie's June 2025 guide puts the upfront engagement fee at roughly $1,000 to $3,000, with the balance usually due on settlement as either a fixed amount or a percentage.^[5] Melbourne buyer's agency Raveche Property describes its own structure the same way: a portion of the agreed fee upfront, and the balance not due until a property is secured and all conditions of the contract have been satisfied.^[6] The industry body puts the typical total at 2% to 3% of the purchase price plus GST, or a flat fee, in each case with an engagement fee to start.^[4]

Three things to pin down in the agreement itself, because the law in both states requires the due date to be stated rather than implied:

• The trigger for the balance. Exchange, unconditional, or settlement. They can be weeks apart, and on a long settlement the difference matters for your cash flow.
• GST. Fees are routinely quoted before GST. Ask for the inclusive figure on your likely purchase price.
• The retainer if nothing is found. Most are not refundable. Some agencies credit it against the balance; some do not.

The fee ranges themselves, and the three models in use across Australia, are set out in what a buyer's agent charges in Australia, including Breige's own fee.

Do buyers pay real estate agent fees?

Not the selling agent's. The agent marketing the home is paid by the vendor, usually a commission of roughly 1% to 3.6% of the sale price, and that cost is the vendor's. The only agent fee a buyer pays is for a buyer's agent they have chosen to appoint, and that is set out in the agreement you sign.

The confusion comes from the word "agent" doing two jobs. The selling agent's commission across Australia generally runs from 1.0% to 3.6% of the sale price, with most around 2% to 2.5%, and the vendor pays it out of the proceeds.^[7] You do not pay it directly, although it is built into the price the vendor will accept, like every other selling cost. A buyer's agent is a separate appointment, paid by the buyer and acting only for the buyer.^[5]

The question worth asking any buyer's agent is whether they also receive money from the other side. The Real Estate Buyers Agents Association's members are exclusive buyer's agents, which it defines as not taking money from the owner as well as the buyer, and it recommends asking an agent outright whether they sell real estate or receive any commissions or kick-backs.^[4] In New South Wales that disclosure is required in the agreement.^[2]

Do I need a buyer's agent in Queensland, and how do I check they are licensed?

You are not required to use one. If you do, Queensland law says the agent must be licensed and must be appointed on Form 6 before acting for you. Search the Queensland property licence register for free to check the licence is current. For a search that crosses into New South Wales, check the NSW register as well.

The Queensland Government describes what a buyer's agent can do for you: find suitable properties, negotiate with the seller on your behalf, do background checks on the property and the area, explain the local market, and bid for you at auction.^[1] Whether that is worth paying for depends on how much of that you can do yourself and how much information the other side has that you do not. What a buyer's agent actually does covers that question honestly, including when the answer is no.

Checking a licence takes two minutes. Queensland's register is free to search online and shows the licence holder's name, business name and place of business, the licence number and class, and whether the licence is current, expired, refused, cancelled or suspended.^[8] New South Wales has the same check through Service NSW.^[9] Do it before you sign, not after. A licence number on a website is a claim; the register is the fact.

Can I end a buyer's agent agreement early?

Read the termination clause before you sign. In Queensland, cancelling an appointment before its end date and appointing someone else can leave you liable for commission under both appointments, or for damages for breach of contract.^[1] Fixed-term agreements can usually be ended with written notice, but the notice period and what remains payable vary by agency.

One point of confusion to clear up. New South Wales gives a client a one-day cooling-off period after signing an agency agreement, but the government's wording ties it to agreements for the sale of residential property or rural land.^[2] Do not assume it covers a buyer's agency agreement. If being able to walk away in the first few days matters to you, ask for it as a term.

What this looks like in practice

If you are thinking about appointing someone on the southern Gold Coast or in the Tweed, tell Breige what you are looking for. The first conversation is free, and you will see the agreement, the scope and the full fee on your likely purchase price before you are asked to sign anything.