Licensed Queensland business broker

If something goes wrong, here is exactly what to do

Version 1.0. Last updated 15 September 2026.

Tell me first, and I will answer you in writing inside 30 days. If that does not settle it, three bodies sit above me and none of them work for me. This page names each one, what it can actually do, what it cannot do, and the time limits that apply to you.

5 business daysTo acknowledge your complaint in writing, with a reference.

30 daysTo give you a written answer, or tell you why it will take longer.

4963575My Office of Fair Trading licence. Complain about it to them, not to me.

Get my free appraisal, in writing Call 0431 124 128

No obligation. Nothing is published. Nobody is contacted.

4963575Queensland Office of Fair Trading licence. Check it yourself

$200,000The claim fund cap per claimant for a contravention by one person.

1 yearTo lodge a claim from the day you become aware of the loss.

The short answer, in six lines

Tell me first, in writing. I acknowledge inside five business days and answer inside 30 days.

If you are not satisfied, take it to the Office of Fair Trading. It is free, and you do not need my agreement.

Fair Trading conciliates and enforces the law. It cannot order me to pay you money.

To recover money you go to QCAT, or to the claim fund if the loss involves trust money or a contravention of the Acts that govern agents.

A claim fund claim has a hard time limit: one year from becoming aware of the loss, and no more than three years after the event.

The AIBB is a membership body with a code of conduct. It is not a regulator and it cannot award you compensation.

Step one

Tell me first

It is the fastest route, and in nearly every case it is the only one you will need.

What to do, and what happens

How: Email tony@tonypope.com.au with "Complaint" in the subject line, or call 1300 173 183 and ask me to put it in writing. Either way I put it in writing, because a verbal answer helps neither of us later.
What to include: What happened, when, and what you want done about it. If it concerns a fee, quote the clause of the PO Form 6A appointment you signed. If it concerns something I said, tell me the date.
What happens: You get an acknowledgement inside five business days with a reference. You get a written answer inside 30 days. If it is going to take longer, you get told that inside 30 days along with the reason.
What it costs: Nothing.
What I will not do: I will not treat a complaint as a reason to slow your campaign, withdraw from your appointment or discuss you with a buyer. Confidentiality applies to a complaint the same way it applies to everything else.

You do not have to come to me first. You are entitled to go straight to any of the bodies below. The regulator will usually ask whether you have raised it with me, which is the only reason this step is first.

Step two

The Office of Fair Trading

Queensland's regulator for licensed property agents. It issued my licence and it can take it away.

Fair Trading assesses a complaint, identifies what is in dispute, tries to conciliate between you and the business, and decides whether a law has been broken. It contacts you inside 10 working days with a file reference, and it aims to finish a complaint inside 30 days.

What it can do. Conciliate. Investigate. Take disciplinary or prosecution action against a licensee, including against my licence. Refer the matter on where another body is the right one.

What it cannot do. In its own words, it cannot "make judgments like a court or judge", cannot "provide compensation", and cannot "force a business to compensate you or rectify a problem". That is not a criticism of the regulator, it is the reason step three exists.

RegulatorMake a consumer complaintThe Queensland Government page that starts the process, and the one that sets out what happens next.qld.gov.au RegisterFair Trading Licensing RegisterCheck licence 4963575 is current before you do anything else. The search is free.ftlr.fairtrading.qld.gov.au

Phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68). Current at 18 August 2026.

Step three

Recovering money is a different question from disciplining a broker

Fair Trading deals with my conduct. QCAT and the claim fund deal with your loss. They are separate paths and you can run both.

QCAT, and the claim fund

Two routes to money, with different tests and different time limits.

The two routes to money

QCAT: The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal hears disputes involving property agents. It is designed to be used without a lawyer, and filing fees are low relative to a court.
The claim fund: Established under the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 (Qld). You can claim for financial loss caused by a property agent, a letting agent, a motor dealer, a debt collector, an auctioneer or their employees. It is free to lodge.
The caps: Section 25 of the Agents Financial Administration Regulation 2014 sets the fund at $200,000 per claimant and $2,000,000 in total for contraventions by a single person.
The time limit: Within one year of becoming aware of your loss, and no more than three years after the event. An extension has to be granted by QCAT, so treat the one year as the real deadline.
Where it goes: Claims and Recoveries, Office of Fair Trading, GPO Box 3111, Brisbane QLD 4001, or claimsandrecoveries@justice.qld.gov.au

GuidanceMake a claim for financial lossThe form, the time limits and where to send it.qld.gov.au TribunalProperty agent disputes at QCATWhat the tribunal hears, and how the process runs.qcat.qld.gov.au SourceAgents Financial Administration Act 2014 (Qld)Trust accounts, the banking deadline, the audit regime and the claim fund at sections 78 to 82.legislation.qld.gov.au

The other two, and what they are actually for

The other three bodies

The Australian Institute of Business Brokers is a membership body with a code of conduct covering conduct, disclosure, confidentiality and deposit handling. A complaint to the AIBB goes to my membership. It is not a regulator, it cannot fine me and it cannot award you money. It is still worth using, because membership is a thing I hold out to you and you are entitled to hold me to it.

The Australian Consumer Law applies to what I tell you. Section 18 prohibits conduct that is misleading or deceptive, including by leaving something out, and section 4 puts the onus on the maker of a statement about a future matter to show there were reasonable grounds for it. The ACCC does not resolve individual disputes, but a pattern of conduct is exactly what it acts on.

Anything about your personal information goes to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner rather than to Fair Trading. That path is set out on the privacy page, with the same 30 day answer from me first.

Why this page exists at all

A complaints page is an unusual thing for a broker to publish, and publishing one is deliberate. If something about the appraisal, the appointment, the fee or the campaign is not sitting right, you should be able to find out how to raise it before you sign rather than after.

It is here because the whole of this site asks you to check me rather than believe me, and a broker who tells you to check the register should also tell you where to go when the check is not the issue and the conduct is. If you cannot find that on a broker's site, ask them for it in writing before you sign anything.

Raise it early. It is easier to fix a problem than an outcome.

If something about the appraisal, the appointment, the fee or the campaign is not sitting right, say so now rather than at settlement.

Email a complaint Book a free call, no obligation

Office of Fair Trading licence 4963575 · Member, Australian Institute of Business Brokers · ABN 36 211 950 299, ETP Consulting Pty Ltd as trustee for ETP Investments Trust