The 2023 Act commenced operation on 1 August 2025 and represents a comprehensive change to property laws in Queensland replacing the 1974 Act.

The Act is much clearer in terms of the power of the Court, the type of orders and considerations for the appointment of Statutory Trustees to sell co-owned property and the extent to which the Court can set out the process to follow.

In this article we explore the new Property Law Act 2023 and the changes in relation to the appointment of Statutory Trustees as compared against Section 38 of the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld).

The new Act passed Parliament on 25 October 2023 and received Royal Assent on 2 November 2023 with the commitment date to be set by proclamation. At this stage commencement of the 2023 Act has been delayed.

Subdivision 2 (Section 33 to 40) of the 2023 Act deals with the sale and division of co-owned property including the appointment of a Statutory Trustee.