Form 9 explained: the Queensland consignment agreement
Before you do anything for a consignment seller in Queensland, you need a signed Form 9. Get it wrong and the appointment is ineffective, and you can’t recover your commission.
- Form 9 is the “Appointment of a motor dealer or chattel auctioneer form”. There’s no fee.
- It must be signed and dated by both parties before you provide any service, and the seller gets a copy straight away.
- Either party can end it with 30 days’ written notice. The seller can always withdraw the car.
- Commission can’t be increased after signing, or calculated on more than the actual sale price.
What Form 9 is
Form 9 is the approved “Appointment of a motor dealer or chattel auctioneer form”. It’s the written appointment that lets you act for a seller, and there’s no fee to use it. The appointment must be in the approved form and must prominently say the seller should seek independent legal advice. An appointment that doesn’t comply is ineffective.
When it must be signed
Before you provide any service. Both you and the seller sign and date it, and the seller gets a copy immediately. The Office of Fair Trading adds that the signed copy must reach the seller before the vehicle is sold.
What it must contain
- The services you’ll provide, and any limits or conditions on them.
- Your fees, charges and commission.
- The source and estimated value of any rebate, discount, commission or other benefit you may receive.
- For a single appointment, the period it runs for; for a continuing appointment, the times or circumstances in which you’ll act.
The asking price follows the seller’s written instructions
You must act on the seller’s instructions unless that would be unlawful, and the price you offer the car at must follow their written instructions. In practice that means getting a written instruction before you drop the price or accept an offer below what you agreed. A breach is grounds for disciplinary action. Form 9 is where any conditions, such as a minimum price, should be written down.
Renewing and ending it
To renew a single appointment, complete a new form no earlier than 14 days before the current one expires.
Either party can end the appointment with at least 30 days’ written notice, unless you both agree in writing to end it sooner. The seller can always withdraw the vehicle.
A worked example: dates that matter
| Situation | What the rules mean |
|---|---|
| Appointment expires 30 November | The earliest you can sign a renewal Form 9 is 16 November (14 days before). |
| Seller gives written notice to end on 1 October | The appointment ends no earlier than 31 October (at least 30 days), unless you both agree in writing to end it sooner. |
| Seller wants the car back on 3 October | They can withdraw the vehicle at any time. |
| Car sells for $27,800 with a 4% commission | Commission can’t be worked out on more than $27,800, and can’t be raised after signing. |
Dates are illustrative. Count the notice period from the day written notice is given.
Commission and expenses
- Commission can’t be increased after the appointment is made.
- Commission can’t be calculated on more than the actual sale price.
- You can’t recover any reward without a licence and a valid appointment.
- Money the seller pays in advance for expenses goes through your trust account, and you can’t keep commission on expenses.
After the car sells: accounting to the seller
You must give the seller a written account of the money received for the sale. It must show:
- The amounts received.
- How they were, or will be, paid out.
- The source and amount of any rebate, discount, commission or benefit you received for expenses, or for referring the seller elsewhere.
The timing matches paying them: within 14 days of a written request, otherwise within 42 days after the sale is finalised. Pay the seller’s balance first, then take your commission. Failing to account carries up to 200 penalty units or 2 years’ imprisonment.
A Form 9 checklist for every consignment
- Signed and dated by you and the seller before you do anything for them.
- A copy handed to the seller straight away.
- Services, limits and conditions written in.
- Fees, charges and commission written in.
- Any rebate, discount, commission or benefit you’ll receive disclosed, with its source and estimated value.
- The period of the appointment stated.
- The prominent statement that the seller should get independent legal advice.
- Form 10 completed if you have any beneficial interest in the car.
- A signed seller statement on file before you accept the car.
Advertising a consigned car
- Every ad says “no cooling-off period applies”.
- The car carries a sign reading “no cooling-off period—sale on consignment” in letters at least 5 cm high, near the price or on the windscreen.
- If the car has no statutory warranty (a consigned car usually doesn’t, unless its owner is a licensee), it must be advertised as having none.
- False or misleading representations about a sale, including hiding a material fact, carry up to 540 penalty units.
Other duties while you hold the car
- Disclose any conflict of interest to the seller in writing before accepting or continuing the appointment.
- Show your licence if anyone you deal with asks for it.
- Don’t charge a fee for preparing a document the Act requires.
- If you want to hand the appointment to another dealer, give the seller 14 days’ written notice. They can refuse.