How to start a car consignment business in Queensland

1. Get licensed

You need a motor dealer licence, either individually or through a corporate licence with an individual licensee in charge of each place of business. See our licence guide for the training, suitability rules and 2026-27 fees.

Set up the business itself

• Get an ABN. It’s free through the Australian Business Register, and only available if you’re running a business.
• Register a business name with ASIC, unless you’re a sole trader trading under your own first name and surname.
• Register for GST within 21 days once your GST turnover reaches $75,000.
• Choose your structure. A sole trader is personally liable for the business’s debts; a company is a separate legal entity with annual ASIC obligations.

2. Register every place of business

Each place of business is registered with your licence and needs a licensed person in charge.

What counts as a place of business

Each place you list must be somewhere documents can be served in person, so not a PO box. Insurance isn’t mandated by the Act, though the Office of Fair Trading can make it a condition of an individual licence. Check zoning and any council approvals with your local council: they’re outside the motor dealing rules.

3. Set up your trust account

Consignment money goes into a trust account. Notify the Office of Fair Trading within 2 months using Form 5, and appoint an auditor within 1 month of opening the account. See our trust account guide for the deadlines.

4. Paperwork for every seller

• A signed Form 9 before you provide any service.
• A signed seller statement before you accept the car, covering ownership, the vehicle details, odometer and any finance owing.
• Reasonable steps to find out or verify who owns the car before you offer it for sale.
• Form 10 if you have a beneficial interest in the car.

The transactions register

Every place of business keeps a transactions register, on paper or electronically. A transaction includes a sale, purchase, deposit, option, trade-in, accepting a car on consignment, and moving a car between sites. Each one is entered within 24 hours.

• Date received, the type of transaction (for example “sale on consignment for a private seller”) and the odometer reading in words and figures.
• Make, model, colour, engine number, VIN, registration number and build date.
• The seller’s name and address.
• The sale date, price, and buyer’s name and address, or the date the car went back to its owner.
• Moves between sites, and the exact location if you have several.

Corrections are ruled through and signed and dated on paper, or struck out with the reason, name and date if electronic. Keep records securely for at least 5 years, and back electronic records up monthly to somewhere off-site.

5. Paperwork and signs for every buyer

• Form 12 given to the buyer immediately before the sale contract is completed.
• Ads that say “no cooling-off period applies”, and a sign on each car, unless the consigning owner is themselves a dealer. See our Form 12 guide.
• A clear title guarantee in the contract.
• Tell buyers whether a statutory warranty applies. A consigned car is excluded from warranty unless its owner is a licensee, and an unwarranted car must be advertised as having no statutory warranty.

6. What you can’t do

• Accept trade-ins on consignment sales.
• Increase commission after Form 9 is signed, or charge it on more than the actual sale price.
• Keep commission on expenses the seller paid in advance.

Your first 90 days, in order