Second Mortgage in Brisbane: Your Bank Can't Block It in Queensland
In Queensland, section 125 lets you grant a second mortgage without your first lender's consent. How registration, priority and your loan contract work.
Property Lending Hub
Second Mortgage Brisbane · Bank Consent · Priority
Many Queensland owners assume the bank holding the first mortgage can veto a second. On registration, it can't. Here is what Queensland law says, what your loan contract can still say, and how registration and priority work at Titles Queensland.
Quick Answer
In Queensland, the law and the land registry let you grant a second mortgage without your first lender's consent, but your loan contract and each lender's appetite still shape whether the deal works. Section 125 of the Property Law Act 2023 removes the consent step on registration; it does not remove the first lender's priority or its contract terms. If you want to see whether your Brisbane or Queensland property can carry one, start with our second mortgage loans page.
Also called: second mortgage Queensland, second mortgage Gold Coast, registered second mortgage Brisbane. Same product; the place names change, the Queensland rules do not.
How does a second mortgage work on Brisbane or Queensland property?
Queensland treats a second mortgage as a registered loan behind your existing first mortgage on the same title, secured against the equity between what you owe and what the property is worth. The first lender keeps its place in the queue. The second lender takes the next place, and prices its risk on how much equity is left after the first loan is paid out.
Two sets of rules decide the deal, and it helps to keep them apart. Lenders assess the borrower and the property much the same way in Brisbane as in Perth or Sydney: equity, valuation, the business purpose of the funds and the exit. Queensland law decides what happens on the title: whether the second mortgage can be registered, where it ranks and what a lender must do before it sells. This insight covers the Queensland side. For the national picture of cost, loan-to-value limits and timelines, read our second mortgage guide for Australia.
Switchboard only arranges business-purpose lending for self-employed borrowers and ABN holders. A second mortgage over your Queensland home or investment property, used to fund the business, sits in that lane. It is not consumer home loan advice.
Can your bank stop a second mortgage in Queensland?
Your bank cannot stop a second mortgage being created in Queensland by withholding consent. Titles Queensland's Land Title Practice Manual, Part 2, updated 4 September 2026, puts it plainly: "Under s. 125 of the Property Law Act 2023, a subsequent mortgage may be created without the consent of a prior mortgagee ... notwithstanding any provision in the prior mortgage to the contrary." In short, the register does not ask your bank, and section 125 overrides the first mortgage on that point, even if the mortgage document says otherwise. You can read the rule in the Titles Queensland Land Title Practice Manual, Part 2.
That is the objection we hear most from Queensland owners: "my bank won't let me." On first mortgagee consent, Queensland is one of the friendlier places in the country to grant a second mortgage. In deals we've seen, the conversation stalls because the owner assumes a veto exists and never asks, not because the registry refuses the document.
What your first lender can still do
- Keep first priority on the title
- Be paid out first from any sale
- Rely on the terms of its own loan or facility agreement
- Enforce its own mortgage if you default on it
What it cannot do in Queensland
- Veto registration of a second mortgage by refusing consent
- Rely on a mortgage clause that demands its consent for a later mortgage
- Lose its priority just because a second mortgage is registered
Is there an exception to section 125?
There is one exception to section 125 noted in the practice manual: mortgages to the Queensland Housing Commission signed before 1 January 2004. If your first mortgage is one of those, the general rule does not apply, and your solicitor should check the position before anything is signed. Almost every business owner's first mortgage today falls outside that exception.
What can your first loan contract still say about a second mortgage?
Your first loan contract can still contain terms about further borrowing, even though the mortgage itself cannot block registration in Queensland. Section 125 speaks to the mortgage, the document registered on the title. Many lenders also have a separate loan agreement or facility agreement with its own covenants, and some of those deal with further borrowing, further security or changes to your financial position.
How a covenant in a separate loan or facility agreement interacts with section 125 is not something this insight settles. The contract question is your solicitor's, and it is worth asking before you apply rather than after a term sheet arrives. The first documents a lender asks for are simpler: a current statement for the first loan, its arrears position and whether the first lender has registered anything else on the title.
If you are comparing states, New South Wales also has no registry consent step for a second mortgage, as our Sydney and New South Wales second mortgage insight explains.
How is a second mortgage registered with Titles Queensland?
A second mortgage is registered with Titles Queensland by lodging the national mortgage form, usually electronically through an electronic lodgement network (ELN). The practice manual records that "the eConveyancing mandate commenced on 20 February 2023", and that the national mortgage form is required to be lodged through an ELN unless an exemption applies. In practice, the second lender's solicitor or settlement agent prepares and lodges it.
Once lodged and registered, it becomes a registered mortgage on the title, visible to anyone who searches it. That is the main difference from a caveat, which only warns of an unregistered interest. If you are weighing the two, our Brisbane and Queensland private lenders insight covers private mortgages and caveats side by side, and the Queensland caveat loans insight covers caveat lodgement on its own.
Registration fees and turnaround depend on the registry schedule and the lodging party at the time, so ask for a current figure in your quote rather than relying on an old one.
Which mortgage ranks first on a Queensland title?
On a Queensland title, the mortgage lodged first ranks first. Titles Queensland's practice manual, Part 30, summarises the Land Title Act 1994: instruments are registered "in the order in which they are lodged" (section 177) and registered instruments "have priority according to when each of them were lodged" (section 178). Put simply, priority follows lodgement, which is why your existing first mortgage stays ahead of a new second mortgage.
| Situation | What decides priority | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Two mortgages registered on the same title | Order of lodgement: the earlier-lodged mortgage ranks first | Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) ss 177 and 178, Titles Queensland practice manual Part 30 |
| The lenders agree to change the order | A priority instrument (Form 30) lodged and registered | Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) s 77, practice manual Part 30 |
| A mortgage is agreed but not yet lodged | A priority notice can reserve its place for 60 days, with one 30-day extension | Titles Queensland practice manual Part 23 |
| A second mortgage is created without the first lender's consent | It can still be created; the first mortgage keeps its place ahead | Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) s 125, practice manual Part 2 |
Sources: Titles Queensland, Land Title Practice Manual Part 2, Mortgage, last updated 4 September 2026. Read 14 October 2026. Titles Queensland, Land Title Practice Manual Part 23, Priority Notices, last updated 4 September 2026, and Part 30, Mortgage Priority. Both read 14 October 2026.
What does a priority notice do in Queensland?
A priority notice reserves the priority of a transfer or mortgage while the deal settles, so a priority notice holds your place against anything lodged in the meantime. Titles Queensland allows 60 days, with one extension of 30 days. Lenders sometimes ask for one where settlement has a gap between signing and lodgement.
Where the first lender and the second lender want their positions recorded in a separate agreement, that is a deed of priority, covered in detail in our bank consent and deed of priority insight.
What did the Property Law Act 2023 change for a second mortgagee?
The Property Law Act 2023 changed the rules a Queensland mortgagee follows before and during a sale, and it commenced on 1 August 2025. For a second mortgagee, three sections matter. Section 125 is headed "Subsequent mortgage does not affect first mortgage". Section 114 is headed "Restriction on exercise of power of sale", and the Bill's explanatory notes describe a default notice and a period to remedy the default before a lender can sell. Section 116 is headed "Duty to sell at market value", and the explanatory notes describe a duty to take reasonable care to sell at market value.
Titles Queensland's practice manual puts the notice at 30 days: a mortgagee cannot exercise its power of sale until it has served a default notice giving the borrower 30 days to remedy the default (section 114), and the notice may use approved Form 3. The same manual notes that a mortgagee selling under its power of sale does not need releases of later mortgages, so a second mortgage does not stop the first lender selling. How this applies to your loan is a question for your solicitor.
Our Queensland private lenders insight covers the Act from a private lending angle, and our commercial second mortgage guide covers default, power of sale and who is paid first when a property sells.
From the underwriter's seat, the Act does not change how a second lender assesses you. It changes the steps a lender takes if things go wrong, which is one more reason to agree a clear exit at the start.
What do Queensland business owners use a second mortgage for, and how does it end?
Queensland business owners typically use a second mortgage for short-term needs where a bank refinance is too slow or not available, and it ends with a sale, a refinance or a cash event. The uses we see most are:
- Clearing an ATO debt. A second mortgage can pay out a tax debt in one settlement while the business stabilises. See using a second mortgage to settle an ATO debt.
- Working capital. Bridging a gap between contracts, stock or a large receivable, where the business has the income but not yet the cash.
- A deposit. Funding a deposit on a business premises or a purchase while longer-term finance is arranged, such as a low doc commercial loan in Brisbane.
Pricing, maximum loan-to-value ratios and terms vary by lender and are indicative only until a valuation and credit assessment are done. Second mortgages are usually priced above a first mortgage and are typically short-term, so most run for months rather than years, with the exit agreed before settlement. Private lenders often sit in this space too; our private lending page explains how they differ from banks.
The exit matters more than the rate. A sale, a refinance back to a bank or non-bank lender, or a known cash event all work if they are realistic and dated. Our second mortgage exit rules insight covers what lenders expect. If you want a quick read on whether your Queensland property and business purpose fit, you can check eligibility before you speak to a lender.
In Queensland, the consent question is settled by statute. Section 125 of the Property Law Act 2023 lets a second mortgage be created without the first lender's consent, despite anything in the first mortgage. Your first lender keeps first priority, priority follows lodgement at Titles Queensland, and a priority notice can hold a place during settlement. What section 125 does not settle is what a separate loan or facility agreement says, and that is a question for your solicitor. The deal itself still turns on equity, valuation, business purpose and a realistic exit.
Key takeaway: do not assume your bank can veto a Queensland second mortgage; ask your solicitor about your loan contract, then test the equity and exit with a broker.Frequently Asked Questions
You can get a second mortgage in Brisbane if there is enough equity behind your first mortgage, a business purpose for the funds and a clear exit. Queensland law does not require your first lender's consent to create it, so the deal usually turns on the valuation, lender appetite and your loan contract. Our second mortgage loans page sets out what lenders typically need.
Your bank cannot stop a second mortgage in Queensland by refusing consent, because section 125 of the Property Law Act 2023 lets a later mortgage be created without the prior mortgagee's consent, despite anything in the first mortgage. A separate loan or facility agreement may still contain terms about further borrowing, and that is a question for your solicitor. Read more about first mortgagee consent.
A second mortgage is registered with Titles Queensland by lodging the national mortgage form, which must go through an electronic lodgement network unless an exemption applies. Once registered, it becomes a registered mortgage that ranks behind the first in order of lodgement. The second lender's solicitor or settlement agent normally handles the lodgement.
The Property Law Act 2023 applies to second mortgages over Queensland land, and it has been in force since 1 August 2025. It lets a second mortgage be created without the first lender's consent and sets rules a mortgagee follows before and during a sale, including a 30-day default notice and a duty to sell at market value. How it applies to your loan is a question for your solicitor; our commercial second mortgage guide covers enforcement in general.
A priority notice in Queensland is a notice lodged with Titles Queensland that reserves the priority of a transfer or mortgage while a deal settles. It lasts 60 days and can be extended once by 30 days. Where lenders want their ranking set out in a separate agreement instead, they use a deed of priority, explained in our deed of priority insight.
FBAA Accredited
