selling a car without a roadworthy certificate in qld

In Queensland, you can’t legally offer a registered car for sale without a current safety (roadworthy) certificate—yes, even that “just testing the waters” ad counts.

If you really must sell without one, the legal path is to sell it unregistered: remove the plates, cancel or let the rego lapse, and note the sale as unregistered.

The buyer will need to organise their own safety certificate to re-register it, along with stamp duty and the usual queue at TMR.

Ignore this and you’re inviting fines, which cost more than a humble inspection—so either book the check or go the unregistered route.