Does Underquoting prohibition (Vic Estate Agents Act 1980) apply to real estate agents?

Underquoting prohibition (Vic Estate Agents Act 1980). Victorian estate agents must not advertise or tell a buyer a price below the seller's reserve or asking price, below a written offer the seller has already rejected as too low, or below the agent's current estimated selling price, and must update price information whenever any of these change. The estimate in the sales authority must be reasonable and based on comparable sales.

Trigger: Signing a sales authority for a Victorian residential property and every price statement made during the campaign: advertising, the Property Price Statement, and verbal or written answers to buyers.

Rules Mate runs its applicability engine across 9 business structures and 6 size bands for each of the 35 industries it maps. For 34 of those industries the answer for "Underquoting prohibition (Vic Estate Agents Act 1980)" is no. Real estate agents is one of the 1 where the answer is different: yes.

The deciding fact for real estate agents: Industry: Real estate agents.

About the industry: Selling agents, buyer's agents, and property developers involved in real estate transactions. From 1 July 2026 captured by AML/CTF Tranche 2 reforms.

Compare a professional services (general) business with 6–19 employees structured as a Pty Ltd company: the obligation does not apply (Requires industry: Real estate agents).

Each cell is the engine's outcome for a business in real estate agents with that structure and size, assuming it sells to consumers and small businesses and holds customer contact details. "Check" means the obligation turns on a fact the industry does not settle.

When due

Estimate set in the sales authority at engagement; Property Price Statement available whenever the property is advertised, given to a buyer within 2 business days of a request, and linked beside the price in online advertising; reserve price published at least 7 days before an auction or fixed-date sale; sale price added within 7 days of the sale going unconditional.

Evidence to keep

Sales authority with a reasonable estimated selling price and the comparable-sales research behind it; current Property Price Statement showing the price or range, key features, three comparable sales (or why fewer) and the suburb median; records of written offers and seller instructions on reserve; dated versions of advertising updated or withdrawn when the price changed; proof the reserve was published for the full 7 days.

Maximum penalty

Consumer Affairs Victoria uses warning letters, enforceable undertakings, injunctions and prosecutions against agents who underquote; an auction or fixed-date sale cannot proceed unless the reserve has been published for the full 7-day period. Statutory penalty amounts were not restated here.

Regulator

Consumer Affairs Vic

Jurisdiction

VIC only

• Hold a current real estate agent licence (state-specific): Yes
• Underquoting prohibition (NSW Property and Stock Agents Act 2002): Yes
• Comply with Australian sanctions law + screening (DFAT): Yes
• Customer due diligence (KYC) on every customer: Yes
• Designate an AML/CTF Compliance Officer: Yes
• Detect + enhance due diligence on Domestic + Foreign PEPs: Yes
• All 26 answers for real estate agents