Underquoting laws by state: what an agent may advertise, the penalties, and how to report it (2026)

Underquoting is the practice a buyer suspects when a house guided at "$900,000 to $950,000" sells for $1.1 million. Sometimes that gap is competition: three bidders wanted it and the guide was honest. Sometimes it is not. The legal test in every state that regulates it is not the sale price but the agent's own numbers: an agent underquotes when they advertise or tell buyers a price below the estimate they gave the seller in the agency agreement, or below a price the seller has already said they will accept or has rejected as too low.

This page sets out what each state's law actually says, the penalties as they stand in September 2026, the changes still arriving in New South Wales and Victoria this year, what a buyer can check, and where to report. It is written for both sides of the transaction: a seller is harmed by underquoting too, because a campaign priced to attract the wrong buyers produces a crowd that cannot pay and a sale that stalls.

Why the rule turns on the agent's estimate

Every regulated state requires the agent to put a price estimate in writing when you appoint them (see our guide to agency agreements by state). That estimate does two jobs. It is the agent's professional opinion of what the property will sell for, backed by comparable sales. And it becomes the floor: anything the agent advertises or says to a buyer must not be lower. NSW, Victoria and South Australia all build their underquoting rules on that mechanism. Queensland takes a different route and bans price guides at auction altogether. WA has no specific statute and relies on the general prohibition on misleading conduct.

The estimate itself must be reasonable. An agent who deliberately writes a low estimate to make the guide legal has still broken the law in NSW, Victoria and SA, because each requires the estimate to be a genuine one supported by evidence, and each requires the agent to revise it in writing if the campaign shows it is wrong.

New South Wales

Sections 72A to 73B of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 require the agency agreement to state the agent's estimated selling price as a single figure or a range no wider than 10%, backed by evidence given to the seller and revised in writing if it stops being reasonable. An agent must not advertise or quote a price below that estimate, must not use "offers over", "from" or similar phrases (section 73), must not say anything to a buyer suggesting a lower price (section 73A) and must keep records of every price they quote (section 73B). The current maximum penalty for an underquoting offence is 200 penalty units, or $22,000.

The Property and Stock Agents Amendment (Underquoting and Other Agent Conduct) Act 2026 changes this in two stages. From 29 June 2026, NSW Fair Trading gained new powers: it can direct a licensee-in-charge or an independent valuer to verify an agent's estimate, require an agent to publicise a breach, suspend an agent from particular activities and direct them to complete training. The second stage, which Fair Trading expects to commence towards the end of 2026, requires a price or price range in every advertisement, a statement of information showing how the estimate was reached, a bar on advertising below the highest bid at a prior auction or a written offer the seller rejected, and underquoting penalties of up to $110,000 or three times the agent's commission, whichever is higher. Until that date, the current rules above apply.

Report it to NSW Fair Trading through the online property complaint form or on 13 32 20. Fair Trading can investigate, fine and discipline, and its underquoting taskforce publishes the results; it cannot award you compensation.

Victoria

Victoria has had the strictest regime since 2017. The Estate Agents Act 1980 requires the sales authority to carry an estimated selling price, single figure or a range within 10% (section 47A), and requires a statement of information for every residential campaign, with an indicative selling price, the suburb median and three comparable sales (section 47AF). The indicative price, or the bottom of the range, may not be lower than the agent's estimate, a written offer the seller rejected, or any amount the seller has told the agent they will accept. Advertising below it, or using words such as "offers above" or "from", is underquoting. Consumer Affairs Victoria's taskforce enforces the rules with fines of up to 200 penalty units per offence ($41,820 at the 2026-27 rate) and can seek forfeiture of the commission on the sale.

From 1 October 2026, for auctions and fixed-date sales held on or after 16 October 2026, the Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 adds a further step: the seller's reserve must be set as a single dollar figure, published in every advertisement for at least seven days before the auction, and the auction cannot proceed if it has not been. A Property Price Statement replaces the statement of information, and the sold price must be added to it within seven days. Our guide to the reserve price covers the detail. Once a reserve is public, underquoting an auction in Victoria becomes close to impossible.

Report it to Consumer Affairs Victoria through the estate agent complaint form or on 1300 737 030. Keep the statement of information and screenshots of the advertisement with the date.

Queensland

Queensland does not regulate underquoting the way the southern states do; it removes the guide instead. Under sections 214 and 216 of the Property Occupations Act 2014, an agent or auctioneer selling residential property by auction must not disclose the reserve, a price they think is likely to be accepted, or any price guide, to anyone other than the seller. The maximum penalty is 540 penalty units, $93,258 at the rate applying from 1 July 2026. Buyers at a Queensland auction are expected to do their own comparables, and an agent who tells you "the owners are looking for around $800,000" is already offending.

For private treaty sales, a price may be advertised, and the protection is the general law: the Act's prohibition on false or misleading representations by an agent and section 30 of the Australian Consumer Law, which covers false or misleading representations about land, including its price. An advertised price the seller has already refused in writing is a representation the Office of Fair Trading will act on.

Report it to the Office of Fair Trading on 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or through its online complaint form. Try the agency principal first; the OFT expects you to have done so.

South Australia

Section 24A of the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 requires any likely-price representation in marketing residential land to be a single figure or a range whose upper limit is no more than 110% of the lower, and never below the prescribed minimum advertising price: the greater of the agent's genuine estimate and the price the vendor has said is acceptable, both recorded in the sales agency agreement. For an auction, the vendor's acceptable price cannot be increased once the agreement is signed, so the floor cannot be gamed late in the campaign. The maximum penalty is $20,000 or a year's imprisonment, and an agent who breaches the section forfeits the commission.

Report it to Consumer and Business Services on 131 882. CBS can also require the agent to produce the comparable sales they gave the vendor.

Western Australia

WA has no underquoting statute. The Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 and the agents' Code of Conduct require honesty and fair dealing, and the Australian Consumer Law prohibits false or misleading representations about the price of land. Consumer Protection WA acts on complaints where an agent advertises below a price the seller has instructed them to accept, or below a written offer the seller has rejected, because both are misleading representations about price. There is no required price guide for auctions, and the reserve is confidential until it is met.

Report it to Consumer Protection WA on 1300 30 40 54; complaints are lodged online or in writing.

Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory

None of the three has a dedicated underquoting offence. The Australian Consumer Law's prohibition on misleading representations about the price of land applies everywhere, and each regulator (Consumer, Building and Occupational Services and the Property Agents Board in Tasmania, Access Canberra in the ACT, NT Consumer Affairs in the Territory) takes complaints under it. Keep the same evidence you would keep in a regulated state.

What a buyer can check in ten minutes

1. Ask for the comparables. In Victoria they are on the statement of information. In NSW, ask what evidence sits behind the guide; from late 2026 the statement of information will be compulsory. In SA the agent had to give them to the vendor and can give them to you.
2. Look up the last three sales of similar homes in the street or suburb yourself. Our suburb pages show the median and the recent sales count; if the guide sits well below every comparable, ask why.
3. Ask whether any written offer has been rejected and at what level. In Victoria an agent cannot advertise below a rejected written offer now, and NSW will match that rule; anywhere, a refusal to answer tells you something.
4. Ask if the guide has changed during the campaign. An honest agent revises up when feedback demands it. A guide that never moves while the open homes fill is the classic pattern.
5. Take dated screenshots of every advertisement and note what the agent says at inspections, with the date. Regulators act on records, and section 73B in NSW obliges the agent to keep their own.

What sellers should know

An agent who underquotes your property is not doing you a favour. The low guide draws buyers with a lower budget who fall away at the reserve, the sale takes longer, and the estimate the agent had to write in your agreement is the number a regulator will compare with the advertisement. If a shortlisted agent proposes a guide below their own appraisal figure, that is a reason to choose someone else; our guide to questions to ask a real estate agent includes the one that surfaces it. If you are already mid-campaign and the guide is below what you have told the agent you will accept, put your instruction in writing: in Victoria and SA that instruction becomes the legal floor immediately, and in NSW it will from late 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is it underquoting if a house sells well above the guide?

Not by itself. The offence is advertising below the agent's estimate or a known acceptable or rejected price, not selling above the guide. Competitive auctions routinely clear well above honest guides. The question to ask is what the estimate on the agency agreement said.

Can I get compensation?

Not from the regulator. Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the OFT, CBS and Consumer Protection WA can fine and discipline agents and, in Victoria and SA, strip the commission, but they do not award damages. A buyer who spent money on inspections or legal fees relying on a misleading guide would need a tribunal or court claim under the Australian Consumer Law.

Are "offers over" and "from" banned?

In NSW and Victoria, yes, for residential property. In SA a range must be no wider than 10% and a single figure cannot carry qualifying words. Queensland bans any auction guide. WA allows them.

Does the guide have to match the reserve?

No state requires that, but Victoria and SA prohibit a guide below any figure the seller has said they will accept, so once a reserve is set the guide cannot sit under it. From 16 October 2026 Victoria goes further and requires the reserve itself to be published. Our reserve price guide explains the interaction in each state.

Where this fits

Price guides are one part of how a campaign is run. If you are buying, our property auction guide and negotiating a property price cover the rest. If you are selling and something about the campaign is wrong, our page on real estate agent complaints and red flags sets out the route in each state, and changing agents mid-campaign explains when you can leave.

Sources

• Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (NSW), sections 72A to 73B: legislation.nsw.gov.au; NSW Fair Trading, Changes to property and stock agents laws (commencement 29 June 2026 and late 2026). NSW penalty unit $110.
• Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), sections 47A to 47AF, and Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (Vic), Part 5: legislation.vic.gov.au; Consumer Affairs Victoria, Underquoting. Victorian penalty unit $209.10 for 2026-27.
• Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld), sections 213 to 216: legislation.qld.gov.au. Queensland penalty unit $172.70 from 1 July 2026.
• Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 (SA), section 24A: legislation.sa.gov.au.
• Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2, Competition and Consumer Act 2010), section 30: legislation.gov.au; Consumer Protection WA, Selling a property by auction.
• Regulator contact numbers as published on each regulator's website in September 2026.