Real estate advertising rules in Queensland for agents

In Queensland, real estate advertising is governed by the Property Occupations Act 2014, its regulation, and the Australian Consumer Law. The Office of Fair Trading is the regulator. Your website, digital card, email signature and social posts all count as advertising.

Queensland is unusual: the Act sets up a rule about what an ad must contain, but the details it points to aren’t filled in. This page explains what that means, along with the rules that clearly do apply. It’s part of our guide to advertising rules in every state and territory.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and your licensee may have its own requirements. Check with your licensee or the Office of Fair Trading before you publish.

What an ad must show

Section 95(1) of the Property Occupations Act 2014 says a principal licensee must not publish an advertisement for the agent’s business “without stating in the advertisement the particulars prescribed under a regulation”.

We read the current Property Occupations Regulation 2014 and didn’t find any particulars prescribed for that section. Its only related provision deals with displaying the auctioneer’s name at an auction. So, on the legislation we read, there’s no list of what a Queensland agent’s ad must show.

That doesn’t mean anything goes. Naming the agency you work under is standard practice and avoids misleading anyone about who is behind the ad. Ask your licensee what it requires.

Your licence or registration number. We didn’t find a requirement to show it.

Who can call themselves what

• Under section 151(1), a person must not act as a real estate salesperson unless they hold a registration certificate, and section 151(3) says acting as one includes holding yourself out as one.
• Under section 97(3)(b), a person who advertises, notifies or states that they perform property agent activities is treated as acting as a property agent, which needs a licence.

So describe yourself in a way that matches what you hold: a registered salesperson shouldn’t advertise as a licensed agent.

Price rules for auctions and online listings

• No price guide for auctions. Under section 216(2), for a property being sold by auction, the agent must not disclose a price guide to anyone other than a person acting for the seller.
• Search filters on portals. For a property sold by auction or without a price, the Act and regulation let an agent give a portal a price or range for its search filters, as long as the listing doesn’t show it and carries the prescribed statement: “This property is being sold by auction or without a price and therefore a price guide can not be provided.”
• “Offers over”. The Office of Fair Trading’s property advertising guidance says: “If you use an offers-over price, it should be the minimum amount the vendor is willing to accept to sell the property.”
• Nothing false or misleading. Section 212(1) makes it an offence for a licensee or salesperson to make a false or misleading representation about the sale of real property.

The auction rule matters for your own website too: if a listing on your site is for an auction, it shouldn’t show a price guide.

Business cards, websites and social media

We didn’t find rules written specifically for business cards, websites or social media. A sensible approach is to treat them like any other ad:

• Name the agency you work under on every page, profile and card.
• Use a title that matches your licence or registration.
• Don’t show price guides for auction listings on your own site, and keep sold results accurate.
• When you change agencies, update everything the same day. See our changing agencies checklist.

Our free email signature generator lays these details out for you, and on a Real Agent Marketing website the footer of every page names your agency as the licensee.

Sources

• Property Occupations Act 2014: sections 95, 97, 151, 212 and 216.
• Property Occupations Regulation 2014: sections 9 and 10.
• Office of Fair Trading, property advertising.

Based on the legislation and guidance as we read them in October 2026. This isn’t legal advice and doesn’t cover every rule that applies to you.