Real estate advertising rules in Victoria for agents

In Victoria, real estate advertising is governed by the Estate Agents Act 1980 and the Australian Consumer Law. Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is the regulator, and the Business Licensing Authority handles licences and registrations. Your website, digital card, email signature and social posts are all advertising.

2026 brought two big changes for Victorian agents: new rules on price advertising from 1 October, and individual registration for agents’ representatives from 25 November. This page covers both, with links to the sources we read. 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 Consumer Affairs Victoria before you publish.

What an ad must show

Section 42(1) of the Estate Agents Act 1980 says an estate agent must not publish any advertisement relating to their business “without specifying the name under which that agent carries on that business”.

CAV’s page on establishing an estate agency puts it simply: “You must include the name of your agency in your advertisements.”

Your licence or registration number. We didn’t find a requirement in the Act to show it in ads, and CAV’s page on the new registration rules doesn’t say whether a representative’s registration number must appear. Follow your licensee’s policy.

Who can call themselves what

• Under section 12(1), only a licensed estate agent may advertise, notify or state that they carry on an estate agent’s business, or hold themselves out as one.
• Under section 47(3), it’s an offence for an agent’s representative to falsely represent that they’re employed by, or authorised to act for, a particular estate agent.
• New from 25 November 2026: CAV says agents’ representatives must hold their own individual registration with the Business Licensing Authority. “You must hold a registration from 25 November 2026.”

So your title should match what you hold: “licensed estate agent” only if you hold the licence.

Price advertising from October 2026

CAV’s page on the new property sales and underquoting laws sets out the changes:

• A new Property Price Statement. “A new Property Price Statement (PPS) has replaced the Statement of Information.”
• Reserve prices published in advance. For auctions and fixed-date sales on and from 16 October 2026, agents must publish the seller’s reserve price at least 7 days before the auction or sale, and update all advertising to reflect it.
• A single dollar amount. Prices must be shown as a single dollar amount, without words or symbols such as “from”, “over”, “+” or “starting at”.
• Sale prices after the sale. Agents must update the PPS with the sale price 7 days after the unconditional sale, and keep it publicly available for at least 18 months, unless an exemption applies.

The Act also requires online ads for residential sales to prominently include the price statement (section 47AF(5)), and physical ads that give information about the property to include an internet address or QR code linking to it (section 47AF(4A)). Underquoting is an offence under section 47C(2).

Other rules worth knowing

• “Sold” claims. Under section 42(3), it’s an offence to wilfully and falsely represent that you’ve sold a property or hold a deposit.
• Nothing false or misleading. Section 42(4) makes it an offence to publish a false or misleading statement about a property for sale.
• Testimonials. CAV’s advertising guidance says: “You must not use testimonials that are exaggerated, misleading or false.”

Business cards, websites and social media

The Act doesn’t have a section written for business cards or social media, but a website listing is an internet advertisement for the price rules above, and the rest of the Act applies to any advertising. A sensible approach:

• Show your agency’s name, the name it does business under, on every page, profile and card.
• Use a title that matches your licence or registration, especially once representative registration starts.
• Make sure any listing on your own website follows the price statement rules, and keep sold results accurate.
• When you change agencies, update every card, site and profile 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

• Estate Agents Act 1980, authorised version 136, incorporating amendments as at 1 October 2026: sections 12, 42, 47, 47AF and 47C.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria: advertising and representations, new property sales and underquoting laws, new rules for agents’ representatives and establishing an estate agency.

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.