From artificially enhanced property photos to outdated strata by-laws, from excessive data collection in rental applications to outmoded tax frameworks, July 2025 marks a turning point for Australian real estate.
A significant suite of legislative changes has taken effect across several jurisdictions, designed to curb misleading practices, boost transparency, and bring the industry in line with modern expectations around fairness, sustainability and digital privacy.
Here’s what’s changed, and why it matters.
Digital editing in the firing line: New rules for rental advertising
NSW real estate professionals will soon be required by law to disclose any digital manipulation used in rental property advertising. This includes the use of AI-generated furniture, enhanced lighting, retouched walls, or altered room proportions—common tools in modern marketing workflows.
The update to the Residential Tenancies Act is designed to address concerns about misleading representations in online listings. The NSW Government argues that edited imagery can inflate interest, distort market perception, and create unnecessary competition among renters.
According to Tenants’ Union NSW CEO Leo Patterson Ross, the reform is a response to growing tenant frustration. “Being misled into viewing a property that doesn’t match its presentation wastes time and can lead to emotional and financial pressure.”
While the intent of the law is focused on protecting renters, its impact on agencies is procedural. Professionals will need to strike a balance between compelling marketing and regulatory compliance – ensuring transparency without compromising brand standards.
The new laws are designed to capture practices – such as the use of AI-generated furniture to make a room look bigger than it is by showing a double bed in a bedroom that is only large enough to fit a single – or digitally modifying photos to obscure property damage.
The disclosure requirement is part of a raft of proposed changes contained in the Residential Tenancies (Protection of Personal Information) Amendment Bill 2025.
Privacy, please: Standardising rental applications
The government is also taking aim at the over-collection of personal information during the rental application process.
A new, standardised rental application form clarifies exactly what data landlords and agents are allowed to request, excluding unnecessary or invasive information like photos, social media handles, or even the number of tattoos a renter has.
The Residential Tenancies (Protection of Personal Information) Amendment Bill 2025 will stop the unnecessary collection of extra personal information and help reduce the risk of identity theft and data breaches for both tenants, property technology platforms and agents, establishing a more consistent and efficient process for all parties.
This move comes amid concerns over escalating data risks in the rental process. According to the NSW Government, an estimated 187,000 pieces of identification data are collected from renters in the state each week.
Under the new rules, agents and landlords who breach privacy requirements could face fines of up to $49,500 for corporations and $11,000 for individuals.
“These reforms will stop unnecessary data collection, limit the risk of data breaches, and give everyone greater confidence in how privacy is safeguarded throughout the rental process,” said Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Anoulack Chanthivong.
“Renters are entitled to dignity and privacy when living in a rental property – and this extends to their personal information too.”
Fairer pet policies and more
From 19 May 2025, the NSW rental landscape shifted significantly with the formal end of ‘no grounds’ evictions.
Under the new rules, landlords are now required to provide a valid reason when terminating any tenancy, whether periodic or at the end of a fixed term. Acceptable reasons include breach of lease, property sale, planned significant renovations, demolition, or a landlord/family member intending to occupy the premises.
This move brings increased stability for renters, while for agents, it introduces a layer of administrative accountability. Termination notices must now include a formal information statement outlining both the landlord’s responsibilities and the tenant’s rights. Agencies will need to ensure all termination notices are reviewed for compliance to avoid exposure to penalties for incorrect or misleading grounds.
In the same reform package, the process around pets in rental properties has been overhauled. Tenants now have a statutory right to request to keep a pet, and landlords must respond within 21 days with a valid refusal if they wish to decline.
If no response is given within that timeframe, the request is automatically deemed approved. Valid grounds for refusal are narrow and relate to objective issues such as property unsuitability, welfare concerns for the animal, or conflict with strata or council by-laws.
Notably, advertising a property as “no pets allowed” is now prohibited. Once approved, pet consent is tied to the animal—not the lease or landlord—meaning it carries over if the property manager or owner changes. Property managers should immediately review all tenancy templates, marketing copy, and internal processes to ensure compliance with the updated pet framework.
Also from 19 May, rent payment flexibility has been strengthened. Landlords and agents are now required to offer bank transfer as a fee-free rent payment option.
Tenants cannot be required to use third-party apps or digital platforms that attract processing fees. Looking ahead, landlords must also be prepared to offer Centrepay—a government-backed direct debit option—as an alternative, once the official rollout date is confirmed. While optional for now, its inclusion will become mandatory and will require operational readiness on the part of agencies handling a volume of tenancies.
From 20 June 2025, landlords who terminate a tenancy for certain reasons, such as renovation, demolition, sale, or moving in themselves, must provide additional supporting documentation to substantiate their claims. These documents are intended to verify the stated grounds for termination and must accompany the notice given to tenants. NSW Fair Trading has made it clear that any false or misleading use of this process will attract significant penalties. Agencies issuing termination notices on these grounds should implement an internal review and documentation checklist to reduce risk exposure and maintain best-practice compliance.
Finally, from 1 July 2025, changes to Rental Bonds Online (RBO) introduce a new reporting requirement: landlords and agents must now state the reason for lease termination when releasing a bond or initiating a refund.
This information will be collected by NSW Fair Trading to monitor market behaviour and enforcement outcomes. While the operational impact may seem minimal at first glance, it creates a permanent digital record of termination reasons and will likely inform future audit activity or investigations. Agencies should treat this data point with the same rigour applied to bond lodgements and termination notices.
The strata shake-up: From solar to renovations
The changes don’t stop at rentals. From 1 July, NSW’s Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Act 2025 introduces a wave of new expectations for owners corporations, strata managers and developers.
Among the highlights:
- Faster Renovation Approvals: If a strata committee does not respond to a minor renovation request within three months, it is now automatically approved.
- Mandatory Sustainability Focus: Owners corporations must consider environmental sustainability at each Annual General Meeting (AGM), including reviewing common property energy and water usage.
- No Aesthetic Blocks on Solar and EV Infrastructure: By-laws that ban installations like solar panels or electric vehicle chargers purely on visual grounds are now invalid.
- Six-Monthly Strata Agent Reporting: Managing agents must provide regular performance reports to the scheme, increasing accountability.
- Developer Obligations Strengthened: Developers must provide independently certified maintenance schedules and levy estimates before the first AGM, with higher penalties for non-compliance.
These changes aim to create more responsive, future-focused and transparent strata communities—particularly in dense urban areas where environmental concerns and accessibility upgrades are increasingly top of mind.
Victoria’s rental reforms
In Victoria, fresh legislation passed in March 2025, which is set to roll out from November.
The reforms ban all forms of rental bidding, extend notice periods for rent increases and evictions from 60 to 90 days, and outlaw “no fault” evictions.
Agents must now use a standard application form and comply with stricter privacy rules, while rent-tech platforms can no longer charge application or payment fees.
The law also introduces mandatory smoke alarm checks, tighter underquoting penalties, and requires properties to meet minimum standards before they’re advertised, not just before handover.
Qld rental law shake-up
Queensland rental laws will introduce several key changes affecting agents, property managers, and landlords. A standardised rental application form (Form 22 or R22) must be used, and tenants must be offered at least two submission methods, with one that isn’t restrictive.
New rules also limit the type of personal information that can be collected, and managing parties must securely destroy it after use. Any financial benefits received by agents or landlords in relation to rent payments—such as commissions from payment platforms—must now be disclosed to tenants.
The minimum notice period for property entry increases from 24 to 48 hours, and there are new limits on how frequently a property can be accessed after issuing a termination notice. In addition, tenants must use Form 23 to request permission for fixtures or structural changes, with landlords required to respond within 28 days.
National changes: More Super, more pay and less foreign buying power
While some stakeholders have welcomed the reform as a modernisation of an antiquated tax model, others caution that it could create complexity during the transitional decade when old and new systems coexist.
Beyond state-level reforms, a number of federal changes are also taking effect from 1 July 2025, with direct and indirect implications for the real estate market:
- Minimum Wage Increase: The national minimum wage has risen by 3.5% to $948 per week or $24.95 per hour, likely putting upward pressure on rents in some regions.
- Superannuation Guarantee Raised to 12%: The final stage of the legislated super rate increases is now in effect, bolstering retirement savings—particularly important for self-employed property professionals and landlords.
- Foreign Buyer Ban Extended: A temporary ban (1 April 2025 – 31 March 2027) prohibits foreign persons from purchasing established dwellings in Australia. The goal is to ease housing demand and prioritise local buyers in a tight market. New dwellings and off-the-plan properties remain eligible under certain conditions.
An industry at a crossroads
Taken together, these reforms represent one of the most comprehensive recalibrations of Australian real estate law in recent history. They reflect mounting pressure from tenants’ groups, sustainability advocates, and privacy watchdogs, as well as shifting economic realities.
For property managers, strata committees and developers, the new landscape will require fresh workflows, clearer documentation, and more rigorous adherence to fair trading principles.
As digital tools and artificial intelligence continue to reshape the housing market, this suite of reforms is a reminder that trust and transparency are still the cornerstones of real estate, and that regulation is catching up fast.
