Victorian real estate agents are seeking greater clarity over new property laws set to reshape the state’s auction system from October, amid concerns about how the reforms will operate in practice.
From October 1, agents will be required to publish a vendor’s reserve price at least seven days before an auction or fixed-date sale, under reforms introduced by the Victorian Government to increase price transparency and crack down on underquoting.
The changes represent a significant departure from the current system, where vendors have historically been able to withhold their reserve price before an auction.
Clause 26 of the Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 will amend the Estate Agents Act 1980, requiring an estate agent to request a seller’s reserve price in writing and publish it in the Property Price Statement at least seven days before an auction or fixed-date sale. Agents who fail to meet the disclosure requirement will not be permitted to conduct the auction or fixed-date sale.
The Victorian Government says the reform is intended to give prospective buyers more accurate information before they spend money and time pursuing a property.
Announcing the changes, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Renters Paul Edbrooke said the Government was targeting underquoting in Victoria.
“We’re stamping out underquoting. These new laws mean no more wasting your Saturday at auctions trying to buy a home that you could never afford,” Mr Edbrooke said.
The Government has said the change will give buyers greater confidence that advertised prices reflect the reserve on auction day and reduce the likelihood of buyers paying for inspections and other costs for properties they realistically cannot afford.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Toby Balazs said there remained uncertainty within the industry about how some elements of the legislation would work in practice.
“There’s a bit of ambiguity about this,” Mr Balazs said.
Mr Balazs said the REIV was working with Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV), Victoria’s consumer marketplace regulator, to better understand how the requirements would be enforced.
“We’ll work with them to try and get the guidelines in place so people can understand not so much and not only what the intent is of the legislation, but how CAV will actually go and regulate these new laws,” he said.
Consumer Affairs Victoria will play a key role in overseeing the reforms. Under the legislation, agents will also be required to provide information about properties, including sold prices and key features, to the Director of CAV once sales become unconditional.
The Government says this information will help buyers, sellers and agents develop a clearer understanding of what comparable properties are selling for across Victoria.
However, Mr Balazs said questions remained about how the seven-day requirement would operate if a vendor decided to change their reserve shortly before an auction.
“If the reserve is increased, then you would need to give prospective buyers the seven-day lead time as the legislation is drafted,” he said.
“The reality is it just says if the reserve is to change, it doesn’t articulate whether that’s down or up.”
Mr Balazs said the distinction was important because vendors can adjust their expectations as a sales campaign progresses.
He also raised concerns about how the new requirements would interact with Victoria’s existing property pricing rules when an offer is made and rejected before an auction.
“If I get an offer for a property that exists above the 10 per cent SOI (statement of information) range and I reject that based on price, then the range must move upwards such that that rejected price offer now exists within the range.”
The uncertainty, he said, was whether rejecting an offer above a previously disclosed reserve could effectively establish a new reserve and trigger another seven-day period.
“If you do get an offer prior to auction that’s above the reserve that is then rejected, do you then need to declare that this is the new reserve?”
The approaching deadline has also prompted reports that some Melbourne vendors and agents are seeking to hold auctions before the new requirements take effect.
Mr Balazs said he had heard of agents attempting to schedule sales ahead of the changes but did not believe there was an industry-wide rush.
“I’ve heard some agents say, ‘Yeah. Look, we’re trying to book things in and get it done before then,’ but I wouldn’t say that’s a commonplace sort of conversation that I’ve had,” he said.
He said vendors should consider whether bringing forward an auction could compromise the preparation and effectiveness of their sales campaign.
“If people are in that time period whereby it’s, you know, able to conduct the auction with all the things, not being rushed to the point where you’re gonna compromise the campaign or the success of the sales results, then yes, I think people would look at it,” he said.
The reserve-price rule forms part of a broader package of changes to Victoria’s property laws.
The reforms will also require vendors to make Section 32 statements available at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale, make Property Price Statements and indicative selling prices more prominent in advertising and expand the information agents provide about comparable properties.
Once a property sale becomes unconditional, agents will also be required to update the Property Price Statement with the final sold price within seven days.
Despite supporting the aim of greater transparency, Mr Balazs questioned whether the legislation sufficiently accounted for the realities of property transactions.
“The intent of the legislation is fine,” he said. “The execution of how they’re trying to improve price transparency is unfortunately flawed.”
With the October deadline approaching, Toby said the REIV would focus on ensuring agents received as much information as possible about how CAV would enforce the new regime.