On 2 October NSW Fair Trading emailed licensees to say the next round of underquoting rules is expected to start in November 2026. If you sell residential property in NSW, they change how you set an estimate, how you advertise it and what you keep on file. A Statement of Information follows in February 2027.
Victoria went through the same exercise this month, and we wrote about its version. The NSW rules aren’t identical, but the direction is the same. Price your campaign on evidence, keep the ads honest as the campaign moves, and be able to show your working.
The short version
- From November 2026 every advertisement you arrange for a residential sale must show a price or price range. That covers portals, your website, social media and email.
- Your estimated selling price has to take the 3 most comparable sales into account, within set distances and time periods.
- You can’t advertise below the highest bid at a passed-in auction, or below a written offer the seller knocked back as too low. Fix a non-compliant online ad within 1 business day.
- Keep records of how you set or revised each estimate, and keep agency agreements electronically.
- From February 2027 you’ll need a Statement of Information in the approved form for every residential sale.
Where these rules come from
The changes are made by the Property and Stock Agents Amendment (Underquoting and Other Agent Conduct) Act 2026. It’s being switched on in stages.
The first stage started on 29 June 2026. Maximum court penalties went up to $110,000 for a corporation and $55,000 for an individual for a group of offences. That group includes acting without a licence, dummy bidding and mishandling trust money. Fair Trading also picked up new disciplinary powers. It can make you publicise your own misconduct, have your licensee in charge or an independent valuer check your estimated selling price, or suspend you from sales work altogether.
The second stage is the one in the email, expected in November. The third, the Statement of Information, is expected in February 2027. Neither has a fixed date yet.
| Stage | Expected start | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 June 2026 (in force) | Higher penalties, new disciplinary powers |
| 2 | November 2026 | Price in every ad, comparable sales, advertised price limits, records |
| 3 | February 2027 | Statement of Information in the approved form |
Who it applies to
The new rules apply to agency agreements for residential sales signed after the start date. Older agreements aren’t completely off the hook, though. If a campaign that’s already running needs a change under the new laws after the start date, the new rules apply to it as well. In practice, a price change on an existing listing in December will need to be handled the new way.
What changes in November
A price in every advertisement. Any ad you arrange for a residential sale needs a selling price or price range. That means the portals, your own website, social media posts and email campaigns. The “for sale” board at the property doesn’t need a price. If it does show one, that price has to follow the same rules.
Comparable sales behind every estimate. When you set or revise the estimated selling price in the agency agreement, you have to consider the 3 most comparable sales. In metropolitan areas that’s sales within 2 km in the past 6 months. Outside metropolitan areas it’s within 5 km in the past 18 months. Fair Trading has said it will publish guidance on how to pick comparables, and what to do when there are fewer than 3.
No advertising below what the market has already told you. You can’t advertise or represent a price below the highest bid at a passed-in auction (vendor bids don’t count). The same goes for a written offer the seller rejected only because it was too low. Once an online ad stops complying, you have 1 business day to update it or take it down.
Records of every pricing decision. You’ll need detailed records of how you set or revised each estimate, and agency agreements have to be kept electronically. Fair Trading will say exactly what records it expects. My advice is to assume the answer will be “enough for someone else to follow your reasoning”, because that’s what an inspector will ask for.
Under the Act, the maximum penalty for underquoting rises to $110,000 or three times the agent’s commission, whichever is higher. The NSW Government lists this with the changes due later in 2026.
The Statement of Information in 2027
From February 2027, if you’re engaged to sell a residential property, you’ll need a Statement of Information in the approved form. It has to be available with online ads, or linked from them, for example to the listing page. It also has to be on display at inspections, and given to buyers who ask for it. The NSW Government says that’s within 2 business days of a request.
Fair Trading has promised a draft of the form well before it starts. Once it lands, it’s worth building it into your listing checklist so nobody has to remember it on the day an ad goes live.
Steps to take before November
Fair Trading’s own list is sensible, and it’s short. Here’s how I’d turn it into actions:
- Review how you pick comparables. Check your current appraisal process against the 2 km / 6 month and 5 km / 18 month tests. If your appraisal software can filter by those, set it up now.
- Map the price-change process. When a price moves, someone has to tell the seller, update the agency agreement, save the evidence and change every ad. Decide who does each step, and make the 1 business day deadline someone’s job.
- List every channel you advertise on. Portals, website, Facebook, Instagram, email newsletters, boards. Each one needs a way to show a price from day one.
- Brief the team. Anyone who appraises, talks to buyers or writes ads needs to know what’s changing. The licensee in charge should own the process and know where the guidance lives.
- Book the webinar. Fair Trading is running one on 10 November 2026. Look out for the invitation.
Don’t forget the trust account side
Underquoting gets the headlines, but stage 1 lifted the maximum penalty for mishandling trust money too. With Fair Trading holding new powers to suspend and publicise, a clean trust account matters more than it did six months ago.
If your sales deposits, rent and disbursements reconcile every month, there’s nothing to worry about. If they don’t, the NSW trust accounting page covers the obligations, and our piece on the NSW trust account audit due date sets out the timing.
Need a hand?
We help NSW agencies keep their trust accounts reconciled, their audits ready and their records in order. If you’d like us to take that off your desk while you sort out the new pricing rules, get in touch or try the cost estimator.
Sources: NSW Fair Trading email to licensees “Get ready for changes to property sale advertising and pricing” (2 October 2026); Changes to property and stock agents laws (NSW Government, published 8 July 2026). Start dates are expected dates only and are current as at October 2026. This article is general information for agencies, not legal advice.