AI in Australian real estate and property management

No standalone statute. AI-made listing copy and images fall under existing rules on misleading advertising: sections 18 and 30 of the Australian Consumer Law and state agent legislation such as section 212 of Queensland's Property Occupations Act 2014. Rental application tools are constrained by state tenancy laws on what applicants can be asked. NSW Parliament has passed a law requiring disclosure of altered or AI-generated images in rental advertisements, which the NSW Government expects to come into effect in early 2027.

Not yet as a specific duty. The NSW Government announced on 25 September 2026 that Parliament had passed reforms requiring landlords and agents to disclose when property images in rental advertisements have been digitally altered or AI-generated to hide faults, with penalties of up to $22,000 for businesses. The Government expects the laws to come into effect in early 2027. In the meantime, NSW Fair Trading's advertising guidelines already tell agents not to change a property's appearance by digitally removing or adding features.

Not in a way that misleads. NSW Fair Trading says agents must not change a property's appearance by digitally removing or adding features, though adjusting lighting only to compensate for poor lighting may be acceptable. Consumer Affairs Victoria says agents should not use photographs that are digitally or otherwise enhanced to hide undesirable features or promote other features. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland's guidance says alterations that materially change a photograph may be considered misleading and that photographs should reflect the property in its current condition.

The agent and the agency. The ACCC says it is illegal for real estate agents to mislead consumers regardless of whether this is deliberate or not. In Queensland, a representation is taken to be misleading if the person making it does not have reasonable grounds, and the onus of establishing reasonable grounds is on that person. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a principal agent or officer in effective control is responsible for the accuracy of the agency's advertising. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland's guidance says an agent remains fully responsible for verifying all content before publishing, including content from AI.

Only to agencies the Privacy Act covers. A business with annual turnover of $3 million or less is generally exempt as a small business, unless an exception applies, for example because it has previously exceeded the threshold, is related to a larger company, trades in personal information or has opted in. Operators of residential tenancy databases are covered for their database activities whatever their turnover. For covered businesses, from 10 December 2026 the privacy policy must describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made by computer programs, or for which a program does something substantially and directly related to making the decision, where those decisions could significantly affect a person's rights or interests.

None of the rules tracked on this page prohibits it, but they limit the information that can be collected. In Victoria and Queensland, agents can only ask applicants for the information on the standard application form. Queensland's Residential Tenancies Authority says the Act does not prohibit using third parties to obtain information about an applicant. In NSW, the Fair Trading Commissioner's guidance says checking an applicant's social media would not be considered best practice, and a mandatory standard form is expected with the reforms due in early 2027. Agencies covered by the Privacy Act also need to consider the automated decision-making disclosure that commences on 10 December 2026.