A Victorian real estate network has blasted the state’s “overly harsh” compliance action after making what it calls a genuine advertising mistake that resulted in a massive $10,000 fine.
Barry Plant Geelong has been fined $10,000 after admitting to breaching property price advertising laws, with CEO Lisa Pennell criticising Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) over the move.
In October 2024, the office advertised multiple blocks of land in Bannockburn in one listing, with an advertised price of “from $200,000”.
Under Victorian laws introduced in 2017 to improve price transparency, agents are prohibited from using terms such as “offers above”, “from” and using “+” when advertising properties.
Pennell told REB that the agency had made a “genuine mistake” after trying to save a vendor advertising spend by grouping several blocks of land in a single listing.
She said the advertisement was created by an administrator who mimicked the way specialists who sold blocks of land were advertising their properties online.
“Barry Plant Geelong had not had recent experience with selling multiple blocks as they specialise in residential and commercial real estate,” she said.
Despite the agency’s directors explaining to the inspector that there was no intention to mislead, and expressing remorse, they were still dealt the fine by CAV.
In addition, the network signed an enforceable undertaking requiring the company to review its listings to ensure compliance and provide training to staff.
Pennell said it was disappointing that the relationship with CAV largely appeared to continue to be “adversarial, rather than collaborative”, particularly when agents were already under pressure.
“We would like to see an environment where intent is genuinely considered and the regulator focuses on systemic breaches to issue fines – we are all human … and taking a punitive response in these sorts of cases is, in my opinion, overly harsh,” she said.
“We have expressed that we would welcome the opportunity for CAV to work more closely with industry to improve customer outcomes.”
According to Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich, the fine was a “proportionate but strong response” that highlighted the importance of complying when marketing properties.
“Buyers should be able to rely on clear and consistent property advertising and have confidence they are receiving accurate information,” she said.
The news followed auction changes earlier into effect earlier this month, requiring Victorian agents to publish reserve prices at least seven days ahead of auctions and fixed-price sales in a bid to boost transparency.
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