What Do Victoria’s Proposed Auction Reserve Price Rules Mean for Melbourne Buyers and Sellers From October 2026?

Victoria is proposing major changes to auction reserve price rules, but as at 24 August 2026 they are not yet law. The Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 has passed both houses of the Victorian Parliament, but the Legislative Council amended it on 14 August and the Legislative Assembly still needs to consider those amendments.

Under the Bill as introduced, real estate agents would have to publish a seller’s reserve price as a single dollar amount for at least seven days immediately before an auction or fixed-date sale. An agent could not conduct the sale if that requirement had not been met. The Victorian Government has announced a 1 October 2026 commencement date, although the Bill also contains a transitional exemption for auctions and fixed-date sales held within 14 days after commencement.

Importantly, the Bill does not say that only an increase in the reserve restarts the seven-day period. The introduced text requires the seller’s reserve price to have been published for the seven days immediately before the sale, and parliamentary debate has specifically raised concerns about vendors changing — including lowering — their reserve during that period.

What “Reserve Price” Actually Means

A reserve price is the minimum amount a seller is prepared to accept at auction. It is different from the agent’s estimated selling price and the indicative price that currently appears in a Victorian property’s Statement of Information.

Under existing Victorian rules, a seller can choose not to disclose an auction reserve to the agent until late in the campaign, and Consumer Affairs Victoria explains that reserves are often set on auction day. If the seller does give the agent a reserve, however, the property cannot lawfully be advertised below it.

That distinction matters because Victoria’s underquoting laws already prohibit agents from marketing residential property below relevant pricing benchmarks. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s permanent Underquoting Taskforce monitors sales campaigns and auctions, investigates complaints and takes enforcement action.

Current underquoting breaches can attract substantial penalties. Consumer Affairs Victoria states that agents who fail to comply with the underquoting requirements can face penalties exceeding $48,000 and may also forfeit their sales commission.

How the Proposed Seven-Day Reserve Price Rule Works

Clause 26 of the Bill would insert new sections 47AG to 47AI into the Estate Agents Act 1980.

Before an auction or fixed-date sale, an agent would have to ask the seller in writing to confirm a reserve price. The proposed legislation requires that reserve to be expressed as a single dollar amount, without qualifiers such as “from”, “over”, “starting at” or “+”.

The agent would then have to publish the seller’s reserve for at least seven days before the sale and keep it published until the auction or fixed-date sale takes place. The Bill further provides that an agent must not conduct the auction or fixed-date sale unless the reserve has been published for the seven days immediately beforehand.

Advertising would also need to reflect the disclosed reserve. The Bill proposes requiring agents to amend or remove advertisements that contain a selling price or likely selling price below the seller’s reserve, including online advertisements within one day of receiving the reserve.

Can a Seller Change the Reserve During Those Seven Days?

This is where the original interpretation of the reform needs correcting.

The introduced Bill does not contain a clear rule saying that a seller may lower the reserve without consequence while an increase restarts the seven-day clock. Instead, section 47AI is drafted around whether the seller’s reserve price has been published for the full seven-day period immediately before the sale.

That means a late change to the seller’s confirmed reserve may affect whether the auction can legally proceed. During parliamentary debate, an MP specifically raised the example of a vendor wanting to decrease a reserve shortly before auction and argued that the seven-day requirement could prevent the auction proceeding as scheduled.

Because the Bill remains before Parliament and has been amended by the Legislative Council, sellers and agents should check the final enacted wording before relying on a particular process for changing a reserve.

Does Meeting the Published Reserve Force a Sale?

No. The proposed disclosure requirement would not turn the reserve into an automatic contractual promise to sell.

The Victorian Parliament’s statement of compatibility for the Bill expressly states that sellers would not be compelled to sell simply because they receive a bid at or above the disclosed reserve price.

That is an important distinction for buyers. A published reserve would provide much stronger information about the seller’s pricing position, but it would not guarantee that a property will be sold to the first bidder who reaches that number.

Nor should buyers assume the reserve will be the final sale price. Consumer Affairs Victoria notes that competition between buyers can push a property well above its advertised price, and a higher sale price does not by itself prove that underquoting occurred.

What the Proposed Rules Mean for Melbourne Buyers

For Melbourne buyers, mandatory reserve price disclosure could make it easier to decide whether an auction is realistically within budget before paying for building inspections, contract reviews or other pre-auction checks.

The reserve should still be treated as a starting point rather than a valuation. Buyers should compare it with recent sales of genuinely comparable properties and set a firm walk-away figure before bidding.

The current Statement of Information system already requires agents to provide comparable sales information. For properties in metropolitan Melbourne, Consumer Affairs Victoria generally requires comparable properties to have sold within the previous six months and within two kilometres of the property being marketed.

Price is also only one part of due diligence. Buyers who need a home to support wheelchair access, ageing in place or changing mobility needs may also want to consider the feasibility and cost of future home accessibility modifications before setting their overall property budget.

Suspected underquoting should continue to be reported to Consumer Affairs Victoria, regardless of whether the proposed reserve disclosure reforms ultimately remove some of the uncertainty around auction pricing.

What the Proposed Rules Mean for Melbourne Sellers

For sellers, the biggest change would be the need to settle on a genuine reserve earlier in the campaign.

At present, vendors can often wait until close to auction day before fixing their reserve. Under the proposed regime, agents would need the seller’s confirmed reserve early enough to satisfy the seven-day publication requirement.

That could make the final stage of an auction campaign less flexible. If buyer interest strengthens or weakens shortly before the auction, changing the reserve may create compliance issues and potentially affect whether the sale can proceed on the scheduled date.

Sellers should therefore pay close attention to comparable sales, inspection numbers, buyer feedback and written offers before confirming their reserve. They should also ask their agent or solicitor how the final legislation deals with reserve changes once the Bill has completed Parliament.

When Would Victoria’s New Auction Reserve Price Rules Start?

The Victorian Government has announced that the reserve disclosure reforms are intended to commence on 1 October 2026.

There is, however, an important transition provision in the Bill as introduced. It says the new reserve-publication provisions will not apply to auctions or fixed-date sales held within 14 days after the commencement day.

There is also a more immediate qualification: as at 24 August 2026, the Bill remains listed as having amendments under consideration. The Legislative Council passed an amended version on 14 August, and those amendments still need to be considered by the Legislative Assembly.

For buyers, sellers and agents planning spring 2026 campaigns, the safest approach is therefore to monitor the Bill’s final passage and the guidance issued by Consumer Affairs Victoria rather than assuming the introduced version is already settled law.

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